Alton Steel is a
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
manufacturer, based in
Alton, Illinois
Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend area in the Metro-East region of the ...
, United States. The company is a reincarnation of the Laclede Steel Company, which halted operations of its mill in 1998. The company entered
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
in 2001, but emerged in 2003 with the new name and new owners. The reborn company employs over 260 hourly and 100 salaried workers in the area.
History
Laclede Steel was incorporated in 1911 by Thomas Russell Akin who was succeeded by William Markham Akin who in turn was succeeded by Paul B. Akin (Paul's son Congressman and 2012 Republican Senate nominee
Todd Akin
William Todd Akin (July 5, 1947 – October 3, 2021) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2001 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party. Born in New York City, Akin grew up in the Greater St. Louis ...
was a manager of the company but did not become chairman). It owned two electric-arc furnaces, and owned mills in
Alton, Illinois
Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend area in the Metro-East region of the ...
,
Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania
Fairless Hills is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The CDP is located within c. The population was 9,046 at the 2020 census. That is up from 8,466 at the 2010 census.
History
Fairless Hills as it is ...
,
Vandalia, Illinois
Vandalia is a city in and the county seat of Fayette County, Illinois, United States. At the 2020 Census, the population was 7,458. Vandalia is northeast of St. Louis, on the Kaskaskia River. It served as the state capital of Illinois from 1 ...
and Benwood, West Virginia. Its products included strip, hot rolled bars, wire, pipe, structural tubing and plate.
Laclede was one of the companies contracted by the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...
to supply steel for
construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...
of the
World Trade Center
World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association.
World Trade Center may refer to:
Buildings
* List of World Trade Centers
* World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
in 1967.
As a cost-saving measure, the Port Authority chose to use many different, smaller steel suppliers such as Laclede, bidding on smaller portions of steel, rather than buying larger amounts from a single source such as
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...
or
U.S. Steel
United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...
.
Working in the steel mill was featured in an episode of
Dirty Jobs
''Dirty Jobs'' is an American television series that originally aired on the Discovery Channel in which host Mike Rowe is shown performing difficult, strange, disgusting, or messy occupational duties alongside the job's current employees. The sh ...
.
In August 2019, Alton Steel employees took possession of the company through an
employee stock ownership
Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Em ...
plan.
References
*{{cite web, url=http://www.steelnews.com/companies/producers/laclede_archive.htm , title=Laclede Steel Background , accessdate=2007-05-17 , publisher=SteelNews.com , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060318111634/http://www.steelnews.com/companies/producers/laclede_archive.htm , archivedate=March 18, 2006
External links
Alton Steel(official site)
Alton, Illinois
Companies based in Madison County, Illinois