Celebrating the Industry Innovations with Hendrick Manufacturing

Hendrick Manufacturing conducted tours through their building, showcasing each phase of the process.

Hendrick Manufacturing was founded in 1876 by its namesake Eli Hendrick, who was a pioneer in creating Galena oil, a kerosene used in railway lighting and Plumboleum, a lubricant used in the auto industry for many years.

Eli Hendrick's goal to replace the standard canvas and wire filters with perforated metal sheets started the company with its first metal punching machines.

The company still uses a number of high powered metal punching machines today, some retrofitted with computers to aid in the process.

The company is also celebrating its 140^th anniversary this year. It's actually older than General Electric.

Some of the products created here in the Carbondale factory are grills for large commercial trucks, vents, decorative pieces for architecture and many other uses that span from agriculture to food service.

Visitors on the tour saw how the company has upgraded to special CAD computer programs to design their products, to the fabrication of these items with huge machines.

One 150 ton press has been in use at Hendrick Manufacturing since 1908.

Manufacturing Day gave the opportunity for a local company to show family, friends and visitors what goes into their work. It also highlighted the importance Hendrick Manufacturing has held within the community for 140 years and many more to come.