A Decades long legacy
Though it’s roots go back to the 1920s, Mechanical Industries was officially formed and started operating at it’s current location in 1968. And nearly 60 years later, we still occupy the same space on 51st Street here in Milwaukee
humble beginnings
In 1948 Harold S Hollnagel founded H-H products, which was the predecessor company to Mechanical Industries. This business started out of a three car garage located at 9350 N Port Washington Road. The original operation was a general shop producing machined parts, and doing rod and tube bending. The company served almost exclusively the outboard motor industry.
H-H Products
In 1959, Harold S Hollnagel’s son (Harold E Hollnagel) was searching for adequate brakes to stop his go-cart. Fast forward a year and H-H Products formed a patented line of disc brakes, and Harold E joined the company full-time. One of their first customers, the Harley-Davidson Company used their brakes on it’s golf carts. After a significant effort develpoing this line of disc brakes with Harold S., Harold E was named president of H-H Products in 1967.
Mechanical Industries
In 1968, Harold S purchased all job shop assets and equipment from H-H Products and formed Mechanical Industries - a name which was derived from his father’s previous business. The alll-new plant was constructed at 8900 N 51st St. in Milwaukee, where the company has operated from ever since.
Chuck Norris
That’s right, the real Chuck Norris. Not a texas ranger, but just as strong and twice as tough. After a successful career on the ownership team at Aqua-Chem, Chuck purchased Mechanical Industries from the Hollnagel family in 2005, and took over the helm. Chuck then led the company through the next 20 years of technology evolution and continued service to our long-time customers.
the next chapter
At the beginning of 2025, Chuck made the decision to transfer the company to the next generation of ownership. After a thoughtful process, it became clear that Chuck had found a new team that shared the vision and values that Mechanical Industries has embraced for over 60 years. A private investor group led by Derek Harrington acquired Mechanical Industries and Derek is excited to be driving MI’s growth for the years to come.
A message from derek
“ I am honored to have the opportunity to join an organization with the 60-year legacy of Mechanical Industries, and I’m excited to join the Mechanical Industries leadership team and build on the strong foundation that Chuck has established. I might be new here but our goal is unchanged. We will continue to ensure that our customers receive the exceptional service and quality products they have come to expect from us. With the combined expertise of the current team and our new resources, skills, and experience, we are excited to explore new opportunities for innovation and growth. We look forward to working closely with our customers and strengthening our partnerships in the years to come.”
-Derek Harrington
