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We
are proud of our history at Premax, and we would like to share
just a few highlights of our heritage. To view more historical
documets from Premax, visit
the "Historical Marketing
Materials" section of resources
page.
Premax was founded as the Niagara Metal Stamping Company in
Niagara Falls, New York, in 1922. A job shop stamping house
at its inception, the business quickly changed to an OEM manufacturer
of the aluminum
letters and numbers which we sell today. Renamed “Premax” to signify the premium quality of its products,
the business found large markets in property marking (utilities,
railroad, manufacturing), house numbers, sign making, boat marking,
and truck marking (ICC numbers). In the days before pressure
sensitive adhesive vinyl characters Premax’s aluminum letters
& numbers were the only way to go! Their economy, legibility
and durability led to their being specified as the only allowable
pole marking system when the Rural
Electrification Administration was set up under FDR
in 1935.
When Premax was purchased by the Chisholm-Ryder Company it
was blended into an existing farm machinery firm which had
a number
of different manufacturing capabilities besides metal stamping.
These new abilities led to the development of Premax product
offerings in the hardware store arena. Premax became a manufacturer
of tent stakes, pet products, and fishing rods. Premax also
branched out into the antenna business, manufacturing a wide
range of antennas for marine, police, and civilian use. During
World War II Premax was a certified supplier of PT
boat whip antennas.
With the resumption of peacetime manufacturing Premax exited
the hardware store business lines and focused its efforts on
utility property marking. We are now the world’s largest
supplier of embossed aluminum letters and numbers to the utility
marketplace. We have sold over 800 million figures to date.
In July of 1996 Premax moved operations to a new, larger facility
in Medina, Minnesota, just west of Minneapolis. At that time
our honored employee, Mrs.
Finley, retired after
sixty-nine years on the job. |
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