The History of Fairchild

Fairchild Industries was incorporated in 1961, under the name McClure Associates, Inc.. We first began developing automotive products like vinyl seat covers. But our growth began as our founder first brought in a case of standard seals to our Arlington Heights location. 

With no warehouse or storage space, our founders’ personal office became the foundation for what is now Fairchild Industries.  

Over the past 50-plus years, Fairchild has evolved as a result of continual innovation, providing outstanding customer service, high-quality products and growing customers who seek expertise in rubber and plastic engineering, design and manufacturing. Our success has come from targeting these customers who value our hands on approach. Several of these customers are fortune 500 companies including Case New Holland, John Deere and McMaster-Carr.

In the late 1980’s Case New Holland began a supplier rationalization project in order to better manage their supply base. Since Fairchild was already a proven CNH supplier, they asked us to be their lead rubber supplier consolidator. This project required developing a wider array of rubber manufacturing techniques and a worldwide manufacturing support base, which we maintain to this day. Since then we’ve become active in diverse industries including specialty vehicle, agricultural, military, construction and rail.

Then in the early 1990’s an automotive parts retailer looked our way to develop primary weatherstripping seals for vehicles. We pursued the opportunity with passion and transformed into a leading supplier of weatherstripping products to restoration, crash and Tier-1 automotive markets. We grew this side of our business quickly, adding new products to our catalog at breakneck speed. 

But the improvements didn’t stop there. In order to continue developing our client base, we engaged in defining and refining our quality program. This led to numerous customer appreciation awards for quality, ISO 9001:2000, ISO 9001:2008 and now ISO 9001:2015 certification. Quality put us on the map. It also necessitated the acquisition of a 25,000 sq. ft. location in 1999 and positioned significant growth in rubber production, assembly work and JIT warehousing.

Still we maintain a boutique approach, which is supported by our team of dedicated employees.  As a family owned business, we started out with a core team of 2, my brother and me. Now we’ve moved to a 50,000 sq. ft location with a staff of over 60 to support our valued customers. We employ staff in production, shipping, receiving, customer service, administration, accounting, sales, marketing, product development, quality, procurement and information systems. 

Lastly, we’ve now transformed ourselves into a technology savvy company. From cutting edge ERP/MRP system and engineering software to advanced engineering machinery including 3-D printers, measuring systems, and an operations team that takes part in innovating product development, packaging and shipping – Fairchild continues to innovate alongside our customers.

Despite the advancements, we haven’t lost our core values. We specialize in rubber products with affinity towards customers who value our approach to finding innovative solutions to their specialized needs. After all these years, the secret to our success is having the “innovation and drive to deliver” quality products and services to create lasting relationships with our customers.

–  Joel C Schauer (GM of Fairchild Industries)