Who Is Marquette Castings?

Would you like to know about the different cast iron companies available?

The more you know what’s out there, the better your chances of getting the piece you want.

There is no perfect cast iron, but many designs and qualities make a brand unique.

Often cast iron manufacturers have more than just cast iron products. They may also offer enameled cast iron or carbon steel. However, for this article, I mainly focus on regular cast iron.

That being said, let’s look at one of the newer cast iron companies.

Who is Marquette Castings?

Let’s find out.

Table of Contents

Marquette Castings is a small cast iron manufacturer in Michigan, USA. Three brothers who desired to make the best cast iron pan on the market started this company. Their skillets are smooth and lightweight with a stay-cool handle and four coats of factory seasoning. However, they are also pricey.

History

Marquette Castings was founded in 2015 by the Steckling brothers: Eric, Kurt, and Karl. Eric is the CEO, Kurt focuses on customer experience, while Karl is over web development and marketing.

Growing up, all three boys spent “a lot of time in the basement workshop building all sorts of random things from rockets to robots.” There was also an interest in various materials.

So, it wasn’t a stretch for them to move from building things to wanting to improve on an already excellent product (which is a story in itself).

So, when they saw cast iron not being made as well as it could be, they decided to start their own company.

Marquette Castings wanted to bring back the things that made cast iron so great in the past but with some newer features. They wanted smoother, lighter skillets you find with vintage, but with a handle that stayed cool and a pan that came pre-seasoned.

Eric visited many foundries, but they all told him what he wanted to do couldn’t be done through traditional sand casting.

So, the brothers looked for alternative ways and finally landed on investment casting. Investment casting uses a ceramic mold (instead of sand), allowing them to cast their skillets thin and smooth.

Thin means less iron and less weight, but still solid and durable. Additionally, sand leaves behind a bumpy texture that manufacturers had previously sanded down. However, investment casting produces a smooth pan, so sanding is unnecessary.

The Logo

The Marquette logo is an M + a shield + mountains.

Interestingly, Marquette Castings isn’t in the city of Marquette. Marquette is an upper peninsula town in Michigan known for its iron ore mining and shipping industry. More than 22% of the nation’s iron is mined annually from the Marquette Iron Range.

The Steckling brothers thought what better way to honor Michigan’s iron history than to name their company “Marquette Castings.”

Inspired by the Lower Harbor Ore Dock previously used to load iron ore onto lake freighters, the shield seemed appropriate. Today, it is a site that tourists often photograph (click the link above to see what it looks like).

The mountains don’t point to any particular mountains in Michigan. Instead, they represent “mountains” of iron ore when stacked.

As you can see, the brothers put a lot of thought into their logo.

Products

Initially, Marquette didn’t do any of its manufacturing in the USA. They didn’t have the facility or the capability to do investment casting. Yet, they were convinced investment casting would make the best skillet.

So, you can imagine how thrilled they were when they finally opened their own foundry in Michigan in 2018.

However, Marquette isn’t yet set up to do enameled.

It should be noted that, so far, enameled isn’t done anywhere in the US, and Marquette is the only company that does investment casting.

Marquette Castings doesn’t have a huge production. Making a skillet takes 7-10 days and is very costly and labor-intensive. Their main goal isn’t to have the most cost-effective skillet but to produce the best one out there.

Skillets – 10.5-inch (4.1lbs.) and 13-inch cast iron (7.6 lbs.), and 10.75-inch carbon steel

Dutch Ovens – 4 and 6 quart

Griddle/Grill Pans – reversible griddle and 11-inch enameled grill pan

They also offer a USA-made leather handle cover.

RELATED > > > > > Victoria vs. Marquette Castings – Cast Iron Cookware

Where to Buy

Affiliate Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you make a purchase using the affiliate link below, I receive a small commission.

Although you can get Marquette products on Amazon, the company thinks you should consider buying them from their website for the following three reasons:

Amazon continues to have issues with sending knock-offs. People are not always getting a genuine Marquette cast iron pan (this applies to other companies as well). I can attest to this being true from reading many reviews about cast iron cookware.
With Amazon, you get a 30-day window to return a pan, but when you buy directly from Marquette, you get a lifetime warranty.
The price is the same. Often Amazon is cheaper, but not with Marquette Castings.

However, check out Marquette Castings products on Amazon if you prefer going through them. They offer benefits not mentioned above, such as Prime or free shipping if you spend a specified amount.

Let me note that Marquette cast iron skillets cost more than $200, and the video below merely defends the high cost.

Everything You Need to Know About Our $200 Skillet

What Makes Marquette Castings Stand Out?

Three main ways make Marquette Castings stand out from other brands.

First is the way Marquette casts their pans. Other companies may also offer lighter, smoother pans, but none use investment casting. And no other brand weighs as little as a Marquette cast iron skillet does.

Second is the design of their handle. Again, many brands have their own uniquely-designed handle, and some even offer a stay-cool one. Still, Marquette believes theirs is the most user-friendly.

Third is the seasoning. Marquette seasons their cast iron skillets with four coats of organic flaxseed oil.

Flaxseed oil as seasoning is somewhat controversial. It does indeed give you a hard surface, but many say it has problems with flaking.

However, putting four coats of factory seasoning on each cast iron skillet is impressive.

The video below shows how it performs (plus a recipe).

Creamy Mushroom Garlic Chicken in the 10.5-inch Skillet

Final Thoughts

As you can see, Marquette Castings is a small yet unique cast iron manufacturer.

When asking, “Who is Marquette Castings?” you find out they are:

Made in the USA
Three brothers (and a small team) who love iron cookware
Expensive
Making the lightest weight cast iron skillets in the industry
Using a casting process, no one else uses that allows their pans to be smooth right out of the mold
Only offering two sizes of cast iron skillets (plus a handful of other products)
Proud of their handle design
Very detailed and passionate about making the best skillet

The cost is what causes most people to disregard Marquette.

But if you are looking for a lighter, smoother cast iron skillet that comes pre-seasoned with four coats of flaxseed oil, and has a stay-cool handle, keep Marquette in mind.

Plus, some of their other products are not as expensive.

Cast iron that is taken care of will last forever. And skillets that are also user-friendly are more enjoyable for cooking and passing down to future generations.

What do you look for most when considering what you want in a cast iron pan?