Document:

<PAGE>   1
                                                                    EXHIBIT 4(b)

                                 AMENDMENT NO. 1
                                       TO
                                CREDIT AGREEMENT

This AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO CREDIT AGREEMENT (this "Amendment") is entered into as
of this 14th day of February, 2001, by and among LACLEDE STEEL COMPANY, a
Delaware corporation ("Laclede Steel"), Laclede Chain Manufacturing Company, a
Delaware corporation ("Laclede Chain" together with Laclede Steel, collectively
the "Borrowers" and individually, a Borrower), GENERAL ELECTRIC CAPITAL
CORPORATION, a New York corporation ("Agent"), for itself as a Lender and as
Agent for Lenders, and the other Lenders signatory hereto. Unless otherwise
specified herein, capitalized terms used in this Amendment shall have the
meanings ascribed to them in Schedule A to the Credit Agreement (as hereinafter
defined).

                                    RECITALS

WHEREAS, the Borrowers, Agent and Lenders have entered into that certain Credit
Agreement, dated as of December 29, 2000 (as further amended, supplemented,
restated or otherwise modified from time to time, the "Credit Agreement"); and

WHEREAS, the Borrowers, Agent and Lenders desire to amend the Credit Agreement
as herein set forth.

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing recitals, mutual agreements
contained herein and for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and
sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the Agent, Lenders and the
Borrowers agree as follows:

Amendment to the Term Loan Amortization.  Section 1.1(b)(ii) of the Credit
Agreement is amended to read in its entirety as follows:

                (ii) Laclede Steel shall repay the Term Loan in consecutive
monthly installments on the first day of each month in an installment amount
equal to $108,333; provided that the first installment shall be on February 15,
2001 in an amount equal to $216,667. The final installment due on December 29,
2003 shall be in the amount of $2,600,011 or, if different, the remaining
principal balance of the Term Loan.

Mandatory Prepayment.  Section 1.3(b) of the Credit Agreement is amended to add
the following subsection (iv) immediately at the end of such Section:

                     (iv) Immediately upon receipt by any Credit Party of any
proceeds of the Continued Dumping and Subsidiary Act of 2000, Borrowers shall
prepay the Term Loan in an amount equal to the sum of (A) 50% of such proceeds
with respect to the first $2,000,000 of such proceeds received; provided with
respect to the first $2,000,000 of such proceeds, the amount so prepaid will not
exceed $500,000 and (B) 25% of the proceeds received in excess of $2,000,000.
Any such prepayment shall be applied in accordance with Section 1.3(c).

<PAGE>   2

Amendments to Maximum Capital Expenditures and Minimum Borrowing Availability.
Subsections (a) and (f) of Annex G to the Credit Agreement are amended in their
entirety to read as follows:

Maximum Capital Expenditures. Borrowers and their Subsidiary on a consolidated
basis shall not make Capital Expenditures during the following periods that
exceed in the aggregate the amounts set forth opposite each of such periods:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

Period                              Maximum Capital Expenditures per Period
------                              ---------------------------------------
<S>                                 <C>
Fiscal Year 2001                                     4,500,000

Fiscal Year 2002                                     7,500,000

Fiscal Year 2003                                    11,000,000
</TABLE>

                (f) Minimum Borrowing Availability. Borrowers shall maintain
Borrowing Availability, in the aggregate, of at least $9,000,000; provided, that
the minimum Borrowing Availability required from July 1, 2001 and thereafter
shall be reduced to $5,000,000 (A) upon receipt of the Compliance Certificate
delivered with the June 30, 2001 Financial Statements, demonstrating that the
Borrowers are in compliance with the financial covenants in this Annex G and
(B) provided that there is no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1 (a), (h)
or (i).

Conditions to Effectiveness.  This Amendment shall be effective upon
satisfaction of the following conditions precedent:

This Amendment shall have been executed and delivered by Lenders and the Credit
Parties; and The representations and warranties contained herein shall be true
and correct in all respects.

Representations And Warranties Of Credit Parties.

