Mid-West Metal Products is a 4th generation owned and operated business. On July 7, 2021, the Mid-West Metal Products Company was established as a manufacturer of wire-formed products, headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. For more than 100 years of its history, Mid-West Metal Products has been able to achieve stability in its ownership and management. In fact, retired family executives have all had over a forty-year career with the company.
1921-1945. Mid-West Metal purchased three patents for metal-stamped parts (the Kruse strip for switch boxes and lath stays) for the construction and home remodeling industries. These were initially the only products manufactured by the company until the 1950s. They were marketed through building distributors such as Vonnegut, Hardware Wholesalers, and Van Camp. The product’s purpose was to fasten a switch box to the studding of the house or other building. In Muncie alone, there were more than 1,200 permits for new housing construction between 1926-1929. During the late 1920s, Mid-West Metal Products expanded its product line to include pipe straps, conduit strips and other items available in hardware stores throughout the United States. During the depression, there was a decline in construction, so the company’s management decided to transition into the design, production and sales of wire-formed products producing rubbish-burning wire trash containers. Sears, Roebuck & Company began carrying the product in its mail-order catalog. Thus, Sears became Mid-West Metal Products’ major customer for the next sixty years until the discontinuation of the catalog in 1993. Sales through the Sears catalog accounted for more than forty percent of Mid-West Metal Products’ annual revenue introducing other new products throughout the 30s; wire canning racks used to sterilize glass canning jars, racks for sterilizing baby bottles and egg gathering baskets.
1946-1970. Mid-West Metal Products expanded into the “Home and Garden” market with such products as two-tiered flower racks, border fencing, rural mailbox holders, hose reels and other items. In 1954, the company purchased the Twoson Tool Company manufacturing products for the hardware market in the 7800 sqft facility in Fairmount, Indiana. The products increased to include case racks for empty soda bottles, Christmas tree holders, and display racks to name a few. In 1959, Mid-West Metal Products changed the focus and direction of the business by providing a new product, identified as the combination of the wire rubbish burner and pet enclosure. Mid-West Metal Products emerged as the clear industry leader in the manufacture of pet homes for the pet containment industry. In 1960, Mid-West Metal Products purchased the Conco Manufacturing Company in Selma, Indiana and renamed it Selma Wire Products, Inc. Between 1959-1964, Mid-West Metal Products expanded its production in pet-related products to include three sizes of pet homes. The company also improved the wire trash burner design.
1970-2000. Mid-West Metal Products expanded its mail-order catalog exposure across Sears, Roebuck & Company, Montgomery Ward, J.C. Penny and other companies. Animals were no longer just pets; they were members of the family. Marketing materials were utilized, such as the “ABCs of Proper Crate Training” to promote the concept of pet training to pet distributors, pet stores and pet owners. If followed, the ABCs of crate training reduced the time to house-break a puppy by fifty percent. In 1994, Mid-West Metal Products created Mid-West Homes for Pets, a specialized division within the company. This expanded it’s product offerings, creating a one-stop shopping experience for pet owners. They cut housebreaking time for puppies, often solved barking and chewing problems, and provided any animal with a secure, ventilated home of their own. By the end of the 20th century, 90% of the annual sales came from pet-related products. The company was producing a new pet home every 19 seconds and was selling more than 1,000,000 annually. During the 90s, the company also continued to expand its manufacturing facilities. In 1994, it purchased new facilities on Mt. Pleasant and Cowan Rd in Muncie, IN. The company embraced advanced manufacturing technology by purchasing automatic wire mesh welders with automatic trimmers on the back end; CNC Wire benders, an automatic carton sealing machine and finally four robotic cells with sixteen robots to improve manufacturing efficiency. In the mid-1990s, the market for pet homes reached 90% of its total sales. By the end of the 1990s, the company had grown and prospered to the point of becoming an acknowledged leader in its industry. In 2000, the company opened an office in Dalian, China and began producing pet homes overseas. This included five wire fabricating companies, two fabric companies sewing pet beds and pet carriers, two forming plastic pet pans, two making corrugated cartons, one constructing wooden dog houses, chain-link kennels and bird cages. Mid-West Metal engaged in online E-Commerce. Companies such as Chewy.com, PetSmart.com, Petco.com and Amazon embraced this new channel with competitive pricing and quick delivery right to the customer’s home.
2003-2026. Mid-West Metal Products began manufacturing wire grids to top the covered structures of box springs for mattresses in 2003. They had also expanded to include wire and sheet metal parts for the HVAC industry. The company acquired Worldwide Technologies, which allowed them to improve the wire-making business and Avian Adventures which expanded the variety of its bird cages. In 2009, the company had operations in the US, China and now in Italy. Mid-West Metal Products owns in excess of 140 patents. The Powder Coating Division moved to a new location in Muncie, in 2011. This division powder coats a variety of products ranging from fixtures for Walmart and Dollar General to specialty refrigeration racks and shelving to HVAC parts. Mid-West Metal Products also moved into a new office and warehouse on Cowan Rd in Muncie totaling 155,000 sqft in order to accommodate the surge in e-commerce business that the company was experiencing. Since this time, partnerships have been created with two Italian plastic mold manufacturing companies, Ferplast (small animal plastic enclosures, plus other dog, cat and small animal items) and MPS (molds two different lines of larger plastic pet carriers). Products are now sold on six continents. The company has worked to overcome global economic challenges impacting manufacturing and trade. In 2024, the company entered a strategic partnership to diversify and expand manufacturing, establishing Mid-West Pets Vietnam and continue to grow partnerships.
