History

1920’s

• 1920: Founded by Albert C. Reediger as Milwaukee Die & Tool Company at 136 Reed Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the business started with only 4 employees, 3 zinc die casting machines, limited machining capabilities and a tool room.
• 1924: Milwaukee Die & Tool Company changed its name to Advance Tool & Die Casting Company. Our first air shot die cast machine, to run both zinc & aluminum, was built. You can find it on display in our lobby & it still works!
• 1926: Advance Die Casting moved from its Reed Street location to its present location of 3760 N. Holton Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• 1929: Advance had 14 employees. Clarence W. Omann joined Advance and started his 76-year relationship with the company. Clarence started as a shop employee but quickly showed his drive for success. Starting in management as the bookkeeper, he ultimately rose to Chief Operations Officer.

1940’s

• During World War II, Advance proudly supplied die castings for the US Military
• 1947: Clarence W. Omann purchased Advance from a retiring Albert Reediger and became President.
• 1948: Advance exceeded $1 million in sales for the first time on company history

1950’s

• 1951: Clarence’s son, Richard, started working at Advance. Like his father, he began working in the shop. If you talk to Richard, he will tell you that he worked there much earlier as a young boy after school and on weekends. His father would pay him with a bag of peanuts. He is one person that can actually say he worked for peanuts. Like his father, Richard quickly moved through the ranks of management and soon became second in command.

1960’s

• 1960: Advance added on to its existing building 2 times and was up to 50 employees, 8 die cast machines and had increased its machining capabilities.
• 1967: Advance built a 25,500 square foot building to house our zinc work, currently known as Plant 2. This move made it possible to increase our aluminum capabilities in the original building (Plant 1).

1970’s

• 1971: Richard H. Omann was appointed as President of Advance and Clarence Omann remained as Chief Executive Officer and was appointed Chairman of the Board.
• 1973: Marked a few changes for Advance:
  • “Tool” was dropped from our name to become what we are known as today, Advance Die Casting Company.
  • Clarence Omann retired from the day-to-day operations leaving Richard and his trusted managers in charge. Clarence would continue to visit Advance and share his expertise for more than 30 years. After his retirement, the employees commonly and respectfully referred to him as “Grandpa”. He knew each employee by name and made it a point to say “Hello” to everyone.
  • Plant 3 was purchased. An 110,000 square foot building located just behind our existing Plant 1, was purchased to house our secondary operations along with our tumble deburr process. This addition gave Advance over 190,000 square feet of manufacturing area.

1980’s

• 1980: Advance’s workforce reached over 150 employees and its customer base was a Who’s Who of American manufacturers.
• 1985: Advance purchased its first CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine. This began the era of added machining capabilities that would allow Advance to become a full service manufacturer.
• 1987: Cellular manufacturing was introduced. As a result, Advance decided to change its philosophy. All secondary machines were moved from Plant 3 to Plants 1 & 2 and Plant 3 was sold. This move prompted Advance to add on once again to Plant 1 to make room for a new shipping area. Even though Advance went from 190,000 square feet down to 95,500 square feet, it was leaner and meaner.

1990’s

• 1990: Major changes took place in many areas of the business
  • Started shipping to international customers. Advance has and is presently shipping to Europe, Asia and South America.
  • Expanded manufacturing and warehouse facilities. Advance’s facilities grew to over 115, 000 square feet.
  • Purchased 4 large tonnage die cast machines including 2 1200-ton machines.
  • Advance adopted the “Zero Defects” quality philosophy
  • Advance adopted the World Class Manufacturing philosophy
  • Computer information technologies become an integral part of Advance’s manufacturing process.

2000’s

• 2000: Advance achieved certification for the international quality standard QS9000/ISO2002.
• 2001: Many of Advance’s long time competitors were not able to survive the fallout from 9-11. However, Advance survived for many reasons. The most important of those reasons being the work of a strong management team, dedicated employees and the trust and loyalty of our customers.
• 2005: Clarence Omann passed away at the age of 94. Richard Omann reached age 70 and decided to retire and sell the company.

On June 1, 2006, a group known as Rollcast, LLC, comprised of Advance’s top managers, purchased the assets of Advance Die Casting from the Omann Family. The new entity is known as Advance Die Casting Company, A Division of Rollcast LLC. The new owners have a combined total of over 63 years of service at Advance Die Casting and over 110 years of experience in the die cast industry itself.

Advance resides at the same location it has occupied for over 80 years. There are now 21 die cast machines, 5 CNC’s and numerous other secondary machining equipment. In the 90 years of serving die cast needs, Advance has added on to Plant 1 over 10 times and now has a total of over 110,000 square feet of manufacturing area. Advance currently has 100 dedicated employees that strive for zero defects and complete customer satisfaction.

With our ears to the voice of the customer & our eyes focused on the future, Advance Die Casting invites you to become part of our growing family.

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