Fort Wayne, IN: 1964 Ward Aluminum Corp.

Building #1: (Satellite, 642 Growth Ave. Just the three story building along Growth, but Google Maps won't let me drop a pin on that building.)

Building #2: (Satellite, 641 Growth Ave.)

Building #3: (Satellite, off-site for heat treating)

Building #4: (Satellite, 630 Growth Ave.)

<add link to knitting mills>

This company grew by buying more and more buildings left over from the Wayne Knitting Mills. [WardCorp_history]

"Ward Corporation is an aluminum foundry with engineering, casting, heat treating and machining divisions. Located in Fort Wayne, Indiana since 1964."  [Facebook Group Intro]

WardCorp_history

Photo, Sep 2025

I wonder who owns the office building in the right foreground. Building #1 is behind it, building #2 is the building on the left, and building #4 is the building in the right background.

Street View, Jun 2019

Apr 2016:

Ward Aluminum Company posted
Our new Furnace is here for setup

Ward Aluminum Company posted four photos with the comment: "New Furnace installation is underway!"

1

2

3

4

1 of 16 photos added by Ward Aluminum Company to the album "New Equipment 2011" about installing this new piece of equipment. [The link to the album to which the photos were added is broke.]

[According to some photos that I saw on their web site, this is a tilt-pour permanent mold machine. I'd like to see a video of it in action.]

1 of 36 photos added by Ward Aluminum Company to the album "Foundry Makeover 2012."

A newspaper article about the founders and owners, Mr. & Mrs. Ward. Unfortunately, I hit a paywall of too many accesses in a 30-day period. But I don't remember accessing the Journal Gazette. Maybe you will have better luck.

This is the post that motivated researching this company. The fact that it has reused several of the Wayne Knitting Mills building was also a motivation.

Victor Tonsor posted two photos with the comment: "Ready to cast on this chilly Indiana morning. Ingot and Carousel lines."

Gary Heimbach: Looks like a nice setup but an empty line does not make any money. What are you melting? what are you melting with? I spent 16 years in an aluminum recycling plant.

Victor Tonsor: Gary Heimbach this is run off two remelt furnaces. Alloy 3004, 356, 5xxx, 6xxx, We have a shredder for rims that goes to remelt. Then for the electric furnaces we run chips fed through the top of the furnace by a network of 16" blow tubes

There are five furnaces where I work. Three EAF and two gas fed furnaces. The gas furnaces feed these lines. Location is Fr. Wayne, Indiana [Does Fort Wayne have any other companies that can melt aluminum? Ward's webpage lists the furnaces, but it doesn't have any photos of the melt department.]

Furnace just got a reline. Took this photo right before start up.

1

2