Use of nickel (as a natural meteoric nickelâiron alloy) has been traced as far back as 3500 BCE. Nickel was first isolated and classified as a chemical element in 1751 by Axel Fredrik Cronstedt, who initially mistook the ore for a copper mineral.
One of the most powerful bankers of his era, J.P. (John Pierpont) Morgan (1837-1913) financed railroads and helped organize U.S. Steel, General Electric and other major corporations.
(July 2014) J-W Operating Company was founded on November 10, 1960, by Thomas Jeffrey and Howard G. Westerman. In 1960, the principal owners of two water flood units in Arkansas, who could not agree on which of them should operate the units, offered the job to Howard Westerman. Dr. Ralph Connell loaned the money to Jeffrey and Westerman to start a new company.