Welser Profile celebrates 360th anniversary by giving employees a hands-on forging experience

LIVERPOOL TWP. — Welser Profile created a working forge outside its Liverpool Township location to remember its roots for its 360th anniversary. President and CEO of Welser Profile North America Bill Johnson said the global company was once just a forge in Ybbsitz, Austria. The forge is in a valley near woodlands, a crystal clear river and an area where iron could easily be mined. "There was documentation of the forge in the 1200s, but it couldn't be verified," he said. In the 1600s, Anna Grätzer inherited the forge after her husband died, Johnson said. She met Adam Welser, who became a blacksmith at the forge. "They fell in love, and he became the first Welser at that forge with Anna," he said. "They became one, and that's what we celebrate. 1664 was the joining of that union." Now 11 generations later, Thomas Welser is CEO, and his son Philip Welser is also involved in the company. Johnson said the company expanded to the United States in 2018 after shipping products here for years. "They never had a manufacturing operation in the U.S.," he said. "Our first stop was in Valley City, Ohio, down on Wegman Drive." In March, Johnson and other Welser Profile employees traveled to Europe and were inside the forge. During the trip, he thought about giving every single employee this experience. Rather than bring the employees to Austria, the idea was to bring the forge to them. Patricia Grguric from Welser Profile said two experts from Habitat for Humanity helped a group of volunteers construct the forge and ensure it was safe. The nonpermanent structure was constructed over a weekend. From Monday until Thursday, Welser Profile employees will forge items like nails, Grguric said. Tim Cunningham from Urban Forge in Cleveland helped employees through the process of shaping and cutting the metal. "We want to make sure that every single employee has a chance to experience that," she said. The anniversary event helps to showcase the company's values like "we are one," Grguric said. For instance, the volunteers who constructed the structure came from Austria, Germany and America. "That symbolizes our cultural differences but the same purpose," she said. "We're working together throughout different countries, and that is something that we really embrace." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.