Have you ever wondered, like I have, who makes cast iron cookware in the USA?
When I started looking, I thought I might find seven or eight.
But I found twenty. And there might be more.
So, let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Who Makes Cast Iron Cookware in the USA?
The United States and China are the two countries that make the most cast iron cookware today. Surprisingly, the US produces more than you think. I found twenty, but I’m sure there are more. You’ll find small and large manufacturers and many family-owned businesses. Additionally, you can still find plenty of vintage cast iron cookware from manufacturers that used to make cast iron in the USA, such as Wagner and Griswold.
A Brief Overview
The following companies are in alphabetical order and in no way reflect their status or even if you’ve ever heard of them. They include companies that:
- Are well-known
- Are virtually unknown
- Exclusively make cast iron cookware and accessories
- Are family-owned
- Have a cast iron specialty
- Deal mainly in cast iron but have also ventured into other areas
1. American Skillet Co.
Founded: 2012 by Alisa Toninato
American Skillet Company is located in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, and specializes in making state-shaped skillets.
Each skillet can be used and maintained just like any other cast iron pan. Or some opt to hang it on the wall.
Unfortunately, they don’t have every state yet. So, if you don’t see yours, you can vote for it. When your state receives enough votes, the process begins. You can find out more about what goes into this decision on their FAQ page.
“Today we still create our skillets in small batches with the touch of artisan hands all along the process. Each state-shaped, cast iron skillet is handcrafted, pre-seasoned, and made in Wisconsin from start to finish.”
2. Appalachian Cast Iron Co.
Founded: 2021 by Tony Hester
Appalachian Cast Iron Company is a small family-owned business located in Johnson City, Tennessee. They make a couple of skillets, but their specialty is the Great American waffle iron.
Admittedly, the business is just one man with the occasional help from his wife and daughter.
You can read the story of how his passion for and fascination with antique waffle irons led him to start ACI and create the Great American Waffle Iron.
As far as the design, though, Tony would tell you that the foundry that casts his skillets and waffle iron had more to do with the details of how it would function than he did. Still, it was his vision.
He talked to over 70 foundries before finding one to do what he wanted. Additionally, Tony is the one who machine-finishes and seasons each and every waffle iron personally.
In its first full year, ACI sold over 2000 waffle irons as well as hundreds of skillets and handle covers.
3. Austin Foundry Cookware
Founded: 1946
Austin Foundry Cookware is a 3rd generation family-owned and operated business in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
It is owned by Sean and Lisa Girdaukas. Sean designed the skillets and is involved in every step of the casting process. Lisa deals with the customer side of things.
The cookware is crafted in small batches with great attention to detail. They offer skillets with a single long handle in 10, 11, and 12 inches or two side handles in 10 and 12 inches.
Additionally, they have a food press that can be used for smash burgers, to keep your bacon flat, or to make a delicious panini.
Austin Foundry Cookware is “Quality Craftsmanship that is built to last a lifetime and longer.”
4. Borough Furnace
Founded: 2011 by John Truex and Liz Seru
Borough Furnace is a small family-owned business located in the Finger Lakes area of New York.
They began with two skillets, 9 and 10.5 inches, but have expanded their production to include a 12-inch braising skillet and grill pan/braising lid, a cazuela, a bottle opener, and two 5.5 quart Dutch ovens–one seasoned and one enameled.
Interestingly, their enameled Dutch oven is the only one made in the USA.
All of their cast iron is made from recycled iron and seasoned with 100% organic Flaxseed oil. And each piece is hand cast and finished in their New York workshop.
John and Liz can cast about 8-9 skillets/day, and their attention to detail makes their work very rewarding.
Borough Furnace has a “timeless design, quality materials, and expert craftsmanship.”
5. Butter Pat Industries
Founded: 2013 by Dennis Powel
Butter Pat Industries is a small design-oriented cast iron cookware manufacturer in Easton, Maryland.
They started with one question: “How do you cast iron as thin and smooth as those great American foundries once did in the late 1800s?”
The team is made up of foundrymen, designers, artists, and engineers who have a focus on design and beauty as well as usability.
Part of the design and usability of the cookware is making it thin and smooth. It also means naming each skillet: Estee, Homer, Heather, Joan, Lili, Joe, and Eric (the picture is of an Estee skillet).
