Monarch Hardware - A Rich History

Monarch Hardware opened its doors in 1906 in Detroit, Michigan. The company started out as a foundry, furnishing castings to both the commercial and residential hardware trades.

In the late 1930s, the Clayton and Lambert Corporation, a company that primarily manufactured blow torches and farm machinery, bought Monarch to expand its business into the hardware trade.

Clayton and Lambert later sold the hardware division to the company’s sales manager, Delbert Calvert, in 1953. The new owner moved Monarch from Michigan to LaGrange, Kentucky.

Delbert Calvert, originally from Shepherdsville, Kentucky, wanted to move back home after ten years in LaGrange. He did so in 1963 by moving Monarch to its current location in Shepherdsville. Monarch proved to be a growing and prosperous company, and by 1974 annual sales reached $800,000.

In 1977, Chester Porter, a lawyer in Shepherdsville, pursued an opportunity to buy the thriving company. He contacted his brother, William G. Porter, who lived in Florida and wanted to move back to Kentucky and told him about he opportunity at Monarch. The two brothers bought the majority interest in the company and ran it as an independent exit-device manufacturer.

Due to the success the Porter brothers were having, they were approached in 1982 by the Newman Tonks Group PLC, a British architectural hardware manufacturer, who wanted to purchase Monarch. The brothers bought out the minority shareholders and sold the minority interest to Newman Tonks. The Porters remained actively involved in the day-to-day business of Monarch.

In 1986, Newman Tonks bought the remainder of the company and installed William G. Porter, a former executive with International Harvester, as president of NT Monarch Hardware. Porter remained the company's president until 1998.

Architectural hardware leader Ingersoll Rand acquired Newman Tonks in 1997. As a result of the aquisition, Monarch currently remains a separate component of Ingersoll Rand and functions as an independent business unit. Monarch continues to manufacture a broad range of panic and fire exit devices and trim, with primary market applications focused on the retrofit and new construction markets. Monarch panic and fire exit devices are known for their value, styling and quiet operation.

Monarch is the specified panic and exit hardware supplier for many prestigious buildings, such as the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Motorola World Headquarters, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, to name a few.