Groundbreaking for Central Steel & Wire Company in University Park

It was a great day attended by many for the the new Central Steel & Wire Company headquarters and operation hub relocating to the Village of University Park from Chicago.

The 900,000-sf building is located at Steger Road and Central Avenue and should be completed next spring.

Central Steel & Wire was founded in 1909. Ryerson, which employs about 3,900 people at about 100 industrial metal processing centers in North America, was founded in 1842 and acquired Central Steel & Wire in 2018.

Central Steel & Wire buys rolls of steel, aluminum, and other metals from mills, then processes and fabricates them into everything from structural I-beams used in construction to sheet metal used to make household appliances.

Ryerson CEO Eddie Lehner was on hand and spoke passionately about manufacturing here in the U.S. and the importance of creating family-wage manufacturing jobs. “The more we manufacture in this country and do it the way we’re going to do it in University Park, the more broad-based prosperity will increase.”

Doug Pryor, CEO and President of the Will County Center for Economic Development explained “They were looking at southeast Wisconsin – they were looking at northwest Indiana. It’s a huge win for Will County and makes a bold statement about our workforce and job creation successes.”

Central Steel will employ at least 300 people at the University Park center. Gateway 57 Business Park is being developed by Venture One Real Estate and CRG.