American Tube and Stamping Steel Mill. Forerunner of Stanley Works; Northeastern Steel; Carpenter Steel. American Tube and Stamping Company was established in 1899 in Bridgeport and purchased by the New Britain-based Stanley Works in June of 1926 in order to remodel, enlarge, and consolidate its steel mill operations. The company's location off Seaview Avenue in Bridgeport's East End afforded valuable access to a deep harbor and tidal water. In keeping with industry trends, Stanley Works began marketing a line of portable, electrical hand tools such as drills and saws in 1929. One year later, the company patented the "Magic Eye." This device was an automatic door opener that was fashioned from combining photo-electric control with a pneumatic operator. By 1940, Stanley Works operated two mills in Bridgeport and employed about 1,000 workers on a three-shift program. It produced 10,000 tons of steel a month which it supplied to other Bridgeport manufacturers as well as companies throughout Connecticut, New England, and along the East Coast. During the Second World War, Stanley greatly increased its sale of razors blades, due to shipping difficulties incurred by Scandinavian competitors. The Northeastern Steel Corporation bought Stanley Works in late 1954 and the Carpenter Steel Corporation took over and eventually expanded the steel mill when Northeastern went bankrupt in late 1957. After a series of lay-offs, the Reading, Pennsylvania-based Carpenter Steel Company announced plans to close its Bridgeport plant in 1987. "Steel Point," the former Car-Tech plant location, has been designated for a multi-million dollar re-development project which will include shopping and waterfront facilities.