Titchener Iron Works

As every fashion conscious woman in America will tell you, yes, the outfit is important, but the accessories that emphasize the outfit can make it or break it. The same principle can apply to buildings. With this concept in mind, a building should be constructed with high-quality materials, but it’s the trim and the details that elevate a structure from merely pleasing to ascetically beautiful.

The team of professionals at Titchener Iron Works (TIW) both fabricates and installs stairs, steel and aluminum railings and ornamental iron work, which provide the needed “trim and detail” to commercial, industrial and institutional buildings throughout the region. The firm, which was founded in New York’s Southern Tier in 1920, has been “accessorizing” buildings for just over 90 years with timeless works of quality.

TIW is known throughout the region for its high-quality products and outstanding customer service. The company has a large number of repeat clients, and need only depend on word-of-mouth referrals for new projects. The company has a staff of roughly 20 people, and its entire field staff consists of certified welders. TIW’s annual volume has remained steady over recent years in the $4 million range.

Doug Wilcox, president of TIW, says that his team of professionals will work on projects throughout the region. The company’s trucks can be found in roughly a 100-mile radius from its base of operations in Binghamton, N.Y., establishing the firm’s reach from the upper New York City bedroom communities in Westchester County up to Syracuse in the north. TIW has worked on manufacturing plants, industrial complexes, school, hospitals, office buildings, government building, malls, shopping centers and more, for customers including Cornell University, Corning Inc., Binghamton University, SUNY, Frito-Lay and more.

Sale to MORO Corporation

TIW has recently made a major move that will result in even more of a presence for the company in New York State. Wilcox recently guided TIW through a company sale to the MORO Corporation that provides the firm with a much stronger financial parent company. MORO is a profitable and financially strong, multi-subsidiary, and 400-employee construction products and services organization that acts as an umbrella for over a dozen independently managed providers of skilled trades. This move to be a part of MORO offers TIW the stability and resources of a larger corporation and its collaborating companies, while TIW still operates on the same client-focused level with the attention of a small business.

Reclaiming a Student Building

TIW’s commitment to the small details has allowed the company the opportunity to work on several high-profile projects over the past nine decades. In 2010 TIW’s crew provided its expertise on a project at Lamberton Hall located on Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. Following designs created by the prominent architectural firm of USA Architects, the project was intended to restore the hall to its original intent as a student gathering place and dining hall. The project was important to students and faculty alike in order to revive the existing building, which is part of the character and rich history of the college.

Details of the project included the rehabilitation and renovation of approximately 21,000 square feet of space within Lamberton Hall to create a “mini student center”; a newly renovated great room remaining as a multi-purpose space and entertainment venue accommodating 200 to 300 students with a mezzanine area for lounge games and small meeting rooms; an all-night diner; and a new glass entry addition that was designed to form a new entrance and lobby with stairwell to mezzanine and kitchen area.

TIW was also part of an exciting urban renewal project in Scranton, Penn. The 500 Lackawanna Avenue Project was an exciting private/public venture that transformed a blighted street into one of the city’s newest vibrant blocks. Details of the project, as described on city’s website, include the fact it is a $9 million revitalization of an entire block, the court behind the buildings on the south side of the avenue, and it will include a park directly behind the buildings bordering the active rail lines used by Steamtown National Historic Park. The end result is a mixed-use environment that will eventually become a center for cultural activity in Scranton and will  eventually accommodate restaurants, boutique shops, art studios and loft apartments, all connected by a landscaped green space.

With Doug Wilcox at the helm, Titchener Iron Works has entered an exciting new stage of its 90-year history, opening up even more opportunities for the firm to produce the “trim and detail” for buildings that will continue to gain accolades for years to come.