Furthermore, the design may have been inspired by the cast iron pans of the 1800s, but the technology is new.
Interestingly, the cookware is cast in Pennsylvania and sent to Maryland to be finished and seasoned. And they have a sister company: Cowboy Cauldron.
Butter Pat Industries’ goal remains the same: To cast thin for lighter weight and polish smooth for easy cleanup.
RELATED > > > > > Butter Pat vs. Lodge – What Do You Get for the Price?
6. Field Company
Founded: 2016 by brothers Chris and Stephen Muscarella
After inheriting several of their grandmother’s vintage cast iron skillets, the brothers found significant differences between modern cast iron and how it used to be made.
So, they decided to learn all they could about it. They even visited several foundries and were told that cast iron could no longer be cast that thin.
Well, they disagreed and set out to prove it could be done. And after much trial and error, Field Company was born.
Today, they make six different-size skillets, two griddles, a Dutch Oven, and matching lids. The brothers are proud of their cast iron cookware, especially since it mirrors the lighter, smoother skillets of the past.
Additionally, they redesigned the handle to be more ergonomic. They use recycled iron sourced from American vendors and pour the cast iron using green sand castings.
RELATED> > > > > Who is Field Company? – Lighter, Smoother Cast Iron
7. Finex
Founded: 2012
Finex is a small cast iron manufacturer based in Portland, Oregon. The company is made up of craftspeople, cooks, and designers.
Together they wanted to find a healthy way to cook in a durable, functional pan. They ended up with a cast iron skillet that was also elegant and unique.
Their skillet has a round cooking surface with eight sides. This allows you easier spatula access and more pour spouts.
The “speed cool” handle is also unique. The design was inspired by antique wood stoves with spiral stainless steel handles that stay cool to the touch.
Finex offers skillets in four sizes, grill pans and Dutch ovens in three sizes, one sauce pot, two presses, and accessories. Each piece is seasoned with 100% organic flaxseed oil and is CNC machined for an easy-release cooking surface.
Their cast iron cookware is “built for those who believe details make the difference.”
It should also be noted that Lodge Cast Iron purchased Finex in 2019.
8. Fredericksburg Cast Iron
Founded: 2020 by Jay Mallinckrodt
Fredericksburg Cast Iron got its name from the town it’s made in, Fredericksburg, Texas.
During the pandemic, Jay was looking for a way to keep business going at his Father-in-law’s machine shop in which he worked.
He asked himself what else they could create with their existing skills and space. He wanted something that would last and be their own brand and product.
The answer was cast iron cookware. Jay already had lots of experience machining cast iron but not with skillets.
Through research and an existing relationship with a foundry where metals were cast into molds, Jay learned about the benefits of cast iron cooking, especially polished cast iron, which made cleanup easier.
Fredericksburg currently carries two cast iron products: a No. 10 skillet and a No. 14 “Comal” griddle. However, they plan to launch future products, starting with a No. 12 skillet followed by a No. 8. Eventually, they will add Dutch ovens and more.
They also offer knives and some leather products.
Jay was surprised at the immediate success of the skillet. It was being shipped out as quickly as they were made. But he is grateful.
Fredericksburg’s motto is “Heirloom quality cast iron cookware made in Texas for family, by family, for life.”
RELATED > > > > > What Are the Benefits of a Cast Iron Pan? – 10 Things I Like
9. Grizzley Cookware
Founded: 2015 by Katie and Kyle Caniglia
Grizzley Cookware embraces innovation, honors tradition, and makes its cast iron cookware in the United States.
They are a veteran-owned, female-led small business based in Charlotte, North Carolina. And the only nickel-coated cast iron cookware brand in production as of today.
The couple was first introduced to a nickel-coated skillet when they acquired a surface finishing company specializing in nickel. The skillet was left behind, and they began researching cast iron cookware.
What they learned convinced them to start their own line since there were no manufacturers of nickel-coated cast iron still in existence. Nickel has all the benefits of cooking with cast iron and none of the hassle of seasoning and worrying about rust.
Furthermore, Grizzley Cookware wanted to honor the cast iron cookware heritage and celebrate the bond cast iron cooking has with Southern cuisine.
