FWIW Steel Bros had been in the fabrication business for almost 100 years, before the Lotus venture. The quality of their fabrication(s) and their honesty in their dealings was, and is, unquestioned.
This was very far from a 'nickle and dime' outfit, trying to assemble kit cars in a back shed.
Steel Bros, was then and is to this day, a large, well respected business
I'm sure the Lotus venture was a minor diversion, possibly to keep employees occupied during inevitable 'slow times' that were endemic in those industries, at that time.
Also FWIW, they were probably far better capitalized than any other of Chapman's customers, possibly better than Lotus themselves and, in my direct experience, Steel Bros paid their bills...on time...a characteristic attractive to ANY supplier of theirs, including Lotus.
Neville Milne