Independent Iron Works Explained

Independent Iron Works (IIW) was an Oakland, California headquartered steel fabricator founded in the 1920s ^[1] by William G. Meagher from Port Angeles, Washington, later co-owned with Henry F. Gede, of Oakland.^[2] Secondary facilities were located in Los Angeles, California.

Contracts

Important contracts included girders for the James Lick Freeway in San Francisco, California, bridges along the Northern California Coast, and the Union Oil Building in Los Angeles, California.

Legal contests

IIW took several legal contests with United States Steel and Bethlehem Steel to US Federal Court over completive practices.^[3]

Sale

After a sale in 1958, the major facilities came under the ownership of Phoenix Iron Works. The latter firm's name can be found on many roadway manhole covers in California.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Independent Iron Works, Inc., a Corporation, Appellant, v. United States Steel Corporation, Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corporation, Bethlehem Steel Company, and Kaiser Steel Corporation, Appellees, 322 F.2d 656 (9th Cir. 1963).
2. Board of Port Commissioners, City of Oakland, Res. No. 5439, 6 May 1940, www.portofoakland.com/pdf/board/1940_resolutions.pdf
3. Independent Iron Works, Inc. v. United States Steel Corp., 322 F.2d 656 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 375 U.S. 922, 84 S.Ct. 267, 11 L.Ed.2d 165 (1963)