About Schmarje Tool Company

About
Schmarje Tool
Company

"Anybody can make parts, one way or another, but to make money at the same time is another matter. To make money requires doing a better job than your competitor's capable of doing, and there is no surer way of accomplishing this than getting into the field first with the newest and most advanced production equipment and technologies."

HISTORY

The 30's Clarence Schmarje, founder of Schmarje Tool Co., was one of the first students to obtain a Ph.D. degree in Engineering from the University of Iowa. He then moved to Pennsylvania where he began working at US Steel Co. At the same time he taught at Carnegie Technical Institute in Pittsburgh. One of his students found out about a new material called Tungsten Carbide. This student worked for a company that was making cutting tools from the newly developed tungsten carbide. Clarence became intrigued and started to do some research. This was in the late 1930's.

Company Founder, Clarence Schmarje
Founder Clarence Schmarje on the cover of Iowa Business & Industry Magazine (August 1968).

Clarence's father was an owner of a button factory in Muscatine, Iowa called Muscatine Pearl Works. The tools they were using to cut buttons at that time would only last a few minutes so they were interested in finding a tool with a longer life.

So in addition to full time work at US Steel Co. and teaching at Carnegie Tech, Clarence started to design and develop these new cutting tools.

The 40's Clarence's father convinced him to return to Muscatine and manufacture these tools on a wider basis. In 1942 Clarence began to manufacture these cutting tools from the basement of his home. Shortly afterwards he moved the operation into the building where Schmarje Tool is located today. He bought some machinery, hired a crew and began manufacturing carbide cutting tools.

Clarence began buying state of the art equipment and expanding the operation. He started with the purchase of newly developed grinders from England and Ohio. With continual focus on specializing in carbide cutting tools and form tools the product line was expanded. The company obtained contracts to manufacture tools for the war effort. The company also landed some contracts with other companies. A couple of the first customers were Schaeffer Pen Co. and the Bendix Co.

The 50's and 60's The company continued through the 50's and into the 60's to manufacture carbide cutting tools and form tools. Clarence had been doing some research and in the mid 60's decided to expand into a new field, the world of computerized machining. By the late 1960's Schmarje was the largest CNC machine shop in the area, doing machine work for companies like John Deere, J.I. Case and Caterpillar Tractor Company. Schmarje Tool company worked 24 hours a day, not only machining parts for all the largest corporations, but manufacturing tooling and machining fixtures to meet the needs of the Midwest.

The 70's thru the 80's Spurred by the seemingly limitless business possibilities as a specialist in carbide tools, a new shop was eventually set up, which is still operating in the same site. The company began gradually acquiring the most modern and efficient machine tools available-equipment that few if any other comparable companies had at this time. Among the first machines in this class were two Sheffield optical form grinders and a "Mako" form grinder imported from Sweden. With these machines, plus supporting equipment such as modern milling machines and surface and cylindrical grinders, the company became the only fully equipped carbide form tool specialist in the state of Iowa, and one of the best equipped shops of its type in the country.

And as its experience grew, its reputation grew, and eventually intricate carbide tool jobs started coming in from all parts of the country. One of the main reasons for the surge of work was the optical grinding equipment which made the job of producing intricate carbide tools comparatively easier, and in some cases allowed production of tools impossible to make by other methods.

The 90's Continued efforts to produce better tools and hold tighter tolerances, while continuing to improve efficiency, have brought us to the 90's. Schmarje Tool Co. continues to add state of the art machines to the operation. The most recent addition of 4 CNC grinders, the last being a 7 axis grinder will insure the highest quality tools available.

THE PRESENT
We use Computerized Numerical Control Machine Tools (CNC) to produce some of our tools. These machines are twice as fast as the manual machines and a lot more accurate. The repeatability in making the same tool over and over is near perfect on the end product. The computer programs are generated off-machine on a personal computer. The floppy disc is then put into the computer on the machine.

The majority of our tools are made from tungsten carbide materials. We manufacture our tools by grinding them with diamond grinding wheels and special grinding machines. We make cutting tools in sizes ranging from 1/8-inch in diameter up to three or more inches.
Ron Schmarje, President, and Lou Schmarje, Vice President Ron Schmarje, President, and Lou Schmarje, Vice President

We market our tools throughout the United States and Canada. The majority of our customers are manufacturers of precision products. They make items for the military, aerospace industry, computer manufacturers, and the hydraulic industry.

We have been successful for several reasons. Our employees take pride in their work, we specialize in a niche for our products, we continually emphasize quality, and we have good employees who care about our customers and this company.

OUR FUTURE
2000 and beyond The future for us is now. We are continually upgrading our quality through investments in computerized machine tools. At the same time, our employees' skills have kept pace with the new technology.
We constantly strive to improve and expand our product line. Schmarje Tool Co. insists on meeting the customers needs for the best possible tool for the job. We at Schmarje Tool are proud to be part of the machining industry, building on our history, reaching for the future. If it all were to be summarized into one word, that word would have to be INTEGRITY.

