Every floorboard, stairway, or cement surface Zack Erhart walks upon during the course of a typical day at AFS Corporate Member Erhart Foundry has supported the steps of four previous generations of Erharts, including his father, Dan Erhart who has worked in the foundry for 50 years. In the second-story office of their 1890s building, black-and-white photographs offer a glimpse into the past of his predecessors and the 171-year-old iron casting manufacturing plant Zack oversees today. 

Erhart Foundry has been a fighter and a survivor from the beginning, although it started under a different moniker. Partners by the name of Bryant and Lord founded the company in the Southeastern Indiana town of Aurora along the Ohio River in 1854 and then moved four miles Northeast to Lawrenceburg. Twelve years later, a fire destroyed a large swath of the city including the foundry, and the company was relocated to Cincinnati, which was becoming a machine tool hub of the U.S. 

Zack Erhart’s great, great grandfather, Chris Erhart, was foundry foreman and a man with both ambition and a head for business––when each of the original partners died, Erhart bought out their shares until the foundry was his entirely, and he hung out the new shingle, Chris Erhart Foundry & Machine Co., in 1891. 

Fire may have chased the firm from Indiana, but the foundry stood its ground in the Great Flood of Cincinnati in 1937. Water came as high as 10 feet on second story walls, says Erhart, who is vice president, running the daily operations alongside his sister Heather Montgomery, who is the part-time office manager. They suspect that event was responsible for the loss of many historical records and photos, although a book of handwritten purchase orders and bank receipts from the early 1900s still remain intact. 

“I do have photos of all the previous people in my family who ran the business, including a picture of my great, great grandfather and his son hanging on the wall,” said Erhart. “Ironically, that’s where we can see how high the flood waters were because of the watermarks.”

Merging Modern with History

Former generations of Erharts would recognize the familiar facility where they worked but much has changed through the decades. Erhart Foundry uses the nobake sand casting process to produce low to medium volumes of iron castings ranging from 1–5,000 lbs., with a sweet spot of 1,000–2,000 lbs. and dimensions up 200 in. wide. Featuring two coreless induction furnaces with 7,500-lb. capacity, the jobbing foundry pours about 400 tons of metal a year and makes approximately 5,000 different castings annually. 

In addition to delivering high-quality, large castings made possible with the robust mold integrity of nobake molds, Erhart Foundry offers the key value proposition of meeting tight deadlines––in emergencies, they’ve ––been known to turn around castings within three or four days, Erhart says. The foundry’s customer base includes: specialized machinery/industrial, oil and gas, power, mining, water, valve and pump, automotive, as well as art and architectural. The majority of their customers have been with them for many years, some having closed their own foundries in the distant past and choosing to rely on Erhart for all their metal casting requirements.

The company sources patterns for their customers and stores thousands up in a third-story attic-like space of their facility. Heat treating is performed inhouse, and the foundry arranges testing and certification through outside labs. 

Zack Erhart, 52, who previously enjoyed a successful career as a computer scientist before joining the family business in 2014, has harnessed his background and skills to modernize the foundry. Over the years, he has written various applications for the business and has been able to proficiently manipulate databases without external assistance. Erhart has further expedited many jobs by introducing 3D-printed mold and pattern technology, and he recently he also oversaw completion of a new ERP installation for the business. He’s also been responsible for bringing in numerous new accounts.

“I wouldn’t cast myself as a sales personality, but people need castings and they want good customer service,” he said. “One thing we focus on is turning quotes around quickly. We don’t just ignore people––I frequently hear from buyers how they send out quote packages and nobody responds, or they respond but not in a timely manner. That’s one of the things I’m proud of: our ability to treat customers with respect.” 

Working a New Workforce Angle

Erhart Foundry employs just 20 people but in an era of labor shortage, they don’t contend much with vacancies. Erhart says they’ve got hundreds of years of experience despite having a relatively young workforce. Some of his team have been in foundries all their lives, he added. 

Others, however, have joined this foundry from less desirable circumstances. For the last seven years, Erhart has developed partnerships with local parole officers and halfway houses and offers employment to rehabilitated former convicts––which he sees not only as a solution to the foundry’s needs, but also as a means for helping improve individual lives as well as society in general. 
“These people have maybe had some problems in the past, and they’re looking to turn their life around,” Erhart said. “We can give them a good, stable job. We take care of our people, and if they need assistance with something, we help them. We provide a stable environment for people who may not have stability in some other areas of their life. And I’m very happy to be able to help some people gain a foothold in society again.”

Stability is something of a theme for Erhart, who says he’s cautiously optimistic for the remainder of 2025. Steady management and pricing for profitability characterize his mission for the over-170-year-old family business. 

“I’m going to continue our legacy of being here for customers and providing them with the parts that they need,” he said. “Years ago in Cincinnati, there were probably 30 or 40 iron foundries, and there’s currently just one––that’s us. So my vision? Just serving customers’ needs and providing employment for the team.