The History of Cardinal Steel

Cardinal Steel Supply was founded in 1976 as a small St Louis metal fabrication shop. It began as a single-shift operation with approximately 500 tons of inventory and a 15,000-square-foot warehouse, selling to ornamental iron shops and welding and machine shops.

Cardinal steadily grew over the next few years, and in 1981 sales exceeded one million dollars for the first time.

Tony Greer (left) in 1996 while working as a Cardinal Steel hauler

In 1987, Cardinal came under new ownership and grew to 2,000 tons of stock, expanded from a one-shift to a two-shift operation, and sharpened its focus on being a steel supply company to the St Louis region and beyond. 

In 1990, Tony Greer, our current warehouse manager, began his career at Cardinal. His first job was in maintenance, sweeping the floors. Five years later, he became one of Cardinal’s steel haulers, serving our customers behind the wheel for nearly twenty years until 2022 when he was promoted to his current position overseeing operations.

In 1995, Cardinal acquired a new location one mile south of the original Broadway location. Fully remodeled, the new 45,000-square-foot warehouse had separate drive-through doors and three five-ton overhead cranes, making Cardinal a fully operational general-line metal fabrication and steel service center. Since then, our customer base has grown to include structural fabricators, small service centers, construction companies, and general contractors.

In 2021, Cardinal began a new and exciting period when it was acquired by Steven McNair. Steven was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended high school at St. Louis Priory School and later went on to receive his MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. After two years working at a public accounting firm, he began his metals career at St. Louis Cold Drawn, a local manufacturer of cold-finish steel bars that was founded by his grandparents. Eventually serving as President of St. Louis Cold Drawn, Steven grew the company into one of North America’s largest cold-finish bar producers. In 2017, St. Louis Cold Drawn accepted an offer of purchase from Nucor Corporation, North America’s largest steel producer. Steven spent several years integrating St. Louis Cold Drawn’s operations into Nucor as well as working to improve Nucor’s operations and technology.

Steven has channeled his leadership and business experience into his new venture at Cardinal Steel. His goal is always to leverage the company’s operational excellence to provide superior service to Cardinal’s customers. His investments in the company serve that end, enhancing its capabilities and its service offerings. In 2023, Cardinal completed the installation of a Kasto storage system for long products. In the same year, Cardinal completed construction of a new rack storage system, significantly increasing Cardinal’s product offerings. In 2024, Cardinal launched Cardinal Pro, an e-commerce platform that allows our customers to review products, check inventory, place orders, and more. This investment is a powerful tool in our customers’ hands and is a demonstration of our commitment to service.