The History of Hadady Hydraulic Cylinder Manufacturers
In 1947, Tony Hadady started a machine shop with 3 other men in the basement of a
Hammond, Indiana home. By 1952, the other 3 partners were bought out by Hadady and he
moved the operation to an onion shed with a dirt floor near the Lansing airport. Several years
later the shop was moved to 175th and Chicago in Lansing in a building formerly occupied by a
body shop. At that time, Hadady had about 12 employees and was selling machining services
to local businesses. In 1962, he had "graduated" to selling to Inland Steel machine shop. Only
3 years later, because of personnel changes, he lost the Inland Steel business and then went
to Youngstown Sheet & Tube and in a short time gained a strong foothold as a supplier to their
machine shop.
Mr. Hadady was an astute buyer and seller of machine shop equipment at that time, often
buying machines from local industry and re-selling them to dealers at a tidy profit. In 1967,
Lanman Bolt & Forge bought Hadady. Robert W. Lanman went to work for the subsidiary
company of Lanman Bolt at that time. In 1971, the Lanman Bolt organization merged with
Bethlehem Steel Co. and R. W. Lanman at that time acquired the Hadady stock.
In 1977, Lanman purchased B&F Machine Co. of Dolton, IL, a small machine shop of 8 men,
including 3 operating machinist owners. A year earlier, he organized Hadady Cylinder & Honing
Co., a business to repair hydraulic cylinders for the steel mills. In 1980, he merged that
company and B&F Machine into Hadady Machining Co., Inc. In 1979 and 1980, Hadady
Machine enjoyed the most profitable 2 years in its existence up to that time and it proved to be
the last profitable years until a decade later.
1987, Lanman hired his son Peter, then 31 years old and in the prior year Bob Wright, a retired
mill superintendent from U S Steel, Gary. His former salesman, Thad Lee retired and Hal Davis,
a commissioned sales agent died of a heart attack. This brought new blood to the sales effort
and proved to be extremely beneficial to the next 3 years performance. From 1985 to 1989,
Lanman purchased 2 used computer controlled turning centers and 2 new vertical machining
centers, investing some $470,000 in equipment in order to compete in the local market with
approximately 5 other shops of greater size and a dozen or more smaller shops for his share of
the steel mill business. During this time, the sales effort made by the new sales people in
hydraulic cylinder repair and manufacture developed and only since 1979 and 1980, when the
sales volume in this product was about $600,000/year, was that volume equaled and exceed. In
fiscal 1990, cylinder sales volume reached approximately $1,000,000 – about 27% of total
sales.
Hadady Machining stays committed to offering durable, hydraulic cylinders
Much of the sales effort by Hadady is in products that it can sell that reduce maintenance for
the mills, effecting a small erosion of future business. Hadady’s hydraulic cylinder design is
aimed at longer life and less maintenance required. Eventually, any new equipment designed
for the steel mills will have less maintenance, an important factor in component selection, rather
than initial cost as has been the case for decades. Hadady’s market share of new hydraulic
cylinders hinges on spreading this message and educating its customers.
In 1947, Tony Hadady started a machine shop with 3 other men in the basement of a
Hammond, Indiana home. By 1952, the other 3 partners were bought out by Hadady and he
moved the operation to an onion shed with a dirt floor near the Lansing airport. Several years
later the shop was moved to 175th and Chicago in Lansing in a building formerly occupied by a
body shop. At that time, Hadady had about 12 employees and was selling machining services
to local businesses. In 1962, he had "graduated" to selling to Inland Steel machine shop. Only
3 years later, because of personnel changes, he lost the Inland Steel business and then went
to Youngstown Sheet & Tube and in a short time gained a strong foothold as a supplier to their
machine shop.
Mr. Hadady was an astute buyer and seller of machine shop equipment at that time, often
buying machines from local industry and re-selling them to dealers at a tidy profit. In 1967,
Lanman Bolt & Forge bought Hadady. Robert W. Lanman went to work for the subsidiary
company of Lanman Bolt at that time. In 1971, the Lanman Bolt organization merged with
Bethlehem Steel Co. and R. W. Lanman at that time acquired the Hadady stock.
In 1977, Lanman purchased B&F Machine Co. of Dolton, IL, a small machine shop of 8 men,
including 3 operating machinist owners. A year earlier, he organized Hadady Cylinder & Honing
Co., a business to repair hydraulic cylinders for the steel mills. In 1980, he merged that
company and B&F Machine into Hadady Machining Co., Inc. In 1979 and 1980, Hadady
Machine enjoyed the most profitable 2 years in its existence up to that time and it proved to be
the last profitable years until a decade later.
1987, Lanman hired his son Peter, then 31 years old and in the prior year Bob Wright, a retired
mill superintendent from U S Steel, Gary. His former salesman, Thad Lee retired and Hal Davis,
a commissioned sales agent died of a heart attack. This brought new blood to the sales effort
and proved to be extremely beneficial to the next 3 years performance. From 1985 to 1989,
Lanman purchased 2 used computer controlled turning centers and 2 new vertical machining
centers, investing some $470,000 in equipment in order to compete in the local market with
approximately 5 other shops of greater size and a dozen or more smaller shops for his share of
the steel mill business. During this time, the sales effort made by the new sales people in
hydraulic cylinder repair and manufacture developed and only since 1979 and 1980, when the
sales volume in this product was about $600,000/year, was that volume equaled and exceed. In
fiscal 1990, cylinder sales volume reached approximately $1,000,000 – about 27% of total
sales.
Hadady Machining stays committed to offering durable, hydraulic cylinders
Much of the sales effort by Hadady is in products that it can sell that reduce maintenance for
the mills, effecting a small erosion of future business. Hadady’s hydraulic cylinder design is
aimed at longer life and less maintenance required. Eventually, any new equipment designed
for the steel mills will have less maintenance, an important factor in component selection, rather
than initial cost as has been the case for decades. Hadady’s market share of new hydraulic
cylinders hinges on spreading this message and educating its customers.
About Us
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Phone
1-888-439-3239
1-708-474-0876
Address
16730 Chicago Ave
Lansing, IL 60438
Hours of operation
7 am - 4:30 pm
1-888-439-3239
1-708-474-0876
Address
16730 Chicago Ave
Lansing, IL 60438
Hours of operation
7 am - 4:30 pm
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