Siskin Steel Company History

Legacy of Excellence and Philanthropy

Siskin Steel and Supply has a rich company history beginning in 1890 when R.H. Siskin arrived alone at Ellis Island from Lithuania to escape religious persecution. After hearing about Chattanooga from a friend on the journey, they traveled together to the city where Siskin became a back peddler selling utensils and clothing in rural communities. 

By 1900 R.H. Siskin and his friend and business partner founded a scrap metal business; Rubin and Siskin Iron and Metal. That same year, Robert’s wife, Anna Siskin, gave birth to their son Mose Siskin, and three years later, Garrison was born. In 1910, with the help of his two sons,  R. H. Siskin bought out his partner and renamed the business R. H. Siskin and Sons. 

After their father’s passing in 1926, Mose and Garrison Siskin took over, and over the next 20 years expanded the family business, especially during World War II with the heightened demand for scrap metal. Their father’s small scrap business was catapulted into a regional industry leader.

In 1949, the brothers began distributing new steel and related products and later merged divisions under the present-day name of Siskin Steel & Supply.

During the first satellite office opening in Atlanta, Georgia in 1963 the scrap division was forced to move due to the construction of interstate highway- I-24. Siskin managed to expand into an area of 40 acres and expanded its workforce to 100 employees.

Two men standing to the left of a metal building with two rail car sizes to the right.

During the 1970s, Chattanooga increased its warehouse space to nearly 500,000 square feet to accommodate the company’s growth and pave the way for major expansions over the next decade. In 1985, Steel Supply Company in Birmingham, Alabama, was purchased and became Siskin’s first official branch location, with a name change to Siskin Steel. In 1989, the company opened its third location in Nashville, Tennessee.

With major expansions across product categories and processing services, the Scrap Division sold in 1990 to Commercial Metals to focus on new steal distribution. One year later Southern Steel Company of Greenville, South Carolina was purchased and continued operations under Siskin Steel until 1995 when a new service center was built in Spartanburg, South Carolina. In 1996, Los Angeles-based Reliance Inc., the largest steel service center operator in the United States, purchased Siskin Steel and Supply.

aerial view of brick building with a sign that celebrates 100 years in business

By 2000, the company celebrated its 100th anniversary, expanding its reach across the southeastern U.S. Additional expansions followed with a new division in Kentucky in 2008. In May 2023, we marked a major milestone by expanding our reach with the acquisition of Southern Steel Supply in Memphis, Tennessee—an exciting step that broadened our geography and strengthened our capabilities. Later that year, we celebrated another achievement by expanding our Spartanburg, South Carolina location. We added 100,000 square feet, introduced two new machines, and provided additional storage capacity for the Spartanburg location. And we’re not finished yet—our commitment to growth and innovation continues as we build for the future.

Philanthropic Legacy

After a train accident in 1942 at one of the stops, in Johnson City, Tennessee, Garrison took the opportunity to stretch his legs on the platform. As he was re-boarding, the train suddenly jerked and a steel platform cover fell on his leg. A life-threatening blood clot formed in the leg and his doctors informed him that his chances of survival were slim. He promised, “…If I fully recovered, I would spend the rest of my life helping people who can’t help themselves.”

The next morning, a miracle occurred, the blood clot dissolved, and his leg was saved. In 1950, Mose & Garrison honored their promise and opened the Mose and Garrison Siskin Memorial Foundation, which would later provide funding for the Siskin Children’s Institute to support a preschool for young children with physical disabilities and developmental delays.

Dedicated to the highest religious, social welfare, educational, and humanitarian ideals, they built the Siskin Memorial Foundation building in Downtown Chattanooga in 1959. With proximity to the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, these buildings were later sold to the state of Tennessee and are now home to the UTC Physical Therapy School. The building also housed several welfare organizations, a large assembly hall, a museum of religious antiquities, an outpatient clinic, and a school for ‘special’ children. The clinic contained facilities for complete diagnosis, therapy, and training of the disabled whether or not they could afford to pay for the services needed.

Another dream of Mose and Garrison became a reality with the building of the Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation in 1990. The Siskin Memorial Foundation and members of Mose and Garrison’s families completed the hospital with help from the community. Mose and Garrison had always wanted an in-patient hospital in Chattanooga to serve the needs of all patients – adults and children – from the tri-state area of Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. The hospital serves patients from the tri-state area and across the United States.

Mose and Garrison Siskin went out of their way to help those in need, often employing many of the people they had assisted – such as installing a Braille switchboard – to allow the employment of a blind operator. The work of the Siskin Foundation has been spotlighted in numerous publications and the brothers have received worldwide acclaim and numerous awards for their endeavors. Among them are the Kiwanis Service Award (1959) and the B’Nai Brith Humanitarian Award (1974). Whether it was helping people with difficulties in their lives or employing people through the family steel business, Mose and Garrison Siskin will never be forgotten by anyone who was, is, or will be associated with Siskin Steel, Siskin Children’s Institute, and Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation. To this day, our goal is to positively affect the communities we live in and serve by donating our time and resources to benefit those in need.

Vintage photo of two young boys standing beside each other smiling.
Black and white photo of two teenage boys leaning against a vintage car
Siskin Steel history in the making with some of our first deliveries via the Tennessee River. Barge carrying steel on the Chattanooga River with the mountains in the background with a man to the right looking in the distance
In 1949, Siskin Steel moved into the new steel industry. This new venture brought in a lot of success due to the increasing demand for steel after the war. At the time, we received most of our steel from either the river or train cars.
Front side view of an old brick building for an office with the company name siskin steel and supply co., inc. as a sign on the left side
Inside of a metal warehouse with long metal products laying on the floor and a crane in the ceiling.
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