Producer
Worthington Enterprises (Cylinders)
Dominant US propane cylinder manufacturer (~40% US market); produces full range of DOT/ASME-spec propane vessels from 1-lb portable to 1,000-gallon residential tanks. Manufacturing in Monroe OH (primary cylinders plant), Westerville OH, and other US locations. Also manufactures industrial gas cylinders (welding oxygen, acetylene), military high-pressure vessels, and medical oxygen tanks from the same pressurized vessel manufacturing platform. 2021 steel shortage caused 23-week lead times for all tank sizes (per Worthington sales director to NPGA). Recalled propane exchange tanks in 2023-2024 per CPSC notice. Worthington spun off its steel processing business in 2023 as Worthington Steel — now Worthington Enterprises focuses on building products including cylinders.
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Facilities
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Stories
What they make
2 inputs Worthington Enterprises (Cylinders) supplies
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Where they make it
2 facilities
Worthington Cylinders — Columbus, OH →
USOhio
Worthington Industries primary cylinder manufacturing campus in Columbus, Ohio (Dublin suburb area). Produces aluminum DOT 3AL medical oxygen cylinders for hospital, EMS, and home health markets. One of the principal US domestic sources for aluminum medical O2 cylinders in standard sizes (E, D, M series). Also produces steel cylinders for propane, refrigerant, and industrial gas from this campus. Worthington retained this facility and its medical cylinder production after selling composite SCBA operations (Pomona CA) to Luxfer in 2021. Source: https://www.worthingtonindustries.com/businesses/cylinders
Worthington Enterprises — Monroe, Ohio Cylinder Plant →
USMonroe, OH · manufacturing
Primary Worthington propane cylinder manufacturing facility. Produces DOT/ASME-spec propane cylinders from 1-lb portable to large residential tanks. During the 2021 steel shortage, this plant faced lead times averaging 23 weeks — effectively freezing new residential propane tank installation across much of the US for an entire construction and heating season.
What else they do
Business segments
The company's full revenue map, where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.
Propane Cylinders (~40% US Market)
45%Industrial & Specialty Gas Cylinders
30%Military & High-Pressure Defense Vessels
10%Building Products (Worthington Enterprises Post-Spin)
15%
Intelligence
What's known
Sourced claims about this company's role in supply chains, chokepoints, concentration, incidents, dual-use connections.
Incident2021
Worthington Industries sold its composite SCBA cylinder business to Luxfer Gas Cylinders in 2021, exiting the SCBA market entirely. This was the second time in a decade that Worthington had restructured its pressure vessel business — it had previously sold its cold-drawn steel cylinder business and various other specialty cylinder operations to focus on steel processing and commodity cylinders. The 2021 sale completed Worthington's exit from the specialty composite cylinder market. The Columbus, Ohio industrial company that was once the primary US-made SCBA composite cylinder alternative to Luxfer is now focused on standard steel propane, refrigerant, and industrial gas cylinders — none of which are DOT-SP-10915 regulated or NIOSH-certified.
Worthington Industries ↗Did you know2023
Worthington's Monroe, Ohio cylinder facility produces the full spectrum of pressure vessel applications from a single manufacturing platform: the 1-lb disposable propane canister used at a camping trip → the 20-lb cylinder on a backyard grill → the 100-lb cylinder for an industrial forklift → the 1,000-gallon residential heating tank → the welding oxygen cylinder in an auto body shop → the medical oxygen cylinder in a hospital → the military high-pressure vessel in a defense application. All of these products require the same fundamental pressure vessel manufacturing capabilities: steel forming, seam welding, heat treatment, threading, valve installation, hydrostatic testing. The same Ohio factory that fills backyard grill cylinders for summer barbecue season also produces equipment to MIL-SPEC standards. A consumer products company (barbecue grill cylinders) and a defense supplier (military high-pressure vessels) are the same Ohio pressure vessel manufacturer.
Worthington Enterprises, Inc. ↗Capacity2021
Worthington's dominant ~40% US propane cylinder market position created an unusual supply chain vulnerability during the 2021 pandemic steel shortage. Steel prices spiked from ~$500/ton to $1,900+/ton; raw steel availability collapsed. Worthington reported to the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) that delivery lead times for all cylinder sizes had reached 23 weeks — from order to delivery. The propane industry serves ~10 million US households for space heating, water heating, and cooking; an acute cylinder shortage would prevent these households from receiving fuel deliveries (which require cylinders). The 2021 steel shortage revealed that the US propane distribution infrastructure depends on a highly concentrated cylinder supply with lead times that, in a crisis, would create multi-month gaps in residential propane fuel delivery during winter heating season.
National Propane Gas Association / Worthington Industries ↗Origin2023
Worthington Industries was founded in 1955 in Columbus, Ohio by John H. McConnell, who started the company by buying steel at market price and selling it to customers at a premium by providing custom cut-to-length service — a simple value-add that launched what became a significant Ohio industrial conglomerate. The pressure cylinder business grew organically as Worthington expanded from steel processing into specialty steel products. Worthington's Monroe, Ohio cylinder manufacturing plant became the largest single propane cylinder production facility in the US. In 2023, Worthington separated its steel processing business (now Worthington Steel, NYSE: WS) from its cylinders and building products business (now Worthington Enterprises, NYSE: WOR), creating two publicly-traded companies from the original Worthington Industries.
Worthington Enterprises, Inc. ↗