Fisher Barton marks 40 years in business

The Fisher Barton Group has marked the 40th anniversary of its first shipment of lawnmower blades. The company has since expanded into a family of eight manufacturing companies providing industrial components, product and process improvements, and coating technologies.

Founded by metallurgist Richard L. Wilkey in 1973, the company originally employed three people in a 2,400-sq.-ft. facility in Oconomowoc, Wis. Within a year, Fisher Barton Blades outgrew its manufacturing plant and relocated to Watertown, Wis., where it recently moved into an even larger facility with an in-house materials lab.

With its corporate headquarters in Waukesha, Wis., The Fisher Barton Group comprises eight independent companies: Accurate Specialties, Fisher Barton Blades, Fisher Barton Specialty Products, Thermal Spray Technologies, Fisher Barton South Carolina, Lineage Alloys, Zenith Cutter, and Lund Precision Products Ireland. Business unit products include industrial knives and accessories, lawnmower blades, agricultural knives, power transmission components, stampings, thermal spray coatings, and heat-treated weldments.