Ashlar Machinery

Specialty Fabrication

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History

The American Dream

Ashlar appreciates the story of Fleming and how  it began. In the early 1940s, Canadian-born T. Harry Fleming emigrated to the United States after graduating from college. He landed in St. Louis, Missouri where he began working in the concrete industry. He learned the trade quickly and, full of innovative ideas for improvement, founded the Concrete Transport Mixer Co. in 1943, where he began manufacturing the renowned “Rocket Mixer” ready-mix concrete units for trucks.

Fleming-1943bBy 1946, Harry was ready to broaden the scope of his operations, and so he founded Fleming Manufacturing Co. The firm’s initial product was the Fleming-100, a small, hand-operated, turn-over machine. This was the first of many ingenious technological solutions Fleming would pioneer.

When the post World War II construction boom resulted in a burgeoning demand for concrete building blocks, Fleming headquarters moved to Cuba, Missouri, in 1951, to increase plant size and capacity. Here Fleming made strides to forever change the way we manufacture concrete block and pavers. In the late 1960s, Harry’s son Merle took the helm of the business and, once again, demonstrated the firm’s responsiveness to changing market demand. Under Merle’s leadership, Fleming became the world’s foremost concrete specialists developing and manufacturing state-of-the-art equipment for the production of all types of construction, landscape, and specialty components.

Reaching New Concrete Markets

In the mid 1980s, the management reins went to the family’s third generation, William M. Fleming. His visionary direction led Fleming beyond the United States to Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific Rim. In late 2000, Fleming was acquired by Eagle Building Technologies. Their outreach in the international markets assisted Fleming in surpassing previous foreign market sales by two fold.

By 2005, the company merged with Reid and became Reid-Fleming Industrial. Reid-Fleming continued to manufacture and sell Fleming’s original equipment.

And in 2017, Ashlar Machinery purchased Reid-Fleming. Ashlar now owns all of Fleming’s proprietary data, patents, engineering specifications and research, and continues to serve the industry with decades of experience as Ashlar Machinery.

Fleming’s Timeline of Achievement

Cool Timeline

Cool Timeline
1943
January 1

1943

Company founded with mixer line
F-100 introduced—first of thousands of F-100’s that would be sold

1946
January 1

1946

Company’s first international sale of block machine

1953
January 1

1953

First model of block splitter introduced

1954
January 1

1954

Developed first automated turnover block machine

1955
January 1

1955

Introduced high-speed vibration mechanism

1959
January 1

1959

Introduced first concrete drain tile in the USA

1965
January 1

1965

Development of first landscape pallet casting machine

1966
January 1

1966

Pioneered and introduced the making of landscape edgers on a casting machine
First to introduce making exposed aggregate products on a casting machine

1968
January 1

1968

First to introduce making manhole rings on a casting machine, and introduced largest pallet machine in the USA (24″ X 48″)

1969
January 1

1969

First to introduce making splash blocks on a casting machine
First casting machines to make cribbing products, imprinted block and silo block

1970
January 1

1970

Invented fresh product palletizing stacker
Brought out a 36″ X 36″ pallet machine

1971
January 1

1971

First to create a water meter box machine

1974
January 1

1974

First casting machine to make a mortarless block

1975
January 1

1975

First machine to make hog slats
First to use core pullers on a machine to expand product capability
Introduced first dry-cast concrete fencing machine in the world

1977
January 1

1977

First machine-made erosion control units
Introduced machine-made 1″ pavers

1978
January 1

1978

Introduced machine-made coal blocks
First to recycle ferrous materials on a machine
First to introduce large pallet machine in USA (36″ X 36″)

1979
January 1

1979

Developed the industry’s first pallet de-stacker
Developed the largest output brick machine made in the USA (16,000 per hour)

1980
January 1

1980

Developed the exposed aggregate washer
Developed the world’s first two meter long machine

1981
January 1

1981

Introduced the MF-3 series of casting machines
Introduced machine-made sprinkler rings

1983
January 1

1983

Developed the nation’s first mobile dry cast paving stone plant
Introduced the wood roof tile machine
Introduced pallet leg stacker system

1984
January 1

1984

First high frequency vibration system by USA manufacturer
First use of head compaction
Introduced core-barless crib mining block, developing new height control methods

1985
January 1

1985

Developed machine made stair treads
Introduced largest pallet machine in the world, 36″ X 82″

1987
January 1

1987

Introduced machine-made 0.75″ fireplace inserts

1988
January 1

1988

Established United States’ first mold flame cutting operation

1989
January 1

1989

Developed a 48X48 Eagle paving machine

1990
January 1

1990

Developed the clamp cuber for cured product handling

1992
January 1

1992

Developed the world’s longest pallet machine (16′)
Awarded “Exporter of the Year” by Governor Ashcroft, State of Missouri (USA)
Developed T-Beam for modular construction housing

1994
January 1

1994

Summit diagnostic controller

1995
January 1

1995

Completed 8,000th mold design
Full range of clamp de-palletizer/cuber models developed

1997
January 1

1997

Offer Turn-Key systems from raw material to packaging

1998
January 1

1998

Introduced KK Vibratrion System

1999
January 1

1999

Introduced machine-made architectural face units

2000
January 1

2000

Acquired by Eagle Building Technologies, thus enhancing international markets
Advance High Output Mobile Eagle Plant Developoment

2003
January 1

2003

Ashlar Machinery independently formed to fulfill customer demand and manufacture custom-designed and engineered batch systems and system components

2005
January 1

2005

Fleming purchased and becomes Reid-Fleming Industrial

2017
January 1

2017

Ashlar Machinery purchases Reid-Fleming and all assets, data, and patents

A Legacy to Build Upon

Ashlar Machinery is honored to carry T. Harry Fleming’s torch. Ashlar’s mission is to provide innovative solutions with the best customer service. To see what services Ashlar Machinery offers, take a look at the Services page.

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