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Our
Company’s story began in 1919 when a group of enterprising
Greensboro citizens organized the Carolina Steel and Iron Company.
It specialized in the fabrication of structural steel. World War I
was just over and Piedmont North Carolina was experiencing a
period of rapid industrial expansion and population growth.
Buildings of all kinds were needed – homes, schools, churches,
factories – and structural steel was providing the answer to
many building problems. It was stronger and more economical than
other materials and it was adaptable to almost any type of
construction design from industrial plants to highway bridges.
The
men who founded the Company had confidence both in structural
steel and in the future of the Industrial Piedmont. They felt that
Greensboro was ideally located to serve construction sites in the
Carolinas and southern Virginia. All of the thirteen charter
stockholders were local men. William C. Boren was elected
President of the fledgling Corporation. W.B. Truitt became Vice
President and J.W. McLennan was named Secretary and Treasurer. The
Company opened its first shop with nine employees. Ten years later
the number of employees had grown to 82 and the Company was
fabricating some 7,000 tons of structural steel per year.
During
World War II, Carolina Steel produced bows for landing craft, deck
structures for ships, gun mounts, and portable barges. The Company
also fabricated steel for war plants and government agency
buildings. For its contribution to the nation’s war effort, our
Company received the Army-Navy “E” Award for excellence –
one of three given to industrial firms in Greensboro.
Carolina
Steel grew considerably after World War II. Much of this growth
was the result of purchasing other companies, which became
important parts of the whole Corporation. The following is a list
of those other companies and the dates each joined Carolina Steel:
1949
– Salem Steel Company, Winston Salem, N.C.
1959
– Greenville Steel and Foundry Company, Greenville, S.C.
1961
– Arnold
Stone Company, Colfax, N.C.
1966
– Burlington Engineering Sales Company, Graham, N.C.
1968
–
Hickory Steel and Iron Company, Hickory, N.C.
1972
– Star Steel, Roanoke and Lynchburg, VA
1972
–
Mecklenburg Iron Works, Charlotte, N.C.
1977
–
Cast-A-Stone Company, Raleigh, N.C.
1978
– Central Street Company, Augusta, GA and Columbia, S.C.
Growth
also came about through the starting up of new plants in key
locations:
1968
– Colfax, N.C.
1975
– Wilson, N.C.
1977
– Richmond, VA
1978
– Steel Service Co., Charlotte, N.C.
Over
the years the Company has been involved in several exciting types
of production. In the 1980’s there were actually three major
production areas:
Structural
Steel Fabrication
– Steel shapes, such as, beams, channels, angles, plates, bars
and sheets
purchased from steel producers and fabricated into bridges,
support frames for buildings, and a variety of
other building products.
Service
Centers
– Furnishing steel and aluminum products to customers for use as
building products and use in manufacturing operations.
Concrete
Products –
Fabrication of pre-cast and pre-stressed structural building
product.
The
operations described above were carried out at the following
locations:
Structural
Fabrication:
Greensboro, N.C.;
Greenville, S.C.; Winston Salem, N.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Hickory,
N.C.;
and
Colfax, N.C.
Service
Centers: Greensboro,
N.C.; Hickory, N.C.; Winston Salem, N.C.; Greenville, S.C.;
Lynchburg, VA; Roanoke, VA; Wilson, N.C.; Richmond, VA; Augusta,
GA; Columbia, S.C.; and Charlotte, N.C.
Concrete
Products:
Arnold Stone, Colfax, N.C.; Cast-A-Stone, Raleigh, N.C.
In
recent years business has shifted to focus only on the
fabrication of structural steel for bridges and buildings. The
Service Centers and Concrete Products plants were sold in the
90's. In May
of 1999 Carolina Steel Corporation became a part of Hirschfeld
Inc. a large multi-faceted steel corporation headquartered in San
Angelo, Texas. Together these corporations are working to be the
best providers of fabricated steel in the United States.
Currently
Carolina Steel Corporation has Fabrication Facilities in operation
in Winston Salem, N.C.; Hickory, N.C.; and Greensboro, N.C. The
Company also has Specialized Bridge Fabrication Facilities in
operation in Colfax, N.C.; Nashville, N.C.; Abingdon, VA; and
Montgomery, AL.
Carolina
Steel Corporation’s greatest assets have always been their
employees. Through the years, Company policy has been built on a
program of sound relations with people. The Company is, after all,
a joint venture among people – customers, employees, and
stockholders. |
