Lodge’s Recipe for Growth
With sales doubling in the last six years, Lodge Manufacturing Co. is rising to the challenge of fulfilling customer cravings for cast iron cookware. SHANNON WETZEL, MANAGING EDITOR
for their cast iron cookware is growing at a rapid clip. Maybe it’s the market- ing. Or it could be the millennials’ interest in cooking. It could be a desire to buy an American-made product. Perhaps it’s because cast iron cookware is a natural product with no nonstick chemicals. Whatever the reason, sales have doubled since 2009 and custom- ers are clamoring for more. To feed this hunger, the metalcast-
E
ing facility in South Pittsburg, Tenn., embarked on a significant expansion with long-term plans for adding even more capacity in the coming years. In 2013-2014, an at-capacity
Lodge Manufacturing replaced its melt center and installed an additional sand system and vertically parted molding machine—basically a green- field foundry attached to the existing plant. Te expansion added 40% more production capability to the operation. Now, at the end of 2015, Lodge is at
xecutives at Lodge Manufacturing Co., South Pittsburg, Tenn., have a lot of ideas about why demand
100% capacity again. Te world loves cast iron cookware.
Recipe for Growth Cast iron cookware has been a
fairly stable market for Lodge Manu- facturing Co. since it opened in 1896 but growth was not always so rapid. Te company saw a downturn in 1998-2001, but a new development in 2002 began turning the tide. Histori- cally, new cast iron cookware needed to be seasoned by the consumer—a process in which the skillet or pan is covered with oil and heated—in order to achieve its natural nonstick charac- teristic. In 2002, Lodge offered a few items of seasoned cookware, and they sold so well that by 2005, all cookware at Lodge was sold seasoned. “When we started seasoning pans,
that turned our fortunes around,” said Henry Lodge, president, Lodge Manu- facturing. “Te number one customer service call we would get was about sea- soning. Te younger generation didn’t know how or didn’t want the hassle.” Consumers wanted the cast iron
pan their grandma used, but that deep black patina didn’t come until after years of use. Lodge’s seasoning process, in which the raw castings are sprayed with oil and put through a custom oven, produces cast iron cookware with that desirable dark, nonstick surface right out of the box. Another big upturn came when most other metalcasting facilities were bleed- ing—the recession of 2009. Cast iron cookware is inexpensive. Eating out was a luxury many could not afford. More TV cooking shows were showcasing dishes made in cast iron cookware. “When the economy was in a
slump, people weren’t going to restau- rants as much,” said David Shouse, vice president of human services, Lodge Manufacturing. “People grilled out, cooked at home, cooked outside.” Plus, a new generation of cooks
entered the market. “Tere’s a social aspect. It seems
what is reaching millennials is the idea of cooking for fun,” Lodge said. “Cooking is part of the entertain- ment, and they seem to enjoy working
December 2015 MODERN CASTING | 21
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