Hardware store general manager Lorraine van der Haar was quick to sign up to the 100 per cent steel petition - and to get others to do the same.
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The Hardware Man stores at Unanderra and Bulli were among the first places in the Illawarra to include the petition on their counters.
Someone walked in and asked if they could leave some petitions behind and the staff immediately called Ms van der Haar and she agreed to put them at both stores.
Since then, staff have been encouraging customers to sign the community petition and have been talking about the future of the steelworks, and the city.
"It's been great," said Ms van der Haar.
"What's happening is we've been talking to the customers and there's this dialogue now about how it will affect them.
"We've got this community feel now, listening to the guys and how it will affect their families if the steelworks shut."
Through these conversations, Ms van der Haar has seen just how hard this would hit the region.
"We have a lot of independent businesses that shop with us too and they said we'll be affected by this as well," she said.
"I think it said in the Mercury that it's going to affect over 10,000 people but I think it's going to be a lot more than that. It'll trickle down to every independent business in the Illawarra."
Ms van der Haar said their two stores were among the last independent hardware stores in the Illawarra and they were already feeling the pinch from bigger competitors.
"We're already under pressure from having a Bunnings that's going to open at Kembla Grange in the next year or so," she said.
"That affects us and we rely on all these little independent businesses, whether they're metal manufacturing or the building game.
"The metal side is not a huge part of our business but it will impact on the trade side of our businesses."
