Who We Are

The Material Works, Ltd. (TMW) is a privately-held company committed to excellence in the toll processing of flat rolled metals. Our Processing Division performs slitting, blanking, cut-to-length, leveling and EPS processing for service centers and OEM manufacturers in the central and southern USA. The TMW Technology Division researches and develops new steel processing technologies that are used worldwide.

Our Values

Many ingredients go into a successful enterprise, but the values by which the business is guided are the most important. TMW is guided by a set of principles, rooted in the Bible which, together, form the acronym ‘SHIELD.’ We learned of the SHIELD principles from our friends at Kingdom Capital, and adopted them as our own. They guide our planning, decision making and, above all, how we interact within the TMW family and with our customer and supplier partners.

SERVICE: Leading By Serving

Leading by Serving creates an empowered workforce and healthy team culture. Servant-leaders are cognizant of the power dynamics present in leadership and seek to serve and give, rather than coerce and take.

  • Be responsive to the legitimate interests of others when possible
  • Contribute to the success of others
  • Invest in self-development intentionally

Scripture: Mark 10:42-45

HUMILITY: Honoring others before ourselves

Humility enables the flow of ideas and contribution by others. Leaders and teams marked by a confident humility celebrate each other, hire the best talent, and create strong feedback loops organizationally.

  • Explicitly celebrate other’s accomplishments and strengths
  • Assume the best about team member’s intentions
  • Seek and receive feedback with openness
  • Treat all people with dignity and respect regardless of status or position

Scripture: Romans 12:3

INTEGRITY: Living according to these values

Integrity creates the culture of trust and credibility needed for leadership and teamwork to flow. Trust is essential to the psychological safety required for teams to reach their highest contribution zone.

  • Commit to an action bias with stated values
  • Seek values consistency and congruency in all interactions
  • Acknowledge value integration shortcomings, take ownership, and model commitment to growth

Scripture: Proverbs 10:9

EXCELLENCE: Pursuing superior results

A culture of Excellence reflects a high performing team who proactively and energetically challenge the status quo as they blend their strengths together synergistically.

  • Face the facts and be solution oriented
  • Let the best idea rise
  • Take personal ownership for proactive problem solving

Scripture: Colossians 3:23

LOVE: Blessing and encouraging others

Choosing to Love creates a magnetic culture where team members are seeking the good of the various stakeholders and empowering one another to their full potential.

  • Speak authentic belief and affirmation into team members
  • Seek the good of others in every word and action
  • Protect the team, organization, and culture with your words, attitude, and actions
  • Value people for who they are, not just what they can produce

Scripture – John 13:34-35

DIVERSITY: Leveraging various gifts and backgrounds

Diversity enables teams and organizations to harness the full perspectives, experiences, insights and skills of team members needed to face challenges and seize opportunities.

  • Celebrate the unique value in each team member
  • Recognize, appreciate, and advocate the strength in diversity
  • Utilize the experiences, strengths, and insights of others to achieve better results

Scripture: 1st Corinthians 12:12

In Our Community

Our philosophy of service extends to our community and charitable causes that advance and glorify God. We help with both financial contributions and volunteer time from our employees. The organizations below are some of those we are blessed to be able to support. Please click on their logos to learn about them; perhaps you will want to support them as well.















TMW History

The Material Works, Ltd. was founded in 1992 by Kenneth Voges, a pioneer in coil processing technology who, in 1959, had founded Red Bud Industries, a leading coil processing machinery producer. Though TMW and Red Bud Industries are separate, independent companies, this common heritage gave TMW a particularly strong foundation in metals processing technology.

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December 1992 - The Material Works, Ltd. is Founded

1993

IL Governor Jim Edgar, Kenneth Voges, Kevin Voges and Alan Mueth at the 1993 Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

TMW moved into a new 90,000 sq. ft. building with a single processing line. Kenneth Voges led the original 15 employees, most from RBI, and began toll processing for many of the same companies who had previously purchased processing equipment from him.

1993

A second cut-to-length line is added to meet demand.

Kenneth Voges begins a multi-year effort to restore historic buildings in downtown Red Bud. One of those buildings – the Ziebold Bank Building – later becomes the administrative offices of TMW.

TMW Headquarters at the Christmas Holiday season.

1996

Kenneth Voges officially retires. His son – Kevin- takes on the role of President of TMW and begins planning an aggressive expansion of the business.

1997

The 1997 TMW Team Photo.  In two years TMW had gone from one cut-to-length line and 15 employees to four cut-to-length lines and 45 employees.

1998

Construction begins on a state-of-the-art 216,000 sq. ft. TMW processing center on the Kaskaskia River just outside Red Bud.

2000

TMW’s new Toll Processing Center ‐ served by road, rail and barge ‐ opens at 10351 Riverview Lane.

2000

Industry’s most advanced high-speed slitter ‐ capable of 2000 fpm speeds ‐ added to the new plant.

2002

TMW installs world’s first heavy gauge stretcher-leveler which produces flatter material than temper pass.

2003

TMW’s Technology Division is established with the goal of developing new processing technology.

2003

A Technology Division prototype innovation – SCS – is installed at the new plant. Ten more SCS processing lines were eventually commissioned around the world.

2005

The 2005 TMW Team with SCS line in background.

TMW achieves ISO 9001 certification for flat rolled metals processing.

2006

Technology Division begins developing environmentally friendly replacement for acid pickling – Eco Pickled Surface (EPS).

2008

The first-ever EPS pickling line enters commercial production, having demonstrated performance and economic feasibility in its testing phase.

2011

EPS technology wins the American Metal Market’s ‘Excellence in Steel’ award in the Best Environmental Responsibility/Stewardship” category.

2011

TMW Team 2011 with EPS Sheet Line in background

EPS Generation 2 technology enters operation in the EPS Sheet Line at TMW. Generation 2 improves EPS economics and is the catalyst for global EPS acceptance.

2014

The 270,000 sq. ft. TMW-Jingu facility in Fuyang, China 

TMW establishes a joint venture with Jingu, China’s largest wheel manufacturer, to build EPS Cells for the Chinese and Korean markets.

2016

EPS wins another American Metal Market Excellence in Steel award in the category ‘Best Process Innovation.’

2016

The original TMW plant is adapted to be the Technology Division Development Center, where new innovations are tested, proven and demonstrated.

2017

Generation 3 of EPS Technology is implemented in the new EPS Coil Line installed in the Technology Division Development Center.

2017

TMW Team 2017 with EPS Coil Line in background

As TMW enjoys its 25th year, we proudly reflect on:

  • 336,000 sq. ft. of production facilities,
  • Storing 140,000 tons of steel for our customers,
  • Operating six modern processing lines,
  • 21 EPS Cells sold around the world,
  • 19 patents in metals processing technology

2018

New 5/16" Stretcher Leveler

5/16″ Stretcher Leveler (T18) Major Upgrades:

  • New RBI roll feed and controls
  • New Stretcher Leveler section – SureGrip™ design
  • Latest controls: yield measuring capability further ensures stress-free sheets

2018

5/16″ Slitter (T22) Begins Production:

  • New state-of-the-art RBI 72″ wide slitter
  • Located next to our Generation 3 EPS Coil line
  • Completes our 5/16″ processing capabilities
    (EPS + Slit + Stretch)

2022

TMW Kicks off its 30th Anniversary Year in a Big Way

EPS Generation 4 debuts, replacing the Gen 3 Turbine Chamber with two smaller, simpler and more efficient Turbine Chambers. Gen 4 further lowers EPS pickling costs and ushers in a new era of growth for EPS Technology.