In The Cradle of Industry and Liberty

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WICKWIRE WAREHOUSE, INC. @ Above: Wickwire Brothers, Cortland, New York. Below: Ed and Claire Foy. In the manufacturing and wire forming industry, nothing is more basic than steel wire. Wickwire Warehouse, Inc. of Philadelphia has earned a reputation as one of the top wire sources in the nation. Wickwire is a distributor of all sizes and shapes of carbon steel wire and rods, including galvanized, annealed, and stainless steel wire products. The Wickwire family of companies also includes an industrial packaging division, which distributes baling wire, steel strapping and other industrial packaging products as well as a roll forming division. Wickwire products are used for display racks, refrigeration racks, and many other purposes. “We’re not the biggest, we’re the best,” comments Edward J. Foy, president of Wickwire. The Wickwire steel mill was started in 1873 in Cortland, New York, and incorporated in 1892. Around 1910 the Wickwire brothers opened distribution warehouses throughout the country. The company was liquidated by the Wickwire family in 1969 and the Foy family purchased the Philadelphia operation in 1970. During the years the Wickwire family owned the mill, the company was a manufacturer of steel wire, nails, and wire mesh products. After the closure of the mill, the Philadelphia warehouse became a distributor for Bethlehem Steel for many years until Bethlehem went out of business. The Foys originally headquartered the company at Second and Willow Streets in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia. The company remained at that location until forced to move because of the construction of I-95. The next stop was a thirty year stint in the Fishtown area, along the Delaware River. In 1995, Foy purchased the company from his parents, Ed and Claire Foy, and he still operates the company today. In a move to diversify the company’s operations, Foy purchased United Rollform in 2000 and Parade Strapping and Baling in 2007. Both companies were integrated into the 75,000 square foot warehouse purchased by Foy in 2005. Today, the current warehouse is located at 3300 Tulip Street in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond area. For over forty-five years, Wickwire has been exceeding the needs of its customers. With its extensive inventory, Wickwire provides its customers with one of the largest selections of steel wire products in the nation. The products distributed by Wickwire are manufactured by many of the top mills in the world. Wickwire Warehouse is the preferred distributor for manufacturers of such products as display racks, lamp shades, wire forms, brushes, hangers, baskets, fences, mats, luggage, conveyor dryer ovens, florist supplies, concrete forms and other products. “Many mills that produce steel wire cannot meet the delivery demands or small size requirements that our customers require,” Foy explains. “That is why our service provides quick turnaround time, which gets the product to our customer faster than ever before. Even though we make sure to ship our products out quickly, we are still able to exceed our customers’ requirements for quality products. “It may seem hard, but it’s not. We love what we do. And, if you love something, the work comes easy.” The employees of Wickwire are proud of the fact that the company has maintained the highest standards of excellence for many decades. In fact, the average employee’s tenure is eighteen years. The expertise developed over the years by our loyal employees has enabled the company to become one of the leading distributors in the nation. Customers rely on Wickwire because the company has stayed at the top of the industry IN THE CRADLE OF INDUSTRY AND LIBERTY 138
for many years and they know the firm’s products and services are superb. Wickwire’s services include assisting customers with technical expertise and serving as a source of supply for the difficult or small size requirements the mills are unable to supply. Many of our clients are amazed by our staffs’ ability to source even the most difficult requirements. Wickwire can handle even the most complex demands a customer might have. “Customers always ask us how we are able to provide such fast and efficient service, and still meet the high standards set by our industry,” says Foy. “Well, we are able to do so because we employ skilled, experienced operators who are dedicated to getting the job done right and on time. Customers have spread the word about our unmatched reliability, quality control and excellent customer service.” Wickwire has tripled its sales revenue over the past ten years and now records sales between $5 and $10 million annually. Wickwire is a member of the Wire Fabricators Association (WFA), the Port Richmond Industrial Development Enterprise (PRIDE), the Manufacturers Alliance of Philadelphia (MAP) and the Urban Initiative. Wickwire Warehouse has been successful because it adheres closely to the principles spelled out in the company mission statement: Our mission at Wickwire Warehouse is to help our customers excel in their marketplace by providing them exceptional customer service and superior products. We will be the number one supplier of steel and recycling wire to those customers who prize speed of delivery and superior customer service. For the future, Wickwire Warehouse plans to grow the business geographically and to expand its sales team to further penetrate the recycling industry and the OEM market. @ Top: The current location of Wickwire Warehouse, Inc. Above: The Wickwire team. PARTNERS IN BUILDING PHILADELPHIA 139
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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
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@ Left: Yard locomotives at Midvale
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among the largest in the world at t
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factory nearby. This became the lar
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she writes of the sad circumstances
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@ Clockwise, starting from the top:
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BEER AND TOBACCO Beer making contin
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MILK AND ICE CREAM Like any major c
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the Philadelphia Phillies. Located
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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 and 122: Under Yost’s direction, The Rowla
Page 123 and 124: The story of Tioga Pipe is a classi
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: had expanded from smaller pieces fo
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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