"We firmly believe there will always be a place in American industry for the small company with intense capability in a specialized field."

Clarence Schmarje

To request a quote or more information, inquire via
e-mail,
fax: 1-319-263-5346,

mail:

Schmarje Tool Company
P.O. Box 16
MUSCATINE, IA 52761

or call:
1-800-235-TOOL (1-800-235-8665)

*HISTORY*
The 30's Clarence Schmarje, founder of Schmarje Tool Co., was one of the first students to obtain a Ph.D. degree in Engineering from the University of Iowa. He then moved to Pennsylvania where he began working at US Steel Co. At the same time he taught at Carnegie Technical Institute in Pittsburgh. One of his students found out about a new material called Tungsten Carbide. This student worked for a company that was making cutting tools from the newly developed tungsten carbide. Clarence became intrigued and started to do some research. This was in the late 1930's.		Founder Clarence Schmarje on the cover of Iowa Business & Industry Magazine (August 1968).


Clarence's father was an owner of a button factory in Muscatine, Iowa called Muscatine Pearl Works. The tools they were using to cut buttons at that time would only last a few minutes so they were interested in finding a tool with a longer life. So in addition to full time work at US Steel Co. and teaching at Carnegie Tech, Clarence started to design and develop these new cutting tools. The 40's Clarence's father convinced him to return to Muscatine and manufacture these tools on a wider basis. In 1942 Clarence began to manufacture these cutting tools from the basement of his home. Shortly afterwards he moved the operation into the building where Schmarje Tool is located today. He bought some machinery, hired a crew and began manufacturing carbide cutting tools. Clarence began buying state of the art equipment and expanding the operation. He started with the purchase of newly developed grinders from England and Ohio. With continual focus on specializing in carbide cutting tools and form tools the product line was expanded. The company obtained contracts to manufacture tools for the war effort. The company also landed some contracts with other companies. A couple of the first customers were Schaeffer Pen Co. and the Bendix Co. *The 50's and 60's* The company continued through the 50's and into the 60's to manufacture carbide cutting tools and form tools. Clarence had been doing some research and in the mid 60's decided to expand into a new field, the world of computerized machining. By the late 1960's Schmarje was the largest CNC machine shop in the area, doing machine work for companies like John Deere, J.I. Case and Caterpillar Tractor Company. Schmarje Tool company worked 24 hours a day, not only machining parts for all the largest corporations, but manufacturing tooling and machining fixtures to meet the needs of the Midwest. *The 70's thru the 80's* Spurred by the seemingly limitless business possibilities as a specialist in carbide tools, a new shop was eventually set up, which is still operating in the same site. The company began gradually acquiring the most modern and efficient machine tools available-equipment that few if any other comparable companies had at this time. Among the first machines in this class were two Sheffield optical form grinders and a "Mako" form grinder imported from Sweden. With these machines, plus supporting equipment such as modern milling machines and surface and cylindrical grinders, the company became the only fully equipped carbide form tool specialist in the state of Iowa, and one of the best equipped shops of its type in the country. And as its experience grew, its reputation grew, and eventually intricate carbide tool jobs started coming in from all parts of the country. One of the main reasons for the surge of work was the optical grinding equipment which made the job of producing intricate carbide tools comparatively easier, and in some cases allowed production of tools impossible to make by other methods. The 90's Continued efforts to produce better tools and hold tighter tolerances, while continuing to improve efficiency, have brought us to the 90's. Schmarje Tool Co. continues to add state of the art machines to the operation. The most recent addition of 4 CNC grinders, the last being a 7 axis grinder will insure the highest quality tools available.
*THE PRESENT* We use Computerized Numerical Control Machine Tools (CNC) to produce some of our tools. These machines are twice as fast as the manual machines and a lot more accurate. The repeatability in making the same tool over and over is near perfect on the end product. The computer programs are generated off-machine on a personal computer. The floppy disc is then put into the computer on the machine. The majority of our tools are made from tungsten carbide materials. We manufacture our tools by grinding them with diamond grinding wheels and special grinding machines. We make cutting tools in sizes ranging from 1/8-inch in diameter up to three or more inches.		Ron Schmarje, President, and Lou Schmarje, Vice President
We market our tools throughout the United States and Canada. The majority of our customers are manufacturers of precision products. They make items for the military, aerospace industry, computer manufacturers, and the hydraulic industry. We have been successful for several reasons. Our employees take pride in their work, we specialize in a niche for our products, we continually emphasize quality, and we have good employees who care about our customers and this company. *OUR FUTURE* 2000 and beyond The future for us is now. We are continually upgrading our quality through investments in computerized machine tools. At the same time, our employees' skills have kept pace with the new technology. We constantly strive to improve and expand our product line. Schmarje Tool Co. insists on meeting the customers needs for the best possible tool for the job. We at Schmarje Tool are proud to be part of the machining industry, building on our history, reaching for the future. If it all were to be summarized into one word, that word would have to be INTEGRITY.