MARLBOROUGH – Traveling out of Marlborough towards Southborough or Framingham on Maple Street (Route 85), you’ll see a unique cement block building. It’s set back from the road on the right, nestled into woods with an expansive lawn in front. Glass window panes are outlined delicately in red. Assorted shrubs are neatly trimmed to reveal a sign that says, “Marlborough Foundry.”
The pale pink structure has operated on this same site since 1952, still manufacturing custom castings and precision mold plates for an eclectic range of industries: construction, ventilation, medical technology, telecommunications, military, heat transfer and power generation. Many of the things made here end up in behind-the-scenes applications.
However, some of the architectural and ornamental products can be seen by the public daily outdoors. Detailed replicas of old-fashioned post clocks standing in Worcester’s Washington Square and Cristoforo Colombo Park have been expertly constructed by the Marlborough Foundry.
The double disc and four-faced street clocks offer communities pride, with a feeling of status, as well as a sense of time for passersby without a watch or cell phone. Serving as historic landmarks, they enhance an area’s cultural beauty and harken to Victorian streetscapes. Jewelers, banks, country clubs and school campuses invest in eye-catching clocks as a form of advertisement or promotion. Expert craftsmanship and strength of materials ensure longevity of timepiece icons.
Marlborough’s skilled foundrymen created seven-foot-high emblems attached to the Kenneth F. Burns Memorial Bridge crossing Lake Quinsigamond. One side of the award-winning bridge features their Worcester city emblem at 1,100 pounds. Drivers, cyclists and pedestrians going in the opposite direction see the Shrewsbury town seal, which shows a bird’s eye view of town, at 950 pounds.
The metal works must be able to withstand weather extremes, vibration, shock and airborne particles, whether they are railings, park furniture, weather stations, microwaves, radar systems, remote sensors, or the Boston Bean Pot hockey trophies. They endure the wear and tear of time, thanks to a vast accumulation of knowledge, skills and experience of the four generations of the Nye family.
Founder Howard B. Nye and his two sons built much of the utilitarian building 70 years ago. Over time this resourceful family has designed and engineered much of the fabrication machinery and workspace needed to create custom commissions. Environmentally sound practices are employed. Sand is reused and there is very little waste.
Foundry work can be dirty, hot, physical and dangerous. Combining the latest state-of-the-art technologies with the foundry operators’ expansive knowledge of chemistry, physical science, three-dimensional design, engineering and such, leads to this company’s impressive work. In contrast to the bright, bucolic setting outside, the plain landmark belies the complex workings inside of a local family-run business.
