Chester Rolling Mill
| Private | |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | 1873 |
| Founder | John Roach |
| Defunct | n/a |
| Headquarters | Chester, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Products | Iron and steel ship hull and boiler plates, ship beams, pig iron |
| Total equity | $600,000 (1880) |
| Owner | John Roach (to 1885) |
| Parent | John Roach & Sons |
The Chester Rolling Mill was a large iron (later steel) rolling mill established by shipbuilder John Roach in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States in 1873. The main purpose of the Mill was to provide metal hull plates, beams and other parts for the ships built at Roach's Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works, also located at Chester.
Amongst the mill's notable achievements, it manufactured the steel plates for the first steel-hulled steamship built in the United States, Alaskan, and for the U.S. Navy's first four steel ships, the so-called "ABCD ships". Production of the latter vessels drove Roach's shipbuilding empire into receivership after the government unexpectedly repudiated the contracts, and Roach was forced to sell the Chester Rolling Mill and most of his other companies to satisfy creditors. The Chester Rolling Mill later became part of the Wellman Steel Company.
Roach established his shipyard, the Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works, on the Delaware River at Chester in 1871. He had two reasons for establishing the Chester Rolling Mill. Firstly, the locality of Chester lacked facilities for the large-scale production of iron plates and frames as required by his shipyard. Secondly, by establishing his own rolling mill, he could dispense with ironmaking subcontractors and thus reduce his overall costs. Roach's ownership of a network of companies supporting his shipyard, which included the Chester Rolling Mill, the Chester Pipe and Tube Company and later the Standard Steel Casting Company and the Combination Steel and Iron Company made John Roach & Sons one of the first large companies in the United States to adopt the vertical integration model.
The Chester Rolling Mill was incorporated with a capital of $300,000 on March 10, 1875 by John Roach and a number of partners including Roach's sons John B. and Garrett, and local Chester business identities John Q. Denny and Charles B. and David Houston. The elder Roach became President of the new company, and Charles and David Houston were made general manager and paymaster respectively, while their brother Thomas also received a management position. Roach and his sons held the majority of shares.
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