Grav Co - About Us

Leo R. (Dick) Davidson founded Sturgis Products Company in 1940. Sturgis Products developed and patented mechanical finishing machinery (tumbling barrels) and processes for deburring and finishing metal parts. L. R. Davidson patented these ideas.

Prior to this time, metal machined parts had to be deburred or honed by hand, a time consuming and labor intense operation. Sturgis Products flourished during the World War II years due to the demand for machined parts and a shortage of workers.

The process of tumbling parts in mineral chips and detergents was trademarked "Roto Finishing," by Sturgis Products Co. In 1946, L. R. Davidson sold out his interest in Sturgis Products and went on to purchase the Sturgis Plating Works.

Grav-i-Flo Corporation was founded in September of 1948 by Richard L. Davidson, and temporarily shared space with Sturgis Plating and Manufacturing Company on Norwood Avenue. In the beginning, Grav-i-Flo manufactured finishing materials (abrasives, detergents, medias) for tumbling barrels, the high tech mass finishing equipment of the time.

After steady growth, Grav-i-Flo in 1951 formed it's own engineering department and developed a full line of horizontal tumbling equipment, mechanical and magnetic separators and related handling equipment. Richard Davidson's father, L. R. Davidson, joined Grav-i-flo as vice president and continued in that capacity until his death in 1967.

The new owners of Sturgis Products operated the company in Sturgis until 1951, then moved the business to Kalamazoo, Michigan, and changed the company name to "Roto Finish." Roto Finish is in business today in Kalamazoo, having passed ownership four times.

In 1956, a revolutionary new machine design was developed and a patent application was filed for a spindle finishing machine. Trademarked as "Spin Finish", this machine was able to eliminate hand buffing of complex-shaped parts such as plumbing faucets, bicycle hardware, automotive hardware (door handles, mirror bodies, taillight fixtures) and garbage disposal parts. For over forty-five years, this machine and process has eliminated hand labor and reduced manufacturing costs both in the United States and overseas.

During the year 1957, a new technology was developed for the finishing of seat belt hardware for automobiles, a new safety requirement for all cars. The buckles had to be deburred so as not to cut the consumers hands or the cloth belts themselves and had to provide a decorative lustre that would be pleasing to the eye. By 1961, the entire automotive industry was using the Grav-i-Flo process for this important piece of safety equipment.

In 1964, while open the markets of Japan and Europe with the "Spin Finish" process, another machine was being developed at home. A centrifugal force tumbling machine was designed using the increased force of gravity or "g" force to accelerate the deburring and fine surface finishing of metal parts.

Grav-i-Flo was a leading manufacturer of synthetic media beginning in 1966 with the development of a plastic resin mixed with various abrasives and cast into "preform" shapes to prevent lodging in holes and slots. Today, new resins and exotic abrasives are used to achieve finishes on parts made of titanium and zirconium.

The 1980's and 1990's brought a tremendous growth in technology in all facets of the Grav-i-Flo business. In 1984, a line of vibratory equipment was added to the product line which is now a common finishing machine used in manufacturing today. A uniquely redesigned centrifugal barrel finishing machine was marketed in 1987, answering the needs of manufacturers for "cell" type manufacturing.

New patents were issued in 1990 for a new technology machine to speed up production using the principle of centrifugal force. A centrifugal disk finishing machine was developed, allowing customers to increase production by reducing time as well as to reduce manual labor. In 1996, a completely automated machine was developed, capable of loading, processing, unloading and repeating the cycle, unattended.

In 2000, Grav-i-Flo acquired Delrod Sales Corporation in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In essence, this acquisition doubles the size of Grav-i-Flo and adds a complete line of vibratory machines from 1.5 cu. ft. to 40 cu. ft.

During this period, Richard L. Davidson was Chairman of the Board, son R. Scott Davidson was President and son John S. Davidson was Vice President of the company.

Grav-i-Flo is purchased by a group of local investors and is now Grav Co LLC. David Scheetz is principal owner and CEO and Robert Summey is Sales manager. These two together bring over fifty years of metal finishing experience to Grav Co LLC.

Grav Co LLC continues to manufacture the finest mass finishing equipment and supplies in the marketplace. We still build vibratory finishing, disc finishing, high speed and low speed barrel finishing, and spin finishing equipment in our Sturgis, Michigan plants. We also manufacture vibratory finishing media, treated cob meal and various liquid and powder compounds, and have a very good line of ceramic finishing media.