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.
By 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
1943
Company founded with mixer line
F-100 introduced—first of thousands of F-100’s that would be sold
1946
Company’s first international sale of block machine
1953
First model of block splitter introduced
1954
Developed first automated turnover block machine
1955
Introduced high-speed vibration mechanism
1959
Introduced first concrete drain tile in the USA
1965
Development of first landscape pallet casting machine
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
First to introduce making manhole rings on a casting machine, and introduced largest pallet machine in the USA (24″ X 48″)
1969
First to introduce making splash blocks on a casting machine
First casting machines to make cribbing products, imprinted block and silo block
1970
Invented fresh product palletizing stacker
Brought out a 36″ X 36″ pallet machine
1971
First to create a water meter box machine
1974
First casting machine to make a mortarless block
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
First machine-made erosion control units
Introduced machine-made 1″ pavers
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
Developed the industry’s first pallet de-stacker
Developed the largest output brick machine made in the USA (16,000 per hour)
1980
Developed the exposed aggregate washer
Developed the world’s first two meter long machine
1981
Introduced the MF-3 series of casting machines
Introduced machine-made sprinkler rings
1983
Developed the nation’s first mobile dry cast paving stone plant
Introduced the wood roof tile machine
Introduced pallet leg stacker system
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
Developed machine made stair treads
Introduced largest pallet machine in the world, 36″ X 82″
1987
Introduced machine-made 0.75″ fireplace inserts
1988
Established United States’ first mold flame cutting operation
1989
Developed a 48X48 Eagle paving machine
1990
Developed the clamp cuber for cured product handling
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
Summit diagnostic controller
1995
Completed 8,000th mold design
Full range of clamp de-palletizer/cuber models developed
1997
Offer Turn-Key systems from raw material to packaging
1998
Introduced KK Vibratrion System
1999
Introduced machine-made architectural face units
2000
Acquired by Eagle Building Technologies, thus enhancing international markets
Advance High Output Mobile Eagle Plant Developoment
2003
Ashlar Machinery independently formed to fulfill customer demand and manufacture custom-designed and engineered batch systems and system components
2005
Fleming purchased and becomes Reid-Fleming Industrial
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.