Rolled Wire Products Co history

1845 // The Caspar D. Wälzholz reed factory is founded as one of twelve reed and wire works in Hohenlimburg, Germany

1848 // Crisis due to the German revolution with stagnant sales, decrease of production and redundancies

1854 // Special wire production for umbrellas and parasols starts – a big seller in subsequent years

The Cleveland-based firms that eventually became part of United States Steel dated back to 1857 when DAVID AND JOHN JONES founded the Jones & Co. in NEWBURGH, where they erected one of the first rolling mills in the area.

When HENRY CHISHOLM and Andros B. Stone bought into the firm in 1858, it became the Stone, Chisholm & Jones Co. and produced iron rails.

The first blast furnace in Cleveland was built by the firm in 1861.

1863 the company was reorganized as the Cleveland Rolling Mill Co. and 5 years later steel was produced at the Newburgh mill using the new Bessemer process.

1866 // Erection of the first cold rolling mills with cast iron rolls and an own hardening shop in order to be able to manufacture cold rolled crinoline wires

1870 // New applications for cold rolled steel: instruments, screws, springs, sewing machines, bicycles, locks, florist wire and gun parts

1884 // Sales crisis due to diminishing demand for corsage steel and crinoline steel

1887 // Further development of crinoline steel to paragon steel

35 years after Waelzholz was founded, it was one of the leading companies in the cold rolling industry and was exporting to the Japanese and English markets already in 1890.

1896 // Construction of a larger cold rolling mill operated by two steam engines

When United States Steel was organized in 1901, American Steel & Wire became its subsidiary.

1905 // Co-foundation of the new company "Union-Gesellschaft für Metallindustrie GmbH" in Fröndenberg, Germany, together with "Feuerhake & Cie." (chain and bicycle production)

National Standard was founded in 1907 when William Harrah and Charles Anderson, two lifelong friends, decided to take the small wire cloth company they managed in Niles, Michigan, and turn it into a manufacturer of lightning rods.

Around 1910, the Wickwire brothers opened distribution warehouses throughout the country.

In 1911, after much debate and discussion between the two partners, the small company took what was arguably the most important step in its history when it commissioned a special machine for manufacturing a new kind of wire braid to be used in the budding rubber tire industry.

Incorporated as the National Cable & Manufacturing Co., the company assumed its present name in 1913 when it acquired Cook Standard Tool Co. and merged the names of the companies along with their operations.

Annual dividends were paid regularly from 1915 on and--with the exception of an occasional acquisition--National Standard stayed out of the corporate limelight.

1919 // Günter Wälzholz becomes general partner

For the first time since going public in 1926, the company failed to pay a dividend.

The first of many expansion moves by Ulbrich occurs in 1927 with an enlargement of the original 600 sq ft building to a 1200 sq ft building.

The Stock Market Crash of 1929 signals the beginning of the 10-year Great Depression.

Fred Sr. becomes the Warden of Wallingford on January 1, 1944.

Sales soared as a result of the acquisitions, reaching $15 million by 1945.

1946 // Doctor jur Hans Junius's son, Hans Martin Junius, takes over the responsibility at the company; a subsequent bestseller is the Junius poker, the so-called "Justo"

1951 // Erection of new halls, amongst others the "Paragon Hall"; at the annealing shop the old gas and coal powered pots are replaced by an electric continuous annealing furnace

1954 // Formal opening of the Ludwig hall

American Steel and Wire Div., People, Progress, and Products . . . (1956).

Annual sales at National Standard, which had increased the number of workers it employed to almost 2,000, reached $52 million by 1960, more than double the figure of a decade earlier.

National Standard further expanded its involvement in the wire products industry with the acquisition of Cheney Bigelow Wire Works in 1962.

In a reorganization move, the American Steel & Wire Division was dissolved in 1964 and the Cleveland offices were moved to Pittsburgh.

Cheney Bigelow's fourdrinier wire accounted for an impressive 15 percent of total sales for the company by 1965.

In 1966 the company acquired Rawls Brothers Co. of Lima, Ohio, a manufacturer of machinery used for retreading tires.

Ulbrich of Illinois, located in Alsip, is founded in 1968 as Ulbrich's first stainless steel strip service center.

By 1970 the company had four divisions in the United Kingdom, each producing products mainly for the European tire industry.

In 1971 this component of the company's business was strengthened by the acquisition of Fasco Tire Equipment Co., a maker of tire recapping equipment.

1973 // Foundation of Brasmetal Waelzholz S.A. in São Paulo, Brazil, and close-down of the company "Union-Gesellschaft für Metallindustrie GmbH" in Fröndenberg, Germany

National Standard's 1974 withdrawal from these partnerships would mark the beginning of a period of extensive retraction for the company.

1975 // Commissioning of the large 4-stand tandem cold rolling mill

When the parent company experienced financial problems, its closed the Central Furnace Docks & Cleveland Coke Works in 1978.

Reduced sales, increased research and development costs, and the reorganization of facilities combined to lower net earnings in 1981 to only $1.2 million, a dramatic decrease from the almost $13 million the company had netted only two years earlier.

By 1982 the situation had worsened; the company posted a net loss of $11.5 million.

1983 // Expansion of the annealing plant and equipping it with bell annealing furnaces

In July 1986 the company sold the Cuyahoga Works to the American Steel & Wire Corp., and it reopened 2 months later, producing wire and rods from steel billets.

By 1987 National Standard was once again in the red, with a net loss of over $11 million.

Gerald Frieling resigned his position with the company in July 1989 and Michael B. Savitske was appointed to replace him.

Fred Jr. and brother Dick set a target of $100 million in sales by 1990, and they set in motion plans to reach that goal.

1991 // Start of a modern ski edge center in Hagen-Hohenlimburg, Germany

In 1993 National Standard incurred a devastating loss of $53 million.

In 1995, Edward J. Foy purchased the company from his parents, Ed and Claire Foy, and he still operates the company today.

1996 // Acquisition of a Hoesch electrical steel continuous annealing furnace and together with D&B foundation of the joint subsidiary CDW-Edge in Cleveland, Ohio USA

2000 // Acquisition of "Hagen-Kabel", the former cold rolling mill "Hoesch Hohenlimburg", Germany

2002 // Acquisition of the cold rolling mill "Kaltwalzwerk Brockhaus" in Plettenberg, Germany

2003 // Acquisition of Bernier in Thiers (France) and foundation of C.D. Wälzholz France SAS, now called Waelzholz France SAS

Both companies were integrated into the 75,000 sq. ft. warehouse purchased by Foy in 2005.

Craig Wire Products was founded on December 7, 2007.

2011 // Acquisition of majority stake in Brasmetal Waelzholz S.A., today Waelzholz Brasmetal Laminação Ltda., in Sao Paulo

2014 // Expansion of the Service Center in Taicang to the first German cold rolling mill in China.

Ulbrich fully commits to the “Lean Philosophy” by completing over 600 A3s in 2016.

In May of 2017, Craig Wire acquired Von Roll Austral, a magnet wire manufacturer of quick turn and low order minimums, in Douglasville, Georgia.

Also in 2018, two divisions reached important milestones - Ulbrich of Illinois celebrates its 50th anniversary, while Ulbrinox (Mexico) passes the 20 year mark in operation.