Aldon^® was founded in 1904 by Emil W.K. Roe, a railway supply salesman who decided to quit his job and start his own business.

Roe picked an excellent location to start his business. Chicago was the country’s rail hub, with more tracks radiating in all directions than any other city.

Roe searched for a name for his new firm and hit upon Aldon. It had the advantage of being at the front of the telephone book. According to family legend, the name was born when a friend of Roe’s asked if a new product had been completed. “It’s all done,” Roe replied. The name Aldon stuck and became a registered trademark of the company.

Until the 1950s, Aldon’s primary market was the railroads. The product line was limited to rail-cutting saws, rerailers, hand car movers, and railroad car stops. In 1955, seeking to diversify the product line, the company’s third president, Ralph Switzer, patented a new type of wheel chock for freight cars, one made in cast steel with replaceable steel spurs to keep the chock in place on the rail. This product line opened up the industrial rail-using market and led to substantial growth in our production of railway track repair tools.

The advent of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1971 increased the demand by industries for railroad safety tools & products. In 1975, the company built a new factory and offices in Waukegan, 40 miles north of Chicago.