Kelley Ironworks got its start in 1941 when Tony Usedly, the company’s founder, decided to turn his ironworks hobby into a retirement business. In 1957, Mr. Usedly hired an apprentice, Doug Kelley, who was only 14 years old at the time. In 1970, Doug took over the business and changed its name to Kelley’s Ornamental Iron.
Over time, Doug’s son Travis took an interest in the business. The father and son pair worked together for years until a sudden illness took Doug’s life—leaving Travis at the helm. To grow the business, Travis teamed up with Breck Nelson in 1996 and the company became Kelley Ornamental Iron.
In 2001, Joel Hoerr began working for Kelley Ornamental Iron as the CFO and later became an owner with Breck. Together, they grew the company into a residential/commercial fence, railing and miscellaneous metal supplier and installer.
As the construction market changed in 2008, Kelley Ornamental Iron switched its primary focus to commercial work which brought another name change, this time to Kelley Ironworks. Breck and Joel branded the company to include numerous aspects of the division 5 metal building category.
In 2016, Breck sold his ownership to Joel’s wife, Tania Hoerr. In 2018, Kelley Ironworks became certified with CMS as a WBE, and in 2019, it became certified as a DBE with IDOT. After working for the company for 13 years, Jon Schwind joined Tania and Joel in ownership in 2021.
