In 1911, a group of Pittsburgh Screw and Bolt Corporation executives founded the Gary Screw and Bolt Company of Indiana on twenty acres of vacant land along East 7th Avenue. Production began in 1912 with 75-100 workers. In 1925, the Gary Company expanded to include the Continental Bolt and Iron Works in Chicago; five years later, the firm acquired the Hammond Bolt and Nut Company. Eventually, the Chicago and Hammond operations were consolidated at the Gary plant. The Company's executive offices remained in the Peoples Gas Building at 122 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago.