Submitted by Richard K. Fleischer
This company was founded in 1924 by Clinton Thomas in 1924, on the site previously occupied by the McMyler Mfg. Co. Mr. Thomas was a part of a family well known in the Niles,Oh. for being in the iron business. There were 715 hourly and 136 salaried employees by 1947. By this time Thomas steel was known as probably the best employer in Warren, Oh. It was later sold to the Pittsburgh Steel Co. and eventually, became a part of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel.
Today it’s a subsidiary of steel producer Tata Steel Europe manufactures cold-rolled specialty steel strip for the appliance, automotive, battery, electrical/electronic, office products, and other industries. Brand names include NiZn-Cote, NICOR, and HILUMIN (steel strip for battery makers). The Warren, Ohio-based company’s products are primarily sold in North America. Thomas Steel Strip became part of Tata Steel Europe in 2010 after its former parent, Corus Group, was rebranded by the India steel giant Tata Steel.
Thomas Steel Strip also rolls steel for small arms ammunition casings and battery casings for Duracell and Energizer batteries.
The location for the plant is on Warren’s west side with the main plant entrance on West Market St. Previously, the main entrance was off of Delaware St.
Previous to Thomas Steel being on the property, the McMyler Mfg. Co. of Cleveland was located on the site. The original plant building was erected in 1902. This company made dock equipment and machinery. The McMyler car dumper was used at many Great Lakes ports and ports along the eastern seaboard for dumping railroad cars loaded with coal into the holds of ships. This company employed about 200 workers at the plant. McMyler St.NW. was located near the plant and it is thought that the street was named after the McMyler Mfg. Co. Its seems that this plant was closed about 1922 with Thomas Steel taking over the site in 1924.
