A J Rod Co Inc

About Us


A. J. Rod History

A. J. Rod left the cotton farm in EL Campo, Texas in 1935 at the age of 16 with $50.00 in his pocket. He went to Dallas, Texas to take classes at SMU. Washing dishes and other odd jobs were his support while attending classes. He became secretary to Red Cole with Warner Swasey. His speed on a manual typewriter could not be beaten. He gained much knowledge of the Machine Tool and Cutting Tool businesses during this time. Later, after moving to Houston, he met and married Earline Penick in 1940. As newlyweds, they lived in Cleveland, Ohio where A. J. served his apprenticeship with Warner and Swasey, gaining even more first-hand cutting tool knowledge. Returning to Houston, he went to work for Carboloy, a division of General Electric, which today is SECO. His first office was in the M & M Building in downtown Houston.

A. J. and Earline started the A. J. Rod Company with one lathe in their garage near Pecan Park in Houston around 1948. In 1952, h... [Details]