In The Cradle of Industry and Liberty

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@ Above: A few of the brake, clutch, and crane products that The Rowland Company currently offers. Below: The Rowland Company Sales Engineer, Donald Morrissey, stands in front of a Ball Mill during a project in Columbia, South America. Since the beginning the Yost family has always played a role in company management. Helen Yost—David’s daughter and Steve’s sister—joined the company in 1992 to help market the firm to different industries and other like-minded companies throughout the U.S. She was named president in 2007. A third generation joined the company in 2001 when Barton Yost—Steve’s son— joined the company. With a background and degree in engineering, he added support for a growing customer base. Adam Yost—Steve’s son and Bart’s brother—entered the company in 2006. His background and degree in business management provides support for the administrative/finance side of The Rowland Company. In 2014, Barton succeeded Helen as company president with Adam serving as vice president. The Rowland Company operates from a 50,000 square foot facility at 4900 North Twentieth Street in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. Annual revenues range between $5 and $10 million and the company has fourteen full-time employees. In the early history of the company, the Rowland family was very involved in civic and community activities, including the building and support of new schools and churches. This tradition continues under the leadership of the Yost family. The company supports Philadelphia high schools by contributing funds for their robotics programs. Support of these robotic programs help young men and women explore their engineering capabilities and allows them to participate in activities that otherwise would not have proper funding. They are also heavily involved with the PTDA Foundation, which supports education and jobs in the field of industrial distribution. In 2013, The Rowland Company was named to the Pennsylvania Governor’s Advisory Council for Manufacturing. Although the oldest continually operating company in Philadelphia and one of the oldest in the nation, The Rowland Company enjoys young, energetic leadership and continues to develop new products and services for its ever growing market. IN THE CRADLE OF INDUSTRY AND LIBERTY 120
The story of Tioga Pipe is a classic post World War II story of hustle, risk, entrepreneurship, and success that started during the golden years of Philadelphia’s industrial growth. Before World War II, Morton Keiser, the founder of Tioga Pipe Supply Co., Inc. (“Tioga”), who was born in Philadelphia in 1918, worked in a local steel pipe yard as a foreman. He served in the Fighting 69th Infantry Division in the European Theatre and upon his return was offered his former job. Mort, as everyone called him, declined the offer because he saw opportunities to strike out on his own and be his own boss. After making deals and “warehousing” material out of his car for a long stretch of time, he used his savings to purchase a permanent warehouse located at the corner of Tulip and Tioga Streets in Philadelphia. Tioga is named after the Tioga Indians who were the first inhabitants of the area. According to unconfirmed legend, “Tioga” roughly translates into the words “fair traders.” Tioga was formally incorporated in 1946 and during this post-war time period Philadelphia, as well as the country’s growing industrial complex, had an appetite for steel products. Throughout the decades, Tioga’s commitment to customers has helped it grow from its humble beginnings into one of the top suppliers of critical materials in the world. As the company and the second generation, and more recently the third generation, joined the workforce to run the company, Tioga grew and found many new industrial markets both domestically and internationally. In addition to geographic expansion, Tioga incorporated more value-added services and diverse product lines. Some of the new offerings and services included nickel alloys, specialized heavy wall products, military specifications, chrome moly, stainless, nuclear, navy nuclear, end preparation, inventory management offerings, in house destructive/non-destructive/hydro testing and project management. The Tioga Pipe story is chock full of great anecdotes and memories of a family business, amazing coworkers, integrity, successes, customers, vendors, and growth. The common core throughout the years has been the spirit of Mort—the founder and patriarch of the company who had a stellar work ethic, was very charitable in his own quiet way and had a reputation as one of the all-time most recognized names in the industry. Although Mort passed away in 2007, his impact lives on. Mort was the recipient of many awards throughout his career and one in particular was his induction into the Hall of Fame of the NASPD (National Association of Steel Pipe Distributors) posthumously in 2013. @ TIOGA PIPE Above: Morton Keiser, the founder of Tioga Pipe Supply Co., Inc. Below: The original Tioga Pipe Supply Co., Inc. located at the corner of Tulip and Tioga Streets in Philadelphia. PARTNERS IN BUILDING PHILADELPHIA 121
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IN THE CRADLE OF INDUSTRY AND LIBER
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IN THE CRADLE OF INDUSTRY AND LIBER
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CONTENTS 4 FOREWORD 6 ACKNOWLEDGEME
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@ Michael A. Nutter, Former Mayor,
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For the historical images that enli
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This is a history of manufacturing
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While other manufacturing centers w
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@ Above: Workers at Midvale Steel p
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aircraft that dates to the earliest
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would hold into the early nineteent
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technology, transportation, and com
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age had joined the Religious Societ
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Philadelphians lived in the city’
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“and many boats, which are useful
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Quaker merchant Thomas Masters purc
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INDUSTRY INVENTORS Manufacturers in
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Quaker upbringing. Known as the “
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MAKING A CASE FOR AMERICAN MANUFACT
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up cotton manufacturing operations
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After receiving a patent for the en
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The Globe Mill on the Cohocksink Cr
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@ Opposite: Detail from 1849 map sh
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of the town’s total population. S
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On a positive note, a group of Fran
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factories with a powerful energy so
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and flagship for Commodore Matthew
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@ Left: Penn Steam Engine & Boiler
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Garrett & Eastwick Locomotive Works
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seen. The episode brought Hagner co
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United States, the nation’s de-fa
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The turn of the twentieth century p
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in various categories at the Centen
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makers, 20 stove manufacturers, 12
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and lace, in which Kensington manuf
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through exploitation of their worke
Page 71 and 72: @ Left: Yard locomotives at Midvale
Page 73 and 74: among the largest in the world at t
Page 75 and 76: factory nearby. This became the lar
Page 77 and 78: she writes of the sad circumstances
Page 79 and 80: @ Clockwise, starting from the top:
Page 81 and 82: BEER AND TOBACCO Beer making contin
Page 83 and 84: MILK AND ICE CREAM Like any major c
Page 85 and 86: the Philadelphia Phillies. Located
Page 87 and 88: and a half later from a city of man
Page 89 and 90: After major cutbacks in the auto in
Page 91 and 92: into countless lunchboxes throughou
Page 93 and 94: hangar space in 1980 at Northeast P
Page 95 and 96: is the nation’s largest manufactu
Page 97 and 98: fuel for local industries, current
Page 99 and 100: centralize operations in the buildi
Page 101 and 102: BOOKS AND ARTICLES Bridenbaugh, Car
Page 103 and 104: Sutcliffe, Andrea J. Steam: The Unt
Page 105 and 106: Penrose, Bartholomew & Thomas shipy
Page 107 and 108: PARTNERS IN BUILDING PHILADELPHIA H
Page 109 and 110: @ Left: An early Kingsbury advertis
Page 111 and 112: PARTNERS IN BUILDING PHILADELPHIA 1
Page 113 and 114: Aerodynamics. The name DeVal was a
Page 115 and 116: packaging and shipping; and nondest
Page 117 and 118: Another step in product advancement
Page 119 and 120: PHILLY CASE From the basement of a
Page 121: Under Yost’s direction, The Rowla
Page 125 and 126: neighborhood. The increased product
Page 127 and 128: Humphrys is one of the oldest manuf
Page 129 and 130: The Doherty brothers realized, to s
Page 131 and 132: Centrally located off the Pennsylva
Page 133 and 134: Jersey and Delaware. Outgrowing the
Page 135 and 136: Philadelphia is famous for its appr
Page 137 and 138: injection molded plastic to enter t
Page 139 and 140: had expanded from smaller pieces fo
Page 141 and 142: for many years and they know the fi
Page 143 and 144: furnace as well as a custom flame h
Page 145 and 146: and Salmon Streets. The company wou
Page 147 and 148: The company capitalized on the stra
Page 149 and 150: discharges. The supercapacitors are
Page 151 and 152: products that are custom designed t
Page 153 and 154: Today manufacturing matters, now mo
Page 155: LEADERSHIP SPONSORS Historical Publ
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