Ask the folks at McElroy Manufacturing about what it takes to build a global leader in fintube manufacturing and pipe fusion machinery, and they’ll tell you two words: Hard Work. Ask them to explain further, and they’ll tell you that their belief is a simple one: only through the hard work and the focused energy of their people can McElroy continue to build and maintain its reputation for decades to come. As the AEM Manufacturing Express visited McElroy’s Tulsa headquarters Thursday afternoon, generations of hard work were on display in the form of equipment—equipment handcrafted by men and women of this Tulsa manufacturing community.

The story of McElroy begins in 1954, when Arthur McElroy and his beloved wife, Panny, started up their family business in a tiny Tulsa garage. In the ‘60s, the company became a pioneer in the fintube machinery market, innovating state-of-the-art heat transfer technology that allowed for cheaper and easier refrigeration, among other applications. In the 21st century, McElroy has evolved to meet 21st century infrastructure needs: they engineer pipe fusion equipment for one-inch pipes and for pipes over six feet across, each destined for an array construction, mechanical, and environmental applications, and it’s that versatility that has made McElroy a household name. Across three Tulsa manufacturing facilities, it is estimated that as much as 80% of all finned tubes in the world today have been made by McElroy machines. That’s what grit, determination, and can-do spirit look like.

Seventy years since its founding in that Tulsa garage, McElroy has grown into a manufacturing powerhouse with hundreds of employees and offices across six continents. Even still, McElroy remains a family-owned and operated business, managed by President & CEO Chip McElroy and his siblings. But this new generation of McElroys isn’t content to simply tread water; Chip remains dedicated to taking McElroy Manufacturing to new heights. In June, McElroy launched their brand-new facility in Broken Arrow, representing an investment in excess of $25 million in the northeast Oklahoma manufacturing community.

When the Manufacturing Express came to McElroy, we were greeted like family. Family is the focus at McElroy—and here, family means much more than the name on the door. As Chip McElroy tells, these 455 men and women don’t just work for the company; they are the company, and they’re part of the McElroy family. They’re proud of it, too: this community has given much to McElroy, and through decades of high-volume production and global distribution, McElroy’s worldwide presence is evidence of the power of Tulsa, Oklahoma manufacturing. “We’re showing what USA-based manufacturing means to us, and to the world,” Chip McElroy said. That’s the ethos present in every piece of kelly green equipment.

You don’t get to be an industry leader overnight; at McElroy, success is measured in years, not days, and that’s how McElroy has reached seventy years of success. Here in Tulsa, there’s a feeling that the next seventy years begin today. Each morning, the men and women of McElroy show up to manufacture something that they can be proud of. To Chip McElroy, the philosophy is simple: “Underground, in the building, and around the world, we’re making the world a better place with better infrastructure—one project at a time.”