(left to right) Walter Krenz, Paul Rohde, John Brandli.

Our history

Rafter Equipment Corporation is one of North America’s oldest metal forming machinery manufacturers. Founded in 1917, the original Rafter Machine Company was located in Belleville, New Jersey. Primarily a roll forming machine builder, Rafter Machine had some 450 customers and supplied as many as 850 roll formers installed around the world.

In 1988, three ex-Yoder Manufacturing employees purchased and transplanted Rafter Machine to Cleveland, Ohio. These were Walter Krenz – President, Paul Rohde – VP of Operations, and John (Jack) Brandli – VP of Engineering. It was here when the company was renamed to Rafter Equipment Corporation. In 1992, the company expanded and was again relocated to a larger facility in its current location in Strongsville, Ohio. Under the “new” ownership, Rafter was transformed into a premier designer and manufacturer of tube mill machines and equipment.

Today, we remain one of the last tube mill manufacturers to make their equipment exclusively in the USA. By doing so, we maintain strict control over all aspects of the manufacturing and assembly process. This, in turn, enables us to deliver our equipment as promised. Our goal is to cater to the customer by offering high-efficiency, high-production equipment with a personalized, high-level of service not found with other domestic and foreign equipment manufacturers.