Gray Metal HOME ABOUT US PRODUCTS CONTACT US About Us Company History At A Glance In 1890, two brothers, William H. Gray and Malcolm Gray formed Rochester Can Company. Marketed under the trade name "Iron Horse", Rochester Can manufactured a speciality line of metal products sold to wholesale and hardware companies. Items manufactured under the "Iron Horse" name were buckets, assorted pails, coal hods, grain troughs and metal cooking utensils. In 1910, William would patent the corrugated garbage can, which today remains a popular staple in most households. Eventually, the two brothers went their separate ways, with Malcolm Gray maintaining control of Rochester Can, gaining esteemed recognition for his design and implementation of the 5 day workweek, which Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone would later study and implement themselves at their own factories. William H. Gray would, however, start a small metal forming company which would incorporate in 1932 under the name Gray Metal Products, Inc. in Rochester, New York. During this time, William would accomplish designing and patenting gutter hangers and caps for ½" round gutters. Around this same time, William H's son, William J. Gray would enter the business, expanding marketable products to include a line of round pipe and adjustable elbows for the old style gravity furnaces used for coal burning. During the next 20 years, Gray Metal Products business would be built primarily by selling to contractors in Rochester and surrounding areas. In 1953, William J. Gray would begin an aggressive campaign to expand the distribution channels to include HVAC wholesalers throughout the state of New York. In 1975, William J. Gray would be succeeded by his son and daughter-in-law, Richard E. Gray Sr. and Carole L. Gray. The following years would lead to an explosion in automation techniques and a re-direction of Gray Metal's target market away from contractors and to an exclusive base of wholesale distributors and wholesale/hardware chains. The Fifth Generation Mission Statement Our present and continued objectives are to supply our distributors with a product line that is ever consistent in exceptional quality, and delivered expeditiously at a fair market price. We will always aspire to build partnerships with our customers, employees and suppliers by pledging a system of conduct that enthusiastically embraces values that foster trust, loyalty and long standing relationships. We commit to doing this by making the following pledges: To Our Customer... We pledge to continually invest in new automation and improvement techniques so we can provide you with a top quality product to allow you to remain competitive in the marketplace and to always keep our word to you. We promise to make changes and developments in products that reflect the changes and demands that arise in the marketplace. Above all, we promise service to you that represents our true level of appreciation for the opportunity to be your supplier. To Our Employees... We pledge to provide each employee a safe environment to work in and to recognize each individual accomplishment of exceptional service. We promise to reward service and achievement with equitable market wages and benefits. We also pledge to use hiring practices of merit from within to assure that no individual talent or dedication goes unrecognized. To Our Suppliers... We pledge to always remain loyal to your products and services considering we, too, are kept competitive and serviced with appreciation. To Our Environment... We pledge to always act responsibly to our environment and to be pro-active and not re-active. To Our Competitors... To always compete with integrity, fairness and honesty. And finally we make this pledge to ourselves... We promise ourselves and each other to always support the Gray principles of good business ethics, superior product service and quality and dedication to achieve excellence in whatever we do.