written by Erica Wise (Walsh University intern 2015)
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In 1914, with the financial backing from Richard E. Bebb, Blaine Zuver founded the Enterprise Aluminum Company in Massillon. The former Massillon Rolling Mill was to be the new site for the company, when it opened in 1915. A year later, Massillon Enterprise Aluminum Company grew and manufactured fifty two different new products. The one they were best known for were their Drip-O-Lators.
The Drip-O-Lator was invented Enterprise Aluminum Company’s second president, Richard E. Krause. These inventions were designed with an array of china designs with aluminum liners. The Drip-O-Lator changed the coffee drinking customs of America, as the percolated coffee dripped right into the pot, ready-to-serve. There were many different sizes and designs for these pots.
In 1920 the Enterprise Aluminum Company built its own plant on Oberlin Road, and added offices eight years later. During the 1930s, employment peaked when the company had approximately 450 people working at the plant.
During World War II when the sale of aluminum cookware was prohibited, the plant switched over to produce war goods for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. All in all the Enterprise Aluminum Company produced approximately 6,000,000 Fuse Seal Liners; 4,000,000 Fuse Adapter parts; 5,000,000 meat cans; 5,000,000 mess trays; 3,000,000 canteen cups; 2,400,000 smoke canisters; and 600,000 bomb fins and crates. They also supported the Korean War in 1950, again producing aluminum war goods for the Armed Forces.
In 1952, Enterprise decided to construct a new 70,000 square foot plant in Oneonta in New York, as well as Chicago and other cities. The Oneonta plant was opened in 1953 and closed ten years later in 1963 because the company realized that centralized manufacturing was essential.
Enterprise Aluminum Company built a plant in Georgia, and moved all of its manufacturing to the plant in 1956. This affected 150 jobs in Massillon. When the company offices moved a total of ninety people were dismissed or transferred to another plant.
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