THE REESE STORY
Reese Enterprises traces its origins back to the Reese Metal Weatherstrip Company founded by Frank Reese in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1918. The company began as a "roll former" of zinc and copper weatherstripping materials. Over time, door and window gaskets changed, and extruded aluminum shapes with vinyl, neoprene, silicone, polyurethane, nylon brush, or polyprene thermoplastic elastomer seals replaced the roll formed metals. Extruded aluminum thresholds, automatic door bottoms and door astragals were added to Reese Enterprises' product mix over the years.
The company eventually moved to Rosemount, Minnesota in an area called UMore Park. The land was originally used as a munitions plant during WWII. Here, gunpowder was produced for the U.S. Army and Navy during the second World War. After WWII, the land was sold to the University of Minnesota with some of the historic munitions buildings still standing to this day. Reese moved its warehouse into one of the buildings now owned by the U of M in the early 1960’s.
In 1959 Reese Metal Weatherstrip Company was purchased by National Metal Products Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Reese Metal Weatherstrip Company split off as an independent company in the early 1960’s. Since then, the company has been family-owned and is currently under the second generation of ownership.
In the late 1960s, Reese started developing advanced design products to be used in the continuously changing weatherstrip market. Some of these new designs called for custom plastic extrusions which led to the creation of Astro Plastics. In a short time, Astro Plastics began offering its professional design and technical capabilities to a whole new customer base in need of custom profile extrusions. Shortly after Reese Enterprises, Inc. was established with the combination of the two companies.
In 1968, the product lines expanded to include aluminum floor mats and grates. Today, Reese Enterprises manufacturers more than 1,500 products and serves door hardware and commercial building products industries nationwide. We pride ourselves in providing our customers with the highest quality products and prompt, knowledgeable service and excellent delivery.