On April 1, 1956 at the age of 27, F. Eugene Romano (Gene) founded Pacemaker Steel in Utica, NY. Pacemaker's initial business plan was to serve the central NY State tool & die industry with a complete range of tool and die steels. Due to the early success of the endeavor, a full line of cold finished carbon steel bar was added in 1959. In 1960, Pacemaker became a full line general distributor for Reynolds-Metals, one of only three in the entire state of NY north of the NYC metropolitan area. Pacemaker was growing quickly as a reliable major supplier to the healthy manufacturing that spread across NY from Poughkeepsie to Buffalo. In 1968, Pacemaker purchased a competitor in Binghamton and then added a full line of hot-rolled shapes, sheet and plate to its inventory, along with cold-rolled and galvanized sheet. The company kept growing, always employing its founder's principle of consistently providing high-quality products, at a fair price, delivered on time. In 1969, Charles Millar Supply of Utica (founded 1861) was acquired and in 1978, Colerick Supply of Utica (founded 1919) was acquired. The company was renamed Pacemaker-Millar Steel and Industrial Supply Co. Inc, & is now known as Pacemaker Steel and Piping Company. These acquisitions helped make Pacemaker a well-known & highly regarded distributor of pipe, valves & fittings, allowing them to provide a vast array of products, both standard & specials. Over the years, Pacemaker has grown considerably due to the 'Customer 1st' mentality shown by all of the dedicated employees throughout the organization. Because of the efforts of the leadership and employees, the company has been recognized many times over for its financial aid & service to colleges, hospitals, community foundations, municipal organizations & over 100 benevolent groups in upstate NY. Pacemaker has seen many changes in its decades of existence. What has not changed is Pacemaker's commitment to its customers as a loyal partner & vendor.