Columbia Steel Casting Company
| Formerly | Columbia Engineering Works |
|---|---|
| Industry | Metal casting |
| Founded | 1901 |
| Defunct | 2023 |
| Fate | Acquired by CMS Cepcor |
| Successor | Columbia Steel Cast Products |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
The Columbia Steel Casting Company, sometimes shortened to Columbia Steel, was an American steel company headquartered in Portland, Oregon, United States.
History
The company was established in 1901 as Columbia Engineering Works, with Samuel Maxwell Mears as president.[1][2] It began production of steel in 1903[3] in their works at the east side of Morrison Bridge[4] and later relocated across the Willamette River to 10th and Johnson.[5]
The company was acquired by W. P. Hammond in 1904. Hammond was involved in gold dredging in California, and the company subsequently began producing dredge parts.[1]
In 1905, Columbia Engineering Works participated in the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition.[6]
Alexander M. Clark became the manager of the company in 1911.[7] In 1909 it was decided to expand and built a new plant in Pittsburg, California.[8] The Columbia Steel Company (of Nevada) was incorporated in 1909 and became a consortium of a number of steel businesses in the Western United States, among which the Portland foundry was merely a small building block.
The company was acquired by U.S. Steel in January 1930 but repurchased in 1931 by Clark and other investors in Portland, who renamed it the Columbia Steel Casting Company.[9][10][11]
During World War II, the company cast components such as propellers and rudders for Liberty ships built in Portland shipyards.[12]
The company announced that it would be shutting down in 2022.[13] It was acquired by CMS Cepcor Group in 2023 and renamed Columbia Steel Cast Products LLC.[14][15]
References
- ^ a b Columbia Steel 2001, p. 5.
- ^ "Columbia Steel photographs, 1905–2022". Archives West. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
- ^ Britton, Diane F. (1991). The Iron and Steel Industry in the Far West: Irondale, Washington. University Press of Colorado. p. 79. ISBN 0-87081-236-X – via Archive.org.
- ^ 45°31′04″N 122°40′01″W / 45.51766°N 122.66683°W
Index, Plate 149 (1901) - ^ 45°31′45″N 122°40′51″W / 45.52913°N 122.68091°W
Index, Plate 46 (1908) - ^ Bradley, Lawson G. (1905). "Transportation, Electricity and Machinery Building: Machinery Section". Official Guide to the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition: Portland, Oregon—June 1 to October 15, 1905. Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair. p. 42. LCCN 05035786 – via Archive.org.
- ^ Columbia Steel 2001, p. 8.
- ^ "Columbia Steel Co. Enlarges". Iron Trade Review. Vol. 45, no. 24. December 9, 1909. p. 998.
- ^ "'X' Quits Foundry Business in Portland". Oregon Voter. Vol. 65, no. 8. Portland, Oregon. May 23, 1931. p. 20. OCLC 7683481.
- ^ Steve Fiscor (July 2, 2021). "Columbia Steel Celebrates 120 Years". Coal Age. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
- ^ "Part 2 of Columbia's 120 Year History". Columbia Steel. Archived from the original on June 20, 2025.
- ^ Mina Cash-Valdez (May 14, 2024). "Columbia Steel: 121 Years of Industry in Portland". Oregon Historical Society. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
- ^ Elliot Njus (August 25, 2022). "121-year-old Portland business to close, lay off workers". OregonLive. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
- ^ "CMS Cepcor Acquires Columbia Steel". Engineering & Mining Journal. February 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
- ^ Jonathan Bach (April 11, 2024). "St. Louis developer bought former Columbia Steel Casting site at a big discount". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
Sources
Further reading
- McArthur, Lewis L. (Fall 2006). "Oregon Places: The U.S. Steel Corporation in Portland, 1901–1941". Oregon Historical Quarterly. 107 (3): 424–437. JSTOR 20615661.
External links
- Media related to Columbia Engineering Works at Wikimedia Commons
- "Columbia Steel Casting Company" – photo collection at the Oregon Historical Society
- Pacific Marine Review at the Internet Archive – multiple mentions of Columbia Engineering Works