Chelar has been in operation for over 60 years and is an industry leader in producing the highest quality progressive & non progressive metal stamping dies, production metal stampings, specialty precision machining, and Blanchard grinding. The company was founded on the principles of high quality with superior service which still drive the company to this day. The company, located in Belleville, Illinois, operates out of a state of the art 60,000 square foot facility with a commitment to staying on the cutting edge of technology. Chelar currently serves in the appliance, HVAC, and electrical industries along with specialty items our customers might require.
Chelar delivers results by getting involved with its customers early in the die design process to guarantee that every aspect of the product meets our customers’ expectations. Our expert staff is quality driven to ensure that each piece is made to the highest quality standard before it leaves the facility.
Chelar is ISO 9001 certified.
History
Chelar Tool & Die was founded on the principles of providing the highest quality tools with superior customer service in 1962 by Charles Flynt, Elmer Katt, and Art Engel. Based on these principles demand for Chelar’s products grew quickly into the mid 1970’s. By 1974 both Charlie and Art passed leaving Elmer Katt as the company’s sole owner. Demand for Chelar’s high quality progressive tools continued to grow leading to a 10,000 square foot press room expansion in 1992 to increase capacity. This expansion allowed Chelar to take on larger projects to the point that in 1997 another 3,500 square foot addition to the main shop to increase manufacturing space. Also that year Elmer Katt passed away leaving his son, Malcolm Katt, as the company’s president.
Although under new leadership, Chelar stayed true to its roots of high quality and superior service. Malcolm embraced those roots, and also had a vision of having Chelar always be on the cutting edge of technology. This vision of increased technological manufacturing coupled with delivering the same Chelar quality of the past lead to shorter build times giving Chelar a unique blend of speed and quality to set it apart from the rest of the field. Orders continued to increase and in 2004, Chelar once again found it was becoming crowded in its design office, manufacturing, and storage space. In 2014 Chelar added 16,000 square feet consisting of 3,000 square feet of design space, 8,500 for manufacturing, and 4,500 for a new warehouse.
Since that expansion, Chelar has continued to add machinery and skilled employees. In late 2012, Malcolm passed leaving his son Jared Katt to continue the legacy of creating the highest quality tools with superior service Chelar began with over 60 years ago.