In 1982 the company that is now Wismarq was formed. It was formed to purchase the Building Products Division of Mirro Corporation. Mirro Building Products had been producing and selling premium quality residential aluminum building products for almost 20 years. The new company, Republic Building Products, Inc., continued in the residential building products market. It added steel and vinyl items to its product offering. In addition, Republic began contract coating (toll coating) for several major accounts. It also began fabricating reflectors for fluorescent light applications.
In 1985, the company decided to leave the building products fabricating business and sold its equipment and inventory, as well as, its name. In making this move, Wismarq (the company's new name) decided to emphasize the toll coating business and its lighting reflector business. At this time, 1986, Wismarq had one 18 inch coil coating line and completed a second 12 inch line in its Oconomowoc, Wisconsin plant. The primary customers served were in the residential building products market.
With the growth of both the toll coating and the lighting reflector business and the divergent needs of these very different markets, in 1989 the company was split with the lighting reflector business becoming Wismarq Light, Inc. and the toll coating business becoming Wismarq Corporation.
Wismarq Corporation added a second processing facility and its third coating line in 1996 as it acquired the former Gentek Building Products location in Franklin Park, Illinois. The company's primary market is still building products but also has a presence in numerous other markets.