In 1945, three brothers returned from World War II with a desire to start their own company. In 1946, the
Vestal brothers founded Vestal Manufacturing Company. From the very beginning, the company has operated a gray iron foundary and a steel fabrication plant in Sweetwater, Tennessee. Early products included wood heating, cooking appliances and a line of agricultural products such as seed boxes and soil pulverizers. In the mid '50s the company began to manufacture cast iron and steel building products for the single family home construction market.
In 1964, the business was sold and the company became a subsidiary of the Jim Walter Corporation based in Tampa, Florida. The company remained a part of Walter Industries until 2004. At that time, the company was purchased from Walter Industries in a management buyout that keeps this proud Sweetwater, Tennessee firm with local ownership. The commitment from ownership and management is to continue the highest quality standards set sixty years ago by the Vestal brothers.
Today the company has over 210,000 square feet of manufacturing space for its facility located on 50 acres in the Sweetwater Industrial Park. The company is the world's largest producer of cast iron dampers, cleanout doors, ash dumps and fireplace grates.
