The Perry community is invited to help celebrate the Progressive Foundry Inc’s recently completed expansion at a daylong celebration Monday, Sept. 19, when an 11 a.m. ribbon cutting by the Perry Chamber of Commerce will be followed by an open house and free tours of the entire factory at 1518 First Ave. in Perry.

With customers across the U.S., the Progressive Foundry Inc. has been Perry’s premier manufacturer of cast-iron products for more than 100 years. Owned by the VanKirk family of Perry and employing about 100 laborers, the foundry annually produces hundreds of thousands of cast iron components for applications in municipalities, waterworks, agriculture, heavy industry, automotive and related fields.

The Progressive Foundry recently completed a three-year, three-stage construction project complete with a new main office and an expansion of more than 40,000 square feet of manufacturing space.

The facility expanded over Second Street and added two industrial buildings, including a core room, staff cafeteria and break room, men’s and women’s locker rooms, offices for foreman and management and room for state-of-the-art machinery that makes the Progressive Foundry one of the nation’s top leading foundries.

The third and final phase of the expansion involved rebuilding the front office from the ground up on First Avenue. The new office includes two board rooms, seven private offices, cubicle space, an exercise room and a full kitchen.

“Progressive Foundry Inc. is grateful for its close relationship with the community of Perry,” says Jackson VanKirk, vice president of sales. “To show our appreciation, we are opening our doors to share a behind-the-scenes look of our newly expanded facility.”

The Chamber ribbon cutting will take place outside Progressive Foundry’s front office on First Avenue. Parking is available directly across the street at 1010 Bateman Ave. Limited tours will be available from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Attendees interested in guided tours of the foundry are required to wear closed-toed shoes and to pre-register online.

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