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Chicago's Manhole Covers Have Been Made At Same Foundry Since At Least 1920

 Neenah Foundry in Wisconsin has been making iron products for Chicago since at least 1920, and possibly earlier.
Neenah Foundry in Wisconsin has been making iron products for Chicago since at least 1920, and possibly earlier.
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Neenah Foundry (l.); Flickr Creative Commons

CHICAGO — Walk on any city sidewalk or street, and you'll likely stroll over the works of Wisconsin-based company Neenah Foundry Co.

The foundry has been supplying Chicago with most of its manhole covers and inlet grates — which allow water to flow into below-ground sewers — since 1920, and possibly earlier than that. Chicago is one of the largest cities in the world where Neenah sends its products, Neenah engineer Ryan Bonell said.

"We found documentation [with Chicago] dating back to 1920, but it is possible we have provided castings dating back to 1904," Bonell said. "In the last eight years Neenah Foundry has sold [more thab $1 billion] worth of castings. The City of Chicago has accounted for a significant portion of these sales."

 Neenah Foundry in Wisconsin has been making iron products for Chicago since at least 1920, and possibly earlier. This is an early version of a manhole cover.
Neenah Foundry in Wisconsin has been making iron products for Chicago since at least 1920, and possibly earlier. This is an early version of a manhole cover.
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Neenah Foundry

Neenah was founded in 1872, making cast-iron plow blades. It expanded to creating construction castings like manhole covers in 1904, Bonell said.

Tim Law, director of product of engineering and a Neenah employee for four decades, said Neenah has been supplying Chicago with products since at least 1920.

There are millions of the company's manhole covers across the United States, including tens of thousands in Chicago.

Bonell said Neenah supplies Chicago with about 80 percent of its manhole covers, inlet grates and detectable warning plates — which alert walkers on sidewalks they are approaching a street.

The Neenah products are made of gray iron, Bonell said. They're built at the factory in Neenah, a city of about 25,000 that's 15 miles from Oshkosh.

Manhole cover sizes vary from 20 inches to 50 inches, Bonell said.

"Our cast-iron products will typically outlast the concrete which they are installed in," Bonell said. "Cases have been documented of cast iron manhole covers lasting 100 years.

"Anywhere you go in the country or overseas, you can probably see Neenah Foundry somewhere," he said. "It's pretty neat."

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