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April 20, 1983 FIN – Charter Manufacturing Company, Inc., Mequon, Wisconsin, is looking to establish itself as a significant supplier of cold heading quality rod to the fastener and other industries.
The company’s Charter Electric Melting Inc. group in Chicago which is now operating the former California Steel Co. plant has completed the installation of a new electric arc furnace to feed the three strand continuous caster which produces 4′ x 4″ billets. These billets are being shipped to Charter Rolling Mill’s rod and bar mill at Saukville, Wisconsin for conversation into rod.
The Charter Electric Melting operation is now producing 70% cold-heading steels, 15% alloy and 15% high carbon steel and has a yearly capacity of about 130,000 tons per year, about the same capacity as the Saukville rod mill.
The percentage of cold heading quality steel now being produced at the Chicago operation is much higher than was originally planned. When Charter took over the plant in March 1981 it was expected that cold heading quality steel would only constitute about 25% of the output. Installation of new equipment has made the increase in cold heading steels possible.
At Saukville the company formerly made some cold heading rod out of purchased billets but only in limited quantities.  With their own captive source of billets the company is now making cold heading rod in sizes 3/16 inch (they’re the only one in the country making this size) up to 35/64 inch.
Charter Manufacturing Co. Inc., the parent company, was founded in 1936 as Charter Wire Co. by A.W. Mellows and present chairman Charles N. Mellows. 
The company was started as a shaped wire producing plant with lock washer wire the principal product.  The rod and bar mill in Saukville was started up in 1978.
The company now has four divisions: Charter Wire Division, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (cold rolled shapes and drawn wire); Milwaukee Wire Products, Milwaukee (railroad and track washers and special wire forms); Mellows Co., Milwaukee (lock washers, cotter pins) ; and Charter Rolling, Saukville (hot rolled wire rod and bars). Another division, National Lock Washer Co., North Branch, NJ, which made lock washers and railroad track washers, was closed down about a year ago and production of products made there was transferred to other Charter operations. ©1983/2013 Fastener Industry News
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