Wall Colmonoy Corp. celebrates 80 years

Wall Colmonoy Corp., Madison Heights, Mich., a global materials engineering group of companies engaged in the manufacture of advanced metal coatings and components, was established in 1938 in Detroit by Albert F. Wall. Mr. Wall was a Canadian who immigrated to Detroit in the 1920s, after graduating as a Chemical Engineer from McGill University in Montreal.

Mr. Wall first founded an industrial gas company called Wall Gases which was followed by Wall Colmonoy in 1938. Wall Colmonoy now employs 500 employees with offices and manufacturing facilities located in the US and the UK. Mr. Wall’s entrepreneurial spirit and innovative vision are at the core of what shapes the company’s continued success.

Wall Colmonoy today is a global leader in the manufacture of surfacing and brazing products, castings, and engineered components. Wall Colmonoy’s mission is to be a leader in providing customers engineered solutions through technical expertise, partnership, quality, value, and innovation to achieve their desired performance of operating more efficiently and effectively.

Colmonoy®, the original nickel-based hardsurfacing alloy, was developed in the 1930s for application on downhole drill bits for the oil industry. During World War II, Colmonoy® alloys extended the life-span of arrestor hooks, tank grousers, tread and drive sprockets on U.S. Army tanks. Today, it has applications in a variety of industries from glass container to steel to power generation.

Wall Colmonoy is also a pioneer and leading expert in high temperature nickel-based brazing. In 1950 the company’s then Materials Engineer, Bob Peaslee, invented a new brazing technology involving nickel-based filler metals and hydrogen atmosphere furnaces. This product was named Nicrobraz®. Mr. Peaslee pioneered the application of hydrogen braze for aircraft turbine engine components. The technology and process continues today, and it is taught by Wall Colmonoy’s leading brazing engineers at Brazing School in both the United States and Europe.

In 2006, Aerobraze in Cincinnati, Ohio is purchased to complement Wall Colmonoy’s brazing, heat treating, welding, machining and coating capabilities. In 2014, Wall Colmonoy acquired Franklin Bronze Precision Components, an investment casting firm located in Franklin, Pennsylvania.

At its 80th year, the company continues to be owned and operated by the same family - the fourth generation of family members. This family continuation demonstrates the company’s consistency, stability, and long-term commitment critical to all stakeholders: customers, employees, and society.

Wall Colmonoy celebrates the milestone with an 80th Anniversary logo. "Making Metals Work Harder Since 1938" highlights Wall Colmonoy’s innovative products and services which are fundamental in keeping airplanes in the sky, glass bottles in production, food fresh, pumps pumping, nuclear turbines powering, and transportation greener. In partnership with customers, Wall Colmonoy strives to develop value-added solutions that help shape the future through a dedicated talented team, technical expertise and high-tech quality products.