Rohn Industries

ROHN Products, LLC, formerly ROHN Industries, Inc. and UNR Industries, Inc., is a leading manufacturer of telecommunications towers, poles, mounts, and other materials. ROHN products include support structures for antennae, private microwave, cellular telephone, personal communications systems, commercial broadcasting and amateur radio, etc.

Rohn Manufacturing was founded in 1948. Rohn towers were clearly one the world leaders in manufacturing of towers and other communication products. Rohn towers are located all over the world. The company was later sold to UNARCO Industries in the 1970s. UNARCO Industries, Inc. declared bankruptcy in 1982 and was reorganized as UNR Industries, Inc., later changing the name to ROHN Industries, Inc. In 2003, Rohn Industries, Inc. was acquired by Radian Corporation and in 2008 Rohn Products, LLC became independent again.

History

ROHN was founded in 1948, in Peoria, Illinois, by Dwight Rohn. When people think of communication towers, the ROHN name always comes to mind. 1950 was the result of a demand created by the growing television industry; the higher elevation of the home TV antenna, the greater the gain, therefore better TV picture and sound. Dwight Rohn, then manager of the Peoria Airport, Illinois, had no idea that the first tower he built for the airport would lead to the development of the world's largest tower manufacturer. His first few towers were built in his garage by welders he hired.

During the evolution of ROHN towers, many different models were designed and built. However several have been discontinued, many are still in use today. The most popular towers types include the SSV, Model 80, and well known and popular G Series towers. SSV stands for 'Self-supporting Vicksburg', where the town of Vicksburg was the first of that particular engineered type to be manufactured and erected. For the G series, 'G' stands for guyed (towers), i.e. 25G, 45G, etc. Under certain certain circumstances 25G, and 45G, etc. can be used in non-guyed applications. The numbering on the G Series towers does not follow a specific pattern, other than the larger the number the bigger the section. Also "G" stands for galvanized (hot dipped galvanized). In the early days of the competitive home TV market, many of the towers were painted and not galvanized. ROHN built its first galvanizing facility in 1954, giving them an advantage over the competition.

ROHN is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois as of 2008 with 2 manufacturing facilities. ROHN has expanded from the earlier days of home TV towers to broadcast, two-way communications, and cellular communications. ROHN now is a supplier of tower and pole structures for the Utility and Transportation industries.

A substantial portion of the existing private and commercial telecommunications infrastructure in the United States involves ROHN products

ROHN had manufacturing facilities in Illinois, Alabama, Indiana, Arizona, and Mexico over the years. The Bessemer, Alabama plant is believed to be one of the largest equipment enclosure plants in the world.

During its history, UNR Industries owned steel production and fabricating facility Midwest Steel.

References


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