WFMJ.com News weather sports for Youngstown-Warren OhioSale underway as Wendell August Forge moves from Grove City

Sale underway as Wendell August Forge moves from Grove City

An iconic business that has been part of Mercer County for nearly a century is moving.

Wendell August Forge announced in a news release that it is relocating its Grove City manufacturing operations and its retail store.

The creator of handcrafted metal bowls, figurines, medals, and commemorative items is moving manufacturing from Leesburg-Grove City Road to Slippery Rock in Butler County to streamline operations.

The forge, the oldest in the country, said it is moving operations to Slippery Rock to streamline the manufacturing process.

“Our entire current workforce will be moving to the new facility. This move is about sustaining and hopefully growing jobs,” said Wendell August Forge President, Christian Werner.

The retail store, next to the Grove City facility, is relocating to the Premium Outlets of Grove City in July according to the company website.

“With the move we are also starting an extensive moving sale. We have 100 years' worth of gifts and products
that we will sell online and at our current Flagship Store a mile west of the Premium Outlets,” Werner said. The sale
begins May 1 and will continue at the Flagship Store until it closes at the end of June. Customers will be able to shop
online during the entire transition period.

The report also says Wendell August Forge’s former facility will become home to an international company that serves the plastic industry.

The forge is perhaps best known for metal items commemorating local and international events, including an ornament to help raise funds to rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral which was damaged in a fire.

The Grove City facility has only been home to Wendell August Forge for ten years. The headquarters was rebuilt in 2013, nearly four years after a fire destroyed the building.

Wendell August Forge was founded by coal mine owner Wendell McMinn August in 1923 in Brockway, Pennsylvania.  

In 1932, the company moved to Grove City.