Keystone Steel and Wire
The Keystone Steel and Wire Co. of Peoria, Illinois manufactures steel products for a wide variety of uses for industry and construction. The company was founded in 1889 by Peter Sommer in a small farm shed in Dillon, Illinois. Sommer's first invention was a machine that made steel wire fences. These were an excellent replacement for the wooden fences of the time. This invention benefited millions of customers and made Keystone Steel and Wire a giant in the industry.
Somewhere around 1925, a Keystone worker got the idea to dip the tops of the fence posts made by the company in red paint, thereby making them immediately identifiable to any observer. The company still adds its trademark touch of red paint to its fence products today.
The company's proprietary products include reinforcing mesh for roof decks, pipewinding mesh used to reinforce concrete, and stucco netting that helps strengthen stucco walls, ceilings, and other surfaces. The company also makes a variety of wires and rods in different sizes and finishes for a number of uses.
Keystone makes its products out of the millions of tons of scrap metal it receives and melts down each year. The molten steel is then purified and refined to make it ready for a variety of industrial products and uses.
In 1988, the company opened its modernized rod mill in Bartonville, Illinois, increasing its rod-making capacity by half, and strengthening its competitive edge in the industry. The Bartonville mill is one of the largest of its kind in the world, measuring over two million square feet on a campus of over 1,000 acres.
Keystone Steel and Wire is owned by Keystone Consolidated Industries. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2004, but reorganized and emerged from bankruptcy in 2005. In March of 2007, Keystone Consolidated purchased CaluMetals (formerly Calumet Steel) and renamed the company Keystone-Calumet, Inc. Calumet Steel had filed for bankruptcy in 2002, citing increased competition from cheaper foreign imported steel, and laid off its 200 employees. The Keystone plant in Peoria is expected to provide the needed billets for the company's other mills.
Asbestos was commonly used to insulate pipes, furnaces, and other surfaces in steel mills. Much of the safety clothing worn by the steelworkers, including pants, hats, masks, and gloves, were also made out of asbestos. This exposure to asbestos is the cause of many chronic illnesses and cancers in former steelworkers, especially those who worked in mills before the 1970s, when warnings about the dangers of asbestos became common. Workers such as machinists, welders, pourers, and furnace operators, among others, could be at risk for diseases like mesothelioma through their workplaces.
Last modified: December 12 2007.
