1906 Donsco was founded in Wrightsville, PA on the banks of the Susquehanna River with what becomes known as the Riverside Foundry.
Initial investment: $4,500
Founder: H. K. Smith
Equipment: Homemade cupola with steam
Engine: Steam
Number of employees: 22
Daily pour: 2 to 3 tons
Products: Hardware locks, pulleys, hinges
1925 First generation sales peak at $117,000.
1935 Great Depression sales plummet to $17,000, threatening to close the company.
1936 Founder’s son, Don Smith, institutes a lifelong strategy of investing in the latest technology; replacing the original steam engine with electric motors, and converting gated patterns to aluminum matchplates.
1954 Shop floor is mechanized with overhead sand and continuous molding.
1964 Donsco purchases the third Hunter automatic molding machine ever built.
1966 Art Mann Sr. joins the company with vision of leading Donsco to become a major producer of engineered castings.
1968 Donsco purchases Gray Iron Casting Co., in Mount Joy, PA
1971 Five-year plan instituted to build a new foundry over the old Riverside plant, to include a holding furnace, a new cupola and scrubber system, and new Disamatic molding machines.
1973 Donsco incorporates.
1979 New foundry built in Mount Joy, PA.
1985 Donsco purchases its first CNC horizontal machining center.
1993 Donsco acquires a gray and ductile iron foundry in Belleville, PA.
2000 Donsco removes cupola at the Wrightsville foundry and converts to electric melt.
2002 Art Mann Jr. takes the reins from his father to lead Donsco into the new millennium.