SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. — A company that calls itself America’s longest-running producer of cast iron cookware has fired up a new museum that tells the story of the industry and of one of the region’s oldest companies.
“There’s so many people who want to know how it’s made,” said Mike Otterman, chief executive and president of Lodge Cast Iron, at a preview of the museum this week.
He said officials believe the museum will draw 200,000 visitors a year through it and the existing factory store to which it’s connected.
Otterman said the 10,000-square-foot museum sits near where Lodge’s foundries churn out its iconic skillets and other products which are sold nationally and in more than 70 countries worldwide.
He said in an interview that the museum, which will hold its grand opening Saturday, traces the history of the 126-year-old, family-owned company that employs about 600 people.