The execution, delivery and performance by each Credit Party of this Amendment
has been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and this Amendment is
a legal, valid and binding obligation of such Credit Party enforceable against
such Credit Party in accordance with its terms, except as the enforcement
thereof may be subject to (i) the effect of any applicable bankruptcy,
insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar law affecting creditors'
rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity (regardless of whether
such enforcement is sought in a proceeding in equity or at law); Each of the
representations and warranties contained in the Credit Agreement is true and
correct in all material respects on and as of the date hereof as if made on the
date hereof, except to the extent that such representations and warranties
expressly relate to an earlier date; and

Neither the execution, delivery and performance of this Amendment by each Credit
Party nor the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby does or shall
contravene, result in a breach of, or violate (i) any provision of such Credit
Party's certificate or articles of incorporation or bylaws, (iii) any law or
regulation, or any order or decree of any court or government instrumentality,
or (iii) any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, lease, agreement or other
instrument to which such Credit Party or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or
by which such Credit Party or any of its Subsidiaries or any of their property
is bound, except in any such case to the extent such conflict or breach has been
waived by a written waiver document, a copy of which has been delivered to Agent
on or before the date hereof.

<PAGE>   3

Reference To And Effect Upon The Credit Agreement.
Except as specifically set forth above, the Credit Agreement and the other Loan
Documents shall remain in full force and effect and are hereby ratified and
confirmed.

The execution, delivery and effectiveness of this Amendment shall not operate as
a waiver of any right, power or remedy of Agent or any Lender under the Credit
Agreement or any Loan Document, nor constitute amendment of any provision of the
Credit Agreement or any Loan Document, except as specifically set forth herein.
Upon the effectiveness of this Amendment, each reference in the Credit Agreement
to "this Agreement", "hereunder", "hereof", "herein" or words of similar import
shall mean and be a reference to the Credit Agreement as amended hereby.

Costs And Expenses. As provided in Section 11.3 of the Credit Agreement,
Borrowers agree to reimburse Agent for all fees, costs and expenses, including
the fees, costs and expenses of counsel or other advisors for advice,
assistance, or other representation in connection with this Amendment.

GOVERNING LAW. THIS AMENDMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE INTERNAL LAWS (AS OPPOSED TO CONFLICTS OF LAWS PROVISIONS) OF THE STATE
OF ILLINOIS.

Headings. Section headings in this Amendment are included herein for convenience
of reference only and shall not constitute a part of this Amendment for any
other purposes.

Counterparts. This Amendment may be executed in any number of counterparts, each
of which when so executed shall be deemed an original, but all such counterparts
shall constitute one and the same instrument.

                            (signature page follows)

<PAGE>   4

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed and delivered this
Amendment No. 1 as of the date first written above.

                                    BORROWERS

                                    LACLEDE STEEL COMPANY

                                    By:
                                        ----------------------------------------
                                    Name:
                                         ---------------------------------------
                                    Title:
                                         ---------------------------------------

                                    LACLEDE CHAIN MANUFACTURING COMPANY

                                    By:
                                        ----------------------------------------
                                    Name:
                                         ---------------------------------------
                                    Title:
                                         ---------------------------------------

                                    GENERAL ELECTRIC CAPITAL
                                    CORPORATION, as Agent and Lender

                                    By:
                                        ----------------------------------------
                                            Duly Authorized Signatory

                                    HELLER FINANCIAL, INC.
                                    as Co-Agent and Lender

                                    By:
                                        ----------------------------------------
                                    Name:
                                         ---------------------------------------
                                    Title:
                                         ---------------------------------------

                                    CONGRESS FINANCIAL CORPORATION (CENTRAL), as
                                    Co-Agent and Lender

                                    By:
                                        ----------------------------------------
                                    Name:
                                         ---------------------------------------
                                    Title:
                                         ---------------------------------------<PAGE>   1
                                                                    EXHIBIT 4(c)

                                 AMENDMENT NO. 2
                                       TO
                                CREDIT AGREEMENT

This AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO CREDIT AGREEMENT (this "Amendment") is entered into as
of this 27th day of March, 2001, by and among LACLEDE STEEL COMPANY, a Delaware
corporation ("Laclede Steel"), Laclede Chain Manufacturing Company, a Delaware
corporation ("Laