We’re Celebrating Our 125th Anniversary!Do You Know Our Early Beginnings?The D.S. Brown Company of today was not always involved in the building and repairing of our country’s infrastructure. Our company was founded in 1890 in Leland, New York, and relocated in the early 1900’s to North Baltimore, Ohio, setting up shop in the former Buckeye Match Factory (left).
In 1916, we entered into the leather goods business, manufacturing horse collars, pads, and other saddle-related items. D.S. Brown continued in this business for many years, experimenting along the way with deerskin tanning and early automobile roofing materials.
Gall Collar Pad
Entering the Automotive IndustryBut times were changing and we continued to look for more areas to pursue. In 1932, D.S. Brown bought out the Judd and Leland Manufacturing Company of New York, enabling us to produce valves, packings and cups for water pumps (the old kitchen pitcher pump). From here, D.S. Brown landed a big automotive deal in the late 1930’s, when we became a major supplier of leather universal joint boots for the Chrysler Corporation. This work eventually led to the manufacture of synthetic rubber drive shafts, giving us our start in the rubber products business.Pioneer in Rubber Extrusion Molding
D.S. Brown was an early innovator in rubber extrusion molding in the U.S. This became a key product for us throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s. In the 1960’s, dense and sponge extrusions became the dominant product with automotive gaskets and window seals.
The rubber extrusion business later turned to compression seals for the highway and bridge markets, which remain a key product for us today. Based on this involvement in the bridge and highway industry, we expanded our product lines throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s, becoming a leading supplier of structural bearings and expansion joint systems. In the late 1990’s, increased business led to D.S. Brown acquiring the former Lewis Engineering Company of Chaska, Minnesota
Custom Rubber Extrusion
D.S. Brown Today
The D.S. Brown Company continues to invest in equipment to expand its manufacturing technology and reduce costs in a very competitive market. We are always striving to develop new and alternative products such as our Exodermic® Bridge Deck System and Deckguard® Spray Membrane.South Grand Island Bridges, NY – Exodermic Deck installationSan Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
We are fortunate to have been a part of many significant infrastructure projects, including the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, Dolphin-Palmetto interchange in Miami-Dade County, Boston I-93 Central Artery Big Dig, Seattle Tacoma Airport 3rd Runway Project, as well as many U.S. military airport base projects across the world.The D.S. Brown Company has come a long way from its humble beginnings of making horse collars to being a leader in the manufacturing of quality and long-lasting infrastructure materials.
D.S. Brown’s expansive facilities today in North Baltimore
One Response
Your information is simply wonderful. Expansion joints allow for the material in which they are placed to move without restraint; they control where the movement manifests avoid random cracking in finish materials.
One Response
Your information is simply wonderful. Expansion joints allow for the material in which they are placed to move without restraint; they control where the movement manifests avoid random cracking in finish materials.