Founded sometime before 1900, this small company made specialized woodworking machinery in their earlier years. In 1914 the company reorganized to focus on making net lifters for commercial fishing boats, but at least some woodworking machinery remained in their line: a Pentwater Machinery lock-corner cutting machine was featured in the 1920 Wm. H. Field Co. catalog. By 1941 the company was reduced to just a couple of employees. War business led to a revival and reorganization of the company, but by this time the woodworking machinery business seems to have been phased out.

Following the war, the company made various products, including an outdoor grill and machinery for making concrete blocks. Late in 1953 the business relocated to Fort Wayne, Indiana. So far as we can tell, they did not survive much longer.

Information Sources

• Patent 1,002,762, for a net-lifting apparatus, was granted to Thomas Saunders and Henry P. Chase of Pentwater. Of the fifty-odd patents that have been granted to persons or businesses located in Pentwater, this is the only patent that seems likely to have been connected to Pentwater Machinery Co.
• Featured on pages 335-336 of the 1920 Wm. H. Field Co. catalog.
• The 1941-09-22 "Ludington Daily News" carried the following article.

  Machinery Co. Used for Defense

  With subcontracts for national defense work assured to keep them running full capacity throughout the duration of the national emergency, work is being rushed these days on building improvements and reconditioning machinery at the Pentwater Machinery Co., recently reorganized and now operating under new management.

  Some parts of the factory are already in operation machining parts for grinding machine[s] used in fefense work, and more work is already contracted for, as soon as the factory is in condition to handle it. Beginning Monday morning 10 men will be employed at the factory with plans to increase this number to 30 during the following few weeks.

  The Pentwater Machinery Co., was established before the turn of the century as a woodworking plant and in 1914 was reorganized for the manufacture of fish net lifters for commercial fishermen. During the past several years the factory had given employment to from one to three men.

• The "Daily News" of Ludington, Mich., for 1946-08-06 carried an obituary notice for Daniel J. Hallstead, 76, "prominent local business man". "In 1916 he became associated with the newly organized Pentwater Machinery Co., of which he was secretary-treasurer and general manager until 1942, when the company was reorganized and he retired as an official of the firm."
• The "Daily News" of Ludington, Mich., for 1946-08-08 featured an ad for this maker. The ad mentions "THE PENTWATER EXPANSION ARBOR for all machine shops and manufacturing plants who do facing, turning and boring work. Write for free folder giving price, sizes and the many uses of this inexpensive and indispensable production aid." Also mentioned are a work-holding device for metal lathes; a net lifter for commercial gill-net fishing; a metallurgical furnace manufactured for Dow Furnace Co. of Detroit; the Leemon automatic cement block machine manufactured for the Leemon Engineering Co. of Ludington. A separate ad in the same issue features the "Pentwater Picni-kook" outdoor grill.
• The "Ludington Daily News" of 1949-06-22 mentions this company as a sponsor of the Pentwater Theatre.
• The "Ludington Daily News" of 1954-01-05 carried the following brief notice.

  Konopka Family Moves to IndianaMr. and Mrs. B. E. Konopka and children Larry and Beth left during the week-end for Fort Wayne, Ind., where they will make their home.

  Several weeks ago Mr. Konopka, president of Pentwater Machinery Co. completed the moving of this industry from Pentwater to the new location in Fort Wayne.

• The "Ludington Daily News" of 1956-01-31 reported that a new business, Pentwater Wire Products Co., had taken over the "modern factory building on Carroll street, formerly occupied by the Pentwater Machinery Co."