In Wiesbaden and the suburbs, the machine and metal industry ranked second after the chemical companies on the Rhine around 1900, with Maschinenfabrik Wiesbaden GmbH, Gesellschaft für Lindes Eismaschinen A.-G., the electrotechnical factory Carl Theodor Wagner, the companies of Ernst Ludwig Beck in Biebrich and the company Holz- und Blechbearbeitungs-Industrie Carl Bender I. in Dotzheim. There are currently 65 metal construction companies registered with the Wiesbaden Chamber of Crafts. The profession of metalworker was created in 1989 by merging the previously independent trades of locksmith and blacksmith. In addition to these traditional trades, locksmiths and elevator fitters are now also part of the metal construction sector.

The Wiesbaden address book of 1876 lists 18 blacksmiths and 67 locksmiths, two of whom were able to adorn themselves with the title of court locksmith. The Lind locksmith's shop in Igstadt is very old, dating back to 1662. Today, the brothers Klaus and Günter Lind mainly work with steel, stainless steel and aluminum for individual pieces such as gates, fences, grilles, stairs or railings as well as for burglar alarms. The metal construction company Happ can also look back on a long company history. Founded in 1894 in Sedanstraße in Westend, the company is now located in Schönbergstraße in Dotzheim and is known beyond the city limits for constructions made of glass and stainless steel. The development of the Becht company, which was founded in 1896 by master locksmith Berg in Schulgasse, was similar. Today, the company is located in Naurod. Heimann can also look back on over 100 years of tradition in the metal trade. As a fourth-generation family business, the company is very successful with constructions made of steel and stainless steel. Founded in 1929, Philipp Ebel's metalworking shop has focused on sheet metal processing since the 1970s, before CNC and precision tools came to the fore in recent decades. Even though the highly specialized metalworking company Philipp Ebel & Sohn relocated its headquarters to Taunusstein in 2014, the company remains closely linked to the history of metalworking in Wiesbaden.

While the previously mentioned family businesses still have barely more than ten employees today, the Biebrich-based company Huhle Stahl- und Metallbau has developed into a group with over 100 employees. The company was founded in 1910 by Emil Huhle as a construction and gas locksmith's shop in Dresden. While the company concentrated on the production of labeling machines on a small scale after the Second World War, a new chapter in the company's history began with its reestablishment in Wiesbaden in 1962. In the 1970s, the company moved into larger premises at Hagenauer Straße 25. In 1990, a subsidiary was founded in Großröhrsdorf. Production halls for sheet metal and stainless steel processing were subsequently built at the headquarters in Wiesbaden. At the turn of the millennium, the company began to specialize in precision machines and special tools for various steel constructions. Among other things, the company was involved in setting up the radio network in Saarland with a subsidiary and in 2012 received the metal construction prize from the Federal Association for the construction of the bus terminal on the Theodor Heuss Bridge. Huhle has been producing the electricity for its systems itself since 2007 with the largest solar system in the city.

Around the middle of the 19th century, several blacksmiths were founded in Wiesbaden. The fact that these craft businesses, as well as the blacksmith's trade and later metal construction, have established themselves in Wiesbaden is evidenced by several company histories, some of which date back over 100 years. These include, for example, Kunstschmiede Kranz, which opened on 26.01.1824 as a "Zeugschmiede" in Marktstraße and moved to the building at Ellenbogengasse 7 in the fifth generation. This company history came to an end when the building was demolished in the 1960s.

The development of the metal construction company Philippi, founded in 1866 as a blacksmith's and locksmith's shop in the Westend, was more positive. In the early years, the company mainly manufactured pumps for the municipal water supply system currently under construction. After its completion, the company concentrated on artistically designed railings, grilles and gates, which were mainly used in and on the new historicist buildings. In the 20th century, the family business was increasingly in demand as a metalworking and steel construction company. Among other things, the façade on the parking garage of the Hessian State Theater in Wiesbaden attracted nationwide attention. The company expanded in the new millennium and moved into a new workshop in Bierstadt in 2006.