The History of Geisler Brothers Company

In 1892 Joseph Geisler opened a sheet metal shop in combination with a hardware store. In those days many items such as pots, pans, roasters, special requests and many other small items were made in the metal shop and sold in the hardware store. In 1903 Joseph vacated his interests in the hardware department and pursued and expanded his interest in sheet metal work. He directed his efforts to the building market which consisted of a wide range of sheet metal requirements such as standing seam metal roofing, gutters and metal items as used in the building industry.

In 1907 his son Joseph Geisler, Jr. joined him and the name of the firm was changed to Joseph Geisler & Son Sheet Metal Works. They expanded the business to include ventilation and space heating work. In 1915 another son, Arthur P. Geisler, joined the firm and in the early 1920’s a partnership was formed and operated under the name of Geisler Brothers Roofing and Sheet Metal Works. Joe and Art Geisler diversified this business doing slate, tile, metal composition and built up roofing work, a complete line of sheet metal work, automobile body repair and home insulation work. They were the first applicators of home blown insulation work in the city of Dubuque. They also provided services to the many religious and educational institutions in the area. They added a complete line of asphalt tile flooring basically for commercial work. In 1930 Howard and Eugene Geisler, sons of Joseph Geisler, Jr. joined the firm and further expanded the field of operations to include ventilation and air conditioning. To this day this has grown to become a major portion of the firm’s business. In 1962 the company was moved to 8^th Street to provide more yard space and shop area to facilitate further expansion. Today, David and Thomas Geisler, sons of Howard Geisler, are its sole operators. David came to the firm in the late 1960’s and has worked his way through the sheet metal and service trades. Thomas, upon completing his engineering degree joined the firm in the early 1970’s. In 1974 a new building was built on 12^th and Washington Streets. These new facilities enable Geisler Brothers Company to identify themselves as one of the finest sheet metal and roofing complexes in the area. It

has been a story of slow but steady growth. As the Geisler families moved through the generations and joined the firm, it continued to serve the needs of the Tri-State Area. Dave and

Tom Geisler have added a great deal to continue the growth. The late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s was a period of growth and automation, with significant investments in machine tooling and computer technology to position Geisler Brothers Company to service our customers for today’s and tomorrow’s needs.

In most recent years Geisler Brothers have made great strides in expanding its personnel staff to meet the sophistication and diversity of today’s marketplace. In 1991 Geisler Brothers expanded their business with the acquisition of Dubuque Steel Products, a long established manufacturing company specializing in the fabrication of stainless steel products for the health and food industries.

In the mid 1990’s David’s two sons Scot and Todd Geisler, entered the trades after graduating from college working in the roofing, residential and commercial heating, and air conditioning and sheet metal areas of the business. In 2000, Scot and Todd moved into the office as estimators and project managers as the fifth generation of Geisler Brothers Company.