Keeton Sons & Co. Ltd of Sheffield - with their machines branded as "Keetona" was based at the Keetona Works in Greenland road. Known originally for a range of hand-operated bending, folding and shearing machines, the Company was to branch out with what became a range of practical and popular power-operated machines. In post-WW2 years, these included Hydroform folding brakes, Hydrobrake press brakes and Shearmaster mechanical guillotines. The hand-operated machines continued in production to cover an extensive range of sheet-metal work including small bench-mounted lever-operated shears, squaring shears, 'slip roll' type bending rolls, universal folding, round-bending and ordinary bending machines; cramp folding, beading, swaging wheeling and raising machines; guillotines of the high-speed geared and direct driven types and both treadle and hand-geared versions in a variety of sizes.
In 1986, the firm attempted to lay off some of the workforce, meaning the remaining workers would have to operate the machines of the men made redundant. An official Amalgamated Engineering Union (A.E.U.) picket was set up outside the premises at Greenland Road. It was manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week through a rota of eight-hour shifts - the strike lasted 8.5 years from 1986 to 1994.
From the Sheffield Star newspaper: "Once the vote was counted, 38 workers were issued with written dismissal notices and sacked. These 38 made up the entire shop floor at Keetons and they were replaced by non-union workers.
An official AEU picket was set up outside the premises at Greenland Road.
It was manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week through a rota of eight-hour shifts - this lasted for eight-and-a-half years from 1986 to 1994.
Official strike pay of £18 per week ran out after the first year, and life was extremely hard for the strikers. They received donations and support from other trade unionists, families and through street collections. A stall was set up outside Sheffield Town Hall three days a week to gather support for the strikers.
Support came from many groups and individuals across Sheffield who were sympathetic to their cause. One of these groups was the Sheffield Anarchists who endeavored to find a way they could offer practical support for the strikers. From talking to the men on strike, they realised that offering to cover the picket every Sunday afternoon was a way to give the strikers a chance to have Sunday lunch and relax with their families. As time went on the number of strikers reduced, some men retired while others were forced to find work elsewhere. In the last few years of the strike only five of the original strikers remained. The strike eventually ended in 1994, after eight-and-a-half difficult years - the demands of the strikers were never met.
Using its traditional name - Keetons Sons & Co. Ltd -  the Company still trades, but as a service industry providing container and caravan storage.