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1955 production facility for Precision Castparts Corp.
The chain of events that led to the formation of PCC Structurals, Inc.
began with the founding of Precision Castparts Corp. in the early 1950s.
Here's a basic history. For more, visit the PCC corporate site, PCC
History page.
1949In 1949, Joseph B. Cox, president and owner of Oregon Saw Chain, started a small investment casting business in Portland, Oregon, to make a special cutter for his chain saw. Ed Cooley, assistant general manager for the company, began spending more and more time with the casting operation and solicited outside work, primarily in the Portland area.
1953On April 1, 1953, the casting division was made a separate business and named Precision Castparts Co.
1955Sales volume had grown appreciably by the latter part of 1954, and the need for a larger facility and more workers became apparent. In June of 1955, the move was made to a new facility on Johnson Creek Boulevard, now the site of the Large Parts - Steel Operation.
1956In 1956, the company was incorporated as Precision Castparts Corp. under the laws of the State of Oregon and owned by Ed Cooley and two other individuals.
1959In late 1959, PCC initiated experiments with its ceramic shell process toward the manufacture of larger castings. While this casting process derives from the lost wax casting methods of ancient Egypt and the Renaissance, sophisticated investment castings are now found in military and commercial aircraft engines, medical prosthetics, industrial gas turbines, and other high-tech applications.
1962 The acquisition of a 1,000-pound vacuum furnace in the early 1960s enabled PCC to manufacture much larger castings than any of its competitors. This forward-looking investment resulted in several contracts to provide large aircraft engine castings.
1967PCC was awarded a contract with General Electric for the manufacture of several large TF39 engine castings. The TF39 aircraft engine, powerplant for the U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy heavy military transport, was the forerunner of GE's commercial CF6 family of jet engines, which now power wide-body aircraft manufactured by Airbus and Boeing.
The large, complex thin-walled aircraft engine parts, the first to be cast anywhere, required a substantial advance in the state of the art. Pratt & Whitney awarded a contract to PCC for large structural castings on the JT9D engine, also used on many wide-body applications. Precision Castparts had entered the aerospace business in a big way.
1968PCC became a public company in 1968 with the offering of 120,000 shares of common stock; 1,100 new shareholders were the proud new owners. In 1989, the company was listed a member of the New York Stock Exchange as PCP.
The company developed its first titanium castings for use on the Boeing Supersonic Transport, or SST. Much of the pioneering work in titanium casting was done by PCC, and the company is the industry leader today.
1972PCC's smaller castings include titanium and cobalt alloy medical prosthetics, cast to surgeons’ custom specifications for hip, knee, and finger joint replacements, as well as bone staples.
1974From 1974 to 1975, PCC invested more than $2 million to facilitate the production of its own air-melted alloys. Today, in-house production provides for nearly all stainless steel-, nickel-, and cobalt-based alloys required for remelting into castings.
1980While sales reached more than $97 million in fiscal year 1980, the recession in the general economy immediately followed. The time period from early 1981 to 1983 was a difficult one for PCC. Yet despite reduced sales volume, PCC looked to the future and proceeded with plans for a new titanium manufacturing plant.
1981A foundry was added to the back of the old "Ford Building" adjacent to the Portland Plant (LSBO). An east addition was erected in 1983, and a Hot Isostatic Processing (HIP) addition the next year. Today, PCC Structurals is the world’s leading manufacturer of titanium castings.
1985In the 1980s, PCC began its growth through acquisition of related businesses. The company formally purchased the foremost titanium foundry in Europe from Messier Fonderie D’Arudy in early fiscal year 1985 and built a new plant in Ogeu-les-bains, France, in April 1986. This facility now operates as part of PCC Structurals.
1988PCC completes a $5 million Technical Center in the Clackamas Industrial Park, across the street from the company's Small Structurals Business Operation.
1995PCC Structurals, along with PCC Airfoils, decided to compete for a share of the industrial gas turbine (IGT) market and has been making major inroads ever since.
1997PCC enhanced its investment casting capabilities in December 1997 with the acquisition of Schlosser Casting Company of Redmond, Oregon, a manufacturer of titanium investment castings for airframe, aircraft engine, medical prosthesis, and other markets. Schlosser helped to accelerate PCC’s entrance into the growing airframe market, while increasing overall titanium capacity and capability.
1999Precision Castparts Corp. consummated its largest acquisition ever with the completion of its tender offer for Wyman-Gordon of Grafton, Massachusetts, on November 25, 1999. Wyman-Gordon, a leading manufacturer of forgings and investment castings for the aerospace, power generation, energy, and other markets, has served to strengthen PCC’s position in existing markets and to extend the Company’s participation in non-traditional industries. Several Wyman-Gordon casting operations were transferred to the management of PCC Structurals.
2002A long-term contract with a significant industrial gas turbine manufacturer significantly increased PCC’s share of this market at the outset of 2002, benefiting PCC Structurals.
