Chase Manways - History of Chase Associates

1979 Founded by Dan Chase and located in a rented garage in Wiscasset, Maine. Produced first Quick-Opening, Hidden-Hinged Manways for Ballard Engineering, Agawam, MA for service in the Fort Howard Paper Mill in Wisconsin. Founded by Dan Chase and located in a rented garage in Wiscasset, Maine…

1979-1983 Produced first 1000 manways and tank piping equipment for use in Domestic and International Pulp & Paper Mills throughout North and South America. Outgrew original manufacturing space and began search for a larger facility. Produced first 1000 manways and tank piping equipment for use in Domestic…

1983-1984 Purchased old Wiscasset Railroad Station, moved it to present location on Route 27, Edgecomb, ME and constructed addition to complete 1500 square feet of office and fabrication space. Purchased old Wiscasset Railroad Station, moved it to present location on…

1990 Completed 1000 square foot addition for fabrication and assembly. Continued to manufacture manways and piping products for Pulp & Paper industry. Provided manways to Celulosa Arauco S.A. greenfield mill in Santiago, Chili, H. A. Simons Ltd. Engineering. Completed 1000 square foot addition for fabrication and assembly. Continued…

1991 – 1996 A very busy period as Pulp & Paper expansions and new mills continued to specify Chase Manways and our tank components. A very busy period as Pulp & Paper expansions and new mills continued to…

Chase Manways now installed in over 175 Domestic Paper Mills and 30 International Paper Mills. Some of the important projects completed during this period included:

Norpac, Long View, WA

Westvaco, Like, MD

Champion International, Hamilton, OH

James River, Kalamazoo, MI

Inland Container, Maysville, KY

Boise Cascade, Rumford, ME

Alabama River Pulp, Claiborne, AL

International Paper, Lockhart, PA

Mead Paper, Chillicothe, OH

Georgia Pacific, Nekoosa, WI

Scott Paper, Owensboro, KY

Visy Paper, Conyers, GA and Staten Island, NY

Great Lakes Paper, Menominee, MI

1996 In 1996 due to increased demand for our tank access products, we decided to eliminate production of our piping and tank component products. In 1996 due to increased demand for our tank access products, we decided to…

We now focus exclusively on the production of Quick-Opening In-Swing and Out-Swing Manways, Hatches and other tank access products. Manways and access products became our primary product line.

1996 – 2011 Although we continued to provide products to the Pulp & Paper Industry, our manway products began to be specified by an increasing number of national and international engineering companies for use in other industries. Although we continued to provide products to the Pulp & Paper Industry, our…

We began to serve a diverse range of applications including Wastewater Treatment Plants, Municipal Water Storage, Ethanol Processing and a wide variety of industrial tank access needs.

2012 Completed 40’ x 60’ addition to manufacturing facility to give us over 7,500 square feet of modern production space. Completed 40’ x 60’ addition to manufacturing facility to give us over…

2015 Completed our 35th year of operation and remain the only manufacturer in North America to produce manways and access hatches as its primary product line. Completed our 35th year of operation and remain the only manufacturer in…

Since 1979 we have been providing our customers with access products designed for the life of the project and responsible sales, engineering and installation support from start to finish.

Whether it’s helping our customers choose the appropriate manway from our standard product line or designing custom applications, our experienced staff and ASME certified shop technicians are ready to provide solutions for all your access equipment needs.