| [ Back to Online Exhibit ] The Strike > Newton Steel |
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Lofty Plans Newton Steel, A company based in Youngstown, Newton Falls, Ohio plans to expand its' operations. The company announces in 1929 that it will build a state of the art sheet steel mill in Monroe, Michigan. Land has been chosen for the plant. The company considers the proposed facility as the first phase of a larger expansion from Mason Run to Lake Erie |
Building in the marsh Newton Steel decided to build their new Monroe plant in a Marsh near the North-Eastern side of Johnson's island on the north side of the river. It was not an uncommon practice, but that choice had troublesome consequences; building the plant would take more effort to build and the process would be slower. As a result the Newton Steel Company spent more money building their plant. The railroad and Elm Avenue extensions were begun first but since both had to cross the marsh, they immediately were slowed down to a crawl. This caused Newton to go into 'cost overruns' because for now they had to bring in all the men, equipment, ad supplies by boat on a daily basis. The support piers for the steel mill structure were dug 6' into the marsh muck and extended upward an additional 10' above. After the steel was erected, sand was pumped in and the entire area was raised to well above Lake Erie, making the entire area dry. |
Who bought steel? Most of the sheet steel produced by the Newton Steel plant was used in the automotive industry for building cars. |
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Just as the plant in Monroe was built, improved methods of preparing sheet steel were becoming available in other plants. Plants that used these methods could produce sheet steel much faster with fewer workers. Plants that used the newer method could sell their steel for a much lower price. Because of this Newton Steel in Monroe would struggle for most of its existence. |
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The Newton Steel plant in Monroe has been owned and operated by 6 different owners in its first 20 years of operations. However it has kept the name of Newton Steel until 1937 where it officially changed its' name. From when it was built in 1930 until the labor strike in 1937, it had changed ownership because of companies that merged or joined together. Eventually it was re-bought by Republic at a foreclosure sale for the sale price of $2,500,000. The plant in Monroe was built for and owned by the Newton Steel Company, a sheet steel producing company from Youngstown Ohio. On July 7th 1932 The Newton Steel Company merges with another steel company known as Corrigan-McKinney. At this time Corrigan-McKinney owns the Newton Steel Company, running it as a subsidiary. On September 23 1935 Corrigan-McKinney merges with Republic Steel under the "Republic Steel" name. Newton Steel keeps its name and is now controlled by Republic. On August 8 1937, the plant is sold directly to Republic Steel and the Newton Steel name will no longer be used. |
Hurry up and wait By May 1930, just 3 months after it opened in February 1930, The Monroe Newton Steel plant employed some 900 workers in producing sheet steel for the automotive industry. Nearly a month later, in June the plant was closed. Companies that produced automobiles slowed down producing them or stopped altogether. Many of their customers in the general public were not able to afford a new vehicle or did not want to spend much money because of the economic uncertainty brought on from the stock market crashes the year before. Newton's steel sales fluctuated drastically in the following years as the industry struggled to restart. This affected Newton Steel workers because their jobs at the plant could not provide a steady income. The plant would often close for weeks on end, and in one case the plant was closed for all of 8 months. At its' most erratic phase in production between 60 and 700 workers were on duty from one week to the next producing sheet steel. Needless to say a steady income did not exist from their labor in the troubled steel plant. |
Hot mill Hot mills are the hottest part of a Steel mill. This location is where Steel is melted in order to form it into shapes. Working in a hot mill is the most difficult job in a steel mill because of the extreme heat. The heat is so extreme that workers worked for a time, were given a rest period, and then were sent back to work. |
