The First Hundred Years
Monte Maddox Marchant
In 1892, a penniless young man named Hitup Maddox hopped a train to Florida, seeking work in the phosphate mines for 90 cents a day. Thirteen years later, he opened Maddox Foundry, where he produced parts for those same mining companies and forged traditions that have lasted a century.
"He was a great American success story," said Monte Marchant, granddaughter of Hitup Maddox and president of Maddox Foundry. "Not just because he came from nothing and built a successful business but because he had the values and principles to make something of himself and to set an example that still guides the company today."
Among those principles is a commitment to serving clients' needs, even when those needs keep changing. "Through the years, the industry has changed and we've changed to keep pace," Marchant said. "That flexibility is one of our greatest strengths."
Maddox also left behind a tradition of loyalty to family and friends. The company is still owned and operated by his descendents; many of the company's 75 workers are children or grandchildren of the company's first employees. "My grandfather never forgot a friend," Marchant said. "Back in 1905, a wealthy entrepreneur, C.W. Chase, loaned him the $600 he needed to start the foundry. Since then, five members of our family, including Hitup's son, have been named Chase in his memory."
The history of Maddox Foundry essentially parallels the history of the town of Archer in Alachua County. For generations, the railroad, mining and citrus industries have brought sweeping changes to the region. Yet for the people of Archer, the foundry and its relationship with those industries has been a reliable constant. In the beginning, the foundry was no more than a small machine shop dedicated to repairing mining equipment. Soon, however, Maddox realized that his business could fulfill larger needs and for a wider range of customers. He established a Cupola iron foundry to create cast-metal products and added a boiler repair facility to serve the needs of the locomotive, sawmill and citrus industries. During WWII, the foundry took on another important job: creating machined mortar shells for the U.S. troops.
"In fact, we were one of the few places in the whole country able to provide the government with the exact size and specifications they needed," Marchant said. Today, the company is one of Florida's few manufacturers of heavy metal parts. Their operations can be divided into two main components. The first is the machine shop where lathes, drills and welders are used to fabricate and repair metal parts for large industries. The second is the foundry itself. Here, molten metals such as steel, iron, brass and aluminum are poured into molds to create virtually any part a company may need. "This is a tremendous competitive edge for us," Marchant said. "Very few other places can offer this degree of customization."
As the foundry's capabilities have grown, so has the number of customers it serves. In addition to its core relationship with the phosphate industry, the company now works with sand and rock mining, dredging, sugar, utilities and other industries. The company also offers highly specialized services like stress relieving for metal amusement park rides. Right now, much of this work is performed manually. However, the company is currently upgrading machinery and installing computers to enlarge capacity and speed production. But though equipment and capabilities may change, some things will always be set in steel at Maddox Foundry.
"This place is my passion," Marchant said. "I believe in it; I believe in the people here. We are all passionate about our work and our customers. That's a value we're happy to have inherited, and one we definitely plan to pass on to future generations."