Electralloy (Oil City)

Electralloy in Oil City, Pennsylvania, specializes in producing industrial-strength alloys used for rigorous military and industrial applications. Currently part of G. O. Carlson, the Electralloy Company produces many materials, ranging from high-temperature, complex alloys to low-alloy steel. Electralloy produces these in many forms tailored to the particular needs of both individual customers and the market. Among these forms are ingots, master alloy pigs, plate, slabs, bars, billets, and weld wire.

In the 1930s, when stainless steel became popular, Gunard Oscar “G. O.” Carlson began a company to cater specifically to the small-quantity stainless steel needs of those whose applications did not call for large-run production quantities. The son of Swedish immigrants, G. O. Carlson gained experience at his first job with the McKeesport Steel Mill. In 1928, he worked as a sales engineer at Latrobe Electric Steel. In this position, he learned about the “stainless” process that made steel resistant to corrosion. Carlson saw a void in the market for specialty stainless steel custom-made in required grades, shapes, and sizes for individual applications. In 1936, he started the G. O. Carlson Company.

Today, G. O. Carlson produces many forms, including rings, large plates, discs, tube sheets, cylinders, bars, and special cut shapes. Products made from Electralloy’s steel can be seen in heavy use applications, such as pumps, gears, valves, piping, bearings, heat exchangers of power plants, and scrubbers. These items are utilized in major industrial markets, such as power generation, aerospace, chemical, military, and automotive.

Raw materials take the form of pigs, bar, weld wire, and billet. Pigs from Electralloy are 15-pound, AOD refined pigs that have a certified chemical analysis. Bars can be cast into super duplex, stainless steel duplex, special alloys, and nickel. Billet, or ingot, can be rectangular, round, or round-cornered square. Electralloy’s patented weld wire is high-strength and anti-galling. Nitronic, a stainless steel, patented product of Electralloy, offers a higher performance alternative. Nitronic is produced in billets, ingots, wire, plate, bars, and custom products. Nitronic can be used in very hot and very cold applications, and it resists impact and oxidation.

Due to its resistance to flame, heat, and electrical current, asbestos was employed in almost all mills, factories, worksites, and power plants across the United States, including Electralloy. Despite its early performance as an insulator, it caused unexpected serious illness in immeasurable numbers of people exposed to it.