Comsteel is an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Aus ...
manufacturer of
steel
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
products based in the
Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
suburb of
Waratah
Australia’s famous waratah (genus ''Telopea'') is an Australian-endemic genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees, native to the southeastern parts of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, and Tasmania). The be ...
. It is a subsidiary of
American Industrial Partners
American Industrial Partners is an American private equity partnership. It invests in industrial businesses in the United States and Canada. It was founded in 1988 by Theodore Rogers and Richard Bingham. It has offices in New York City; the man ...
.
History
Comsteel was founded as Commonwealth Steel Products in 1918 by
Clyde Engineering
Clyde Engineering was an Australian manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, and other industrial products.
It was founded in September 1898 by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen buying the Granville factory of timber merchants Huds ...
,
Goninan & Co, Pioneer Spring Co and
Ritchie Brothers
Ritchie Brothers was an Australian railway rolling stock and tram manufacturer based in the Sydney suburb of Auburn.
History
In 1857, Robert Ritchie took over the blacksmith business of Joseph Whiting of Parramatta. In 1876, Ritchie was awar ...
to manufacture wheels, tyres, axles and
steel casting
Steel casting is a specialized form of casting involving various types of steel cast to either final/net or near-net shape. Steel castings are used when iron castings cannot deliver enough strength or shock resistance.Oberg, p. 1332
Examples ...
s for railway use.
[Commonwealth Steel Products Ltd]
Newcastle Industrial Heritage Association
A plant was established in the Newcastle suburb of Waratah with
Howard Smith acquiring a shareholding. After
Vickers
Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...
acquired a shareholding, in 1923 it was renamed Vickers Commonwealth Steel Products. In the 1930s,
BHP
BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria.
As of 2024, BHP was the world� ...
gradually bought out the other shareholders and it became the Commonwealth Steel Company.
[ In 1959, a mill was opened in ]Unanderra
Unanderra ( ) is a suburb of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 6 km south-west of the Wollongong CBD. It is bordered to the west by Farmborough, Cordeaux Heights and Farmborough Heights in the Mount Kembla f ...
for the cold rolling of stainless steel.[Australians in Company]
BHP 1985 In 1971, Comsteel was licensed by Midland-Ross to produce couplers, draft gears and freight wagon bogies.
In 1983, Commonwealth Steel Company and the Australian subsidiary of Vickers merged to form Comsteel with BHP and Vickers each holding 38% shareholdings.[ In 1985 Comsteel was purchased by ]Australian National Industries
Australian National Industries was an Australian heavy engineering company with diverse range of holdings.
History
In 1911 John McGrath began to sell motor vehicles. It operated the first public garage in New South Wales. The company held moto ...
(ANI).
It was included in the 1999 takeover of ANI by Smorgon Steel
Smorgon Steel was an Australian steel manufacturing company. It was the last remaining part of Smorgon Consolidated Industries, founded in 1958 by Victor Smorgon, member of the Smorgon family.
In 1997, Smorgon purchased structural materials Wel ...
which in turn was purchased by OneSteel
Arrium was an Australian mining and materials company, employing nearly 10,000 workers before going into voluntary administration in 2016 with debts of more than $2 billion. In 2017 it was acquired by British-owned Liberty House Group.
Hi ...
in 2007. Since 2016 it has been owned by American Industrial Partners.Who we are
MolyCop 3 January 2017
References
External links
Company website
{{BHP
BHP
Companies based in Newcastle, New South Wales
Manufacturing companies of Australia
Manufacturing companies established in 1918
Vickers
Australian companies established in 1918