The company worked closely with designers, engineers, academics, manufacturers, and top chefs to produce and test their first 12-inch skillet. The response was overwhelmingly positive.
They now offer a 10 & 12-inch skillet, a 10-inch casserole, and a few accessories.
10. Hallman Originals
Founded: 1935
Hallman Originals is a small cast iron business in Sanford, North Carolina. It is owned by CEO Bill Keifer of A. Stucki Co., and Vice-President of industrial sales, Dan Mihalcak. There is also a silent partner.
Several years ago, Keifer purchased a foundry that poured cast iron and he knew he wanted to make skillets.
So, he brought in Dan Mihalcak and a silent partner, and Hallman Originals was born.
All the cast iron is hand-poured into molds and left to cool for twenty hours. Once the skillets are removed from the molds, workers clean out each skillet and use grinders to smooth any rough edges.
Each pan is done by hand from start to finish.
Right now, they offer both an unseasoned and a pre-seasoned 12-inch skillet. The seasoned skillet is hand-rubbed with flaxseed oil and briefly put in the oven to bake. The baking polymerizes or bonds the oil to the pan to create a nonstick surface.
However, they plan to make more cast iron cookware products in the future, such as a 10-inch skillet, a pizza pan, and a Dutch oven.
They also carry some merch and coffee: ground or beans.
Hallman’s is proud that they are one of only a few companies that hand-pours and makes all their pans in the USA with American steel. They are “American Made, American Strong, American Iron.”
11. KochCookware
Founded: 1958
KochCookware is a homemade cast iron company in Miami, Florida. It is owned and run by the third-generation children of a Greek immigrant family.
In 2018, they came out with a line of cast iron skillets made by hand from start to finish.
After looking at the leading cast iron manufacturers, they discovered their pans were automated, heavy, and rough. Even the smaller family-owned businesses were automated.
So, they decided to make cast iron cookware that was 100% handmade, using 100% recycled iron, and 100% authentic. They spent two years researching and developing a lighter, smoother pan.
The company has a small selection of cast iron cookware: a 5.5-square and an 8 or 10.25-inch traditional skillet. The 10.25-inch also comes machined. Additionally, they offer a 10.25-inch grill pan. And all their cookware can be ordered pre-seasoned or unseasoned.
Besides cast iron cookware, they have marble cutting boards in three shapes: regular, pineapple, and steak.
12. Lancaster Cast Iron
Founded: 2018 by Mark Longenecker and Brandon Moore
Lancaster Cast Iron is a small family-owned business in Conestoga, Pennsylvania.
Mark grew up cooking with vintage cast iron pans that were smooth and lightweight. So when he decided to go into business, he wanted to make a comparable skillet.
Much of their inspiration comes from the Wagner and Griswold brands.
However, Mark and Brandon needed to gain experience in casting or machining. So, they spent a year visiting foundries and machine shops and learning everything they could about making cast iron cookware.
It helps that they live in Pennsylvania because the state has a rich history in casting, and they had access to many machinists and foundries. They also had tremendous community support.
Lancaster started out in a house with a tiny machine shop. As their business grew, they were able to purchase a historic schoolhouse and expand the machine shop. They also added a store inside the schoolhouse.
Brandon designs the pans, and once the design is approved by the team, a match plate is made and used to cast each skillet.
After the skillets are cast, they come to the machine shop for the eight finishing steps, including two coats of seasoning. The finished product is a lightweight, smooth cast iron skillet that responds to heat more quickly than its heavier counterparts.
They offer a No. 8 (10.5-in) and a No. 10 (11.5-in) skillet, but hope to add more size skillets, a lid, and Dutch oven in the future. Additionally, they have several leather and wooden accessories.
13. Lodge Cast Iron
Founded: 1896 by Joseph Lodge
Lodge Cast Iron is America’s largest and most well-known cast iron company. It’s located in South Pittsburg, Tennessee.
Initially, Joseph Lodge named his business Blacklock Foundry. However, after the building burned in 1910, he rebuilt and renamed his company Lodge Cast Iron.
Over the years, while other foundries had to close, Lodge adapted and survived. Today, they make around two million pans each month.
Their cast iron cookware is all made at their two Tennesee foundries and includes:
- Skillets
- Dutch ovens
- Griddles and grill pans
- Bakeware
- Woks
- Lids
- Specialized collections and series
They also have a smaller selection of carbon steel cookware, accessories, merch, and outdoor equipment.
