Much has changed over the past 200 years, but Standard Steel products have stayed much the same. The company makes wheels and axles for the railway industry. Its products are used on freight railcars, locomotives, and passenger railcars. Customers include Class I railroads, freight car manufacturers, and railroad maintenance providers, as well as Amtrak. Standard Steel was founded in 1795 as Freedom Forge to make iron bars and rods; its name was changed to Standard Steel in 1875. In 1895 the company introduced the first bolted and steel-tired railroad wheel. In mid-2011 Sumitomo Metal Industries announced its plans to pay $340 million to acquire Standard Steel before the end of the year.