Barb Wire Department

Founded in 1889, the Keystone Steel & Wire Company began in a humble shed on a rented farm in Dillon, Ill. It has become one of the leading construction wire, industrial wire and steel rod producers in the Midwest. Keystone Steel & Wire Company s first product was a wire fence. Dipped in red paint, the Red Brand fence began selling throughout Illinois in the 1920s. It opened modern production facilities in 1988 and moved to Bartonville, Ill. Keystone Steel & Wire Company s campus in Bartonville is one of the largest wire mills in the United States with more than 2 million square feet of manufacturing space spread out through hundreds of acres. In 1998, the company produced nearly 650,000 tons of steel. It ships its products via truck, rail and barge throughout the United States. Keystone Steel & Wire maintains corporate headquarters in Peoria, Ill.