RELATED > > > > > Who is Lodge Cast Iron? – Getting Better With Age
14. MACA Supply Company
Founded: 1978 by Clair Anderson
MACA Supply Company is located in Springdale, Utah. It has the largest foundry in the Intermountain West.
Clair named the company after his wife, Mary Ann Collins Anderson.
Although the supply company primarily produces metal castings for industrial equipment manufacturers, they also have an extensive line of Dutch ovens. Or they did.
In 2013, MACA stopped making Dutch ovens. But started again in 2017, and now you can find them through an outfit named A Happy Camper.
MACA Dutch ovens are known for making deeper ovens, and if you want to feed a large crowd, they offer one that weighs 165 pounds and holds 45 quarts.
They also have oval and round-shaped Dutch ovens ranging from 8 quarts to 29 quarts.
Additionally, MACA has a sister company in India, where they manufacture the Dutch ovens now. And in case you’re wondering, their sister company is held to the same strict casting standards they have in their Utah foundry.
15. Marquette Castings
Founded: 2015 by Eric, Kurt, and Karl Steckling
The Steckling brothers started Marquette Castings because they wanted to make the best cast iron skillet out there. They make skillets smoother and lighter like they used to be made but with newer innovations such as stay-cool handles and preseasoning.
Marquette Castings isn’t in the city of Marquette. The name came from the brothers’ desire to honor the iron ore industry. And the city of Marquette is best known for its iron ore mining and shipping industry.
The logo also honors the industry. The shield represents the Lower Harbor Ore Dock, where freighters used to load the ore. The M stands for Marquette, and the mountains for “mountains” of ore mined in Michigan.
They currently offer two sizes of cast iron skillets, one carbon steel skillet, and one griddle. They also have two sizes of enameled Dutch ovens with your choice of six colors and an enameled grill pan that comes in your choice of three colors.
However, anything enameled is made in China.
RELATED > > > > > Who is Marquette Castings? – Casting for Generations to Come
16. NEST Homeware
Founded: 2013 by Matt Cavallaro
NEST Homeware uses a foundry in Indiana to cast and machine their cookware, and then the pans are shipped to Providence, Rhode Island to be seasoned and shipped.
Matt is the primary designer, and his goal was to make beautiful cast iron cookware that would last forever.
Two things unique about NEST Homeware’s cast iron pans are the handle and the bronze color.
The handle is designed to look like a cherry tree branch, making it not only beautiful but easy to hold. It’s also longer, making it stay cool longer.
Regarding the bronze color, the website says, “Our cookware is double seasoned with organic flaxseed oil, which gives it a strong base of protection against rust, a naturally nonstick surface, and a lustrous bronzy hue. Some cast iron cookware is seasoned with other oil blends and fired at very high temperatures, resulting in the black color that you might be more familiar with.”
The pans will darken with time.
NEST Homeware offers a:
- 4.5-inch egg skillet
- 9-inch skillet
- 3.5-quart Dutch oven
- 12-inch Braising pan
- 9 & 12-inch self-basting lid
- accessories
Matt loves cast iron. He says, “I believe that if something is going to last forever, it shouldn’t just work well – it should be beautiful.”
17. Northern Company
Founded: 2020
Northern Company is a small cast iron manufacturer in the mountains of Utah. It is one of only two cast iron manufacturers in the West (the other being Finex in Oregon).
They spent over a year researching traditional cast iron methods only to find that “They don’t make ’em like they used to.”
So, they set out to return to the basics with a few differences.
Northern brought back the heat ring but redesigned the handle. The skillet also has slightly deeper sidewalls.
All their skillets are machine polished smooth, and pre-seasoned with three coats of their unique seasoning blend: naturally harvested avocado and grapeseed oil mixed with pure beeswax.
The result is an all-natural nonstick pan right out of the box.
The company offers a No. 8 skillet (10.5-inch).
All their skillets are handcrafted in small batches and patterned after traditional skillets made over a hundred years ago.
18. Smithey Ironware
Founded: 2015 by Isaac Morton
Smithey Ironware is a small cast iron business located in Charleston, South Carolina. It comprises a team of designers, engineers, foodies, foundrymen, metal grinders, artisans, and seasoners.
Before Smithey Ironware was born, Isaac restored old cast iron pieces and gifted them to friends and family. He admired the smoothness and timeless logos of vintage cast iron and wanted to share it with others.
After a while, he began thinking about what it would take to create his own design and start his own cast iron business. He wanted to honor the classic style but add new technology. And that’s precisely what he did.
In 2018, he partnered with his neighbor, a local blacksmith, to add carbon steel cookware to his company.
Smithey offers several sizes and types of cast iron cookware, including skillets, griddles, dutch ovens, and a grill pan. The cast iron cookware is bronze in color and comes with a polished cooking surface.
And the carbon steel is hand-forged, consisting of skillets, roasters, and a wok.
Additionally, they offer lids, accessories, and engraving for a personal touch.
Smithey Ironware even has a restoration department. You send them your pan, and they will restore it for you.
Giving someone a Smithey Ironware pan is giving them a lifetime gift.
19. Southern Heritage
Founded: 2010
Southern Heritage Cast Iron was made in America but is now difficult to find. I decided to include it mainly because I wanted to write about twenty U.S. manufacturers, and the story (found on Reddit) was interesting.
In 2010, a man who ran a Cheff Mart in Muscle Shoals, AL, wanted high-quality American-made cast iron. So, he started his own business at an induction foundry in Lufts, TN.
Apparently, the foundry was pulling so much power that Tennessee Valley Authority, a federally owned electric utility corporation, raised the rates significantly. And after one to two years, they went out of business.
This pan probably appeals more to the collector. But it’s not exactly vintage.
20. Stargazer
Founded: 2015 by Peter Huntley
Stargazer is a small high-end cast iron business in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with humble beginnings.
As a professional kitchenware designer, Huntley started seeing U.S. manufacturers change how they made their products to keep up with goods produced in China at a lower cost.
Huntley was disappointed with the changes he saw in cast iron cookware, so he decided to design and make his own high-quality skillet.
His first design and production of 250 skillets started in his home. He worked out of his garage, where he produced and hand-sanded the cooking surface of each skillet to be smooth. He even seasoned them in his home oven.
Today, he has a team of four and no longer works out of his home.
Each skillet is cast and cleaned up at their Wisconsin foundry. Next, the raw castings are shipped to the Ohio machine shop, where the interior surface is machined to be smooth. Finally, the skillets end up at their headquarters in Pennsylvania for hand-finishing and seasoning with two coats of their own oil blend.
Stargazer offers a 10.5-inch and 12-inch skillet along with a 13.5-inch braiser. You can get your skillet pre-seasoned or unseasoned if you prefer to do it yourself. Additionally, they sell apparel.
If you are looking for a high-end smooth skillet with a modern design, you can’t go wrong with Stargazer.
List Of Vintage Cast Iron
Because so many U.S. cast iron manufacturers try to match the smoothness and lightweight of vintage, I decided to add a list of vintage cast iron that you can still find at garage sales or antique shops.
- Atlanta Stove Works – Atlanta, GA
- Birmingham Stove and Range – Birmingham, AL
- Favorite Stove and Range – Piqua, OH
- Griswold Manufacturing – Erie, PA
- Lodge Manufacturing – South Pittsburg, TN
- Martin Stove and Range – Florence, AL
- Sidney Hollow Ware – Sidney, OH
- Vollrath Manufacturing – Sheboygan, WI
- Wagner Manufacturing – Sidney, OH
- Wapak Hollow Ware – Wapakoneta, OH
To learn more, click on Wikipedia or Notable U.S. Manufacturers (Cast Iron Collector).
Final Thoughts
I hope you have enjoyed learning a little about the twenty U.S. cast iron manufacturers. Some are well-known while others you may have never heard of until now.
Most of the cast iron manufacturers in the USA are small companies that wanted to bring back what made cast iron great in the past. However, they also added new technology and made their product unique in some way. The majority of these manufacturers are high-end and pricey.
Then you have Lodge. It is by far the most well-known and affordable. It is the one manufacturer that used to make their skillets smooth and lightweight, which is why they are also on the vintage list. But to stay competitive, they made some necessary changes.
All in all, you have many choices if you want to buy American-made cast iron.