.png){kind=small}
HERITAGE CRAFTMANSHIP. MODERN INNOVATION.
For 150 years, Gladding, McBean has combined artistry and California’s finest clay with modern innovations—such as laser scanning and advanced computer-aided design—blending old-world craftsmanship with contemporary technology to provide customers with limitless creative possibilities.
our history at a glance
With 150 years of invention, innovation, and some of the world’s richest clay reserves, Gladding, McBean is the leader in Terra Cotta, Clay Pipe, and Tile products. Today Gladding uses sophisticated technology to create distinctive design elements and functional new products. By using the past to design the future, Gladding, McBean combines old-world craftsmanship with modern technology to re-create some of the world’s most famous building elements.
our founders
Charles Gladding (1828–1894) was born in Buffalo, New York, served as a first lieutenant in the Union Army during the Civil War, and later moved to Chicago, where he engaged in the clay sewer pipe business. Coming to California in 1874 looking for new business opportunities, Charles read an article in a San Francisco newspaper about a large clay deposit near the town of Lincoln, California. Charles Gladding, along with Peter McGill McBean and George Chambers, established Gladding-McBean in 1875. Its original product was clay sewer pipe. By 1883, the company had grown to 75 employees, and it then evolved into a major manufacturer of architectural terra-cotta.
Today Gladding McBean is thriving, with proven clay reserves assuring operations for decades to come. Gladding has combined the old world craftsmanship with new technology such as laser scanning and sophisticated computer-aided design to provide customers with infinite creative possibilities.
.jpg)
_edited.jpg)
