Forging Ahead: A Centennial History of Ladish Co.

by John Gurda, Kerry Woody (Foreword)

Ladish Co. is a forge shop - a supersized blacksmith - and the Cudahy, Wisconsin facility houses equipment found nowhere else on earth. The company's plant stretches for seven-tenths of a mile, one of the most striking statements of industrial might in the Midwest. The firm that built the plant turned 100 in 2005. 10.5x12.5", 136 pp., b&w photographs.

136 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2005

About the author

John Gurda is a Milwaukee-born writer and historian who has been studying his hometown since 1972. He is the author of nineteen books, on subjects ranging from life insurance to Frank Lloyd Wright and from heavy industries to historic cemeteries. The Making of Milwaukee is Gurda’s most ambitious effort. With 450 pages, more than 500 illustrations, and a cast of thousands, it is the first feature-length history of the community published since 1948. Milwaukee Public Television premiered an Emmy Award-winning documentary series based on the book in 2006.


In addition to his work as an author, Gurda is a lecturer, tour guide, and local history columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He holds a B.A. in English from Boston College and an M.A. in Cultural Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Gurda is an eight-time winner of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Award of Merit.