Conrad Werra, a pioneer in the cast of aluminum and its alloys, was born in Germany on August 5, 1868. He was employed for seven years as an apprentice at the Krupp works in Essen. Soon after his arrival in America from Germany in 1888 he began the experiments in aluminum that were to continue until his death and that were to make him one of the national leaders in the field. Werra located first in Milwaukee where he was associated with the Reliance Works of the E. P. Allis Company. He was then employed by metal works in Beloit and Holland, Michigan, and he later established his own steel foundry in Two Rivers. This firm produced iron, brass, and bronze.
At the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 Werra noticed aluminum, then used solely for souvenirs and advertising items. He became interested in the metal and in 1895 made the first cast of pure aluminum. In 1900 he launched the Aluminum Foundry Company, leasing a shed from the Aluminum Novelty Company and buying their scrap. Werra found a market for his product in the automotive industry, and in 1902 his company produced the first aluminum crankcase. He incorporated as the Aluminum Foundry Company in 1906.
In 1910 Werra's firm was purchased by the Aluminum Castings Co., later Alcoa Aluminum, with Werra remaining as Wisconsin representative of the company. In 1913 Werra again established his own company, the Werra Aluminum Foundry Company in Waukesha. This company soon produced over 12 million pounds of aluminum annually, and until 1923 a large part of its production went to the automotive industry. Werra's experiments with aluminum casting made it possible for his foundry to turn out castings of great size and intricacy and one of these large castings made during this period was a 3000-pound single casting for the tower of the Steuben Junior High School in Milwaukee. He also manufactured the grille work for the Milwaukee County Courthouse. The Werra company was sold to General Malleable Corp. in 1937.
Werra died at his home in Waukesha on May 14, 1939 and was buried in an aluminum casket manufactured by his company. He was survived by his wife, Julia Kappes Werra, and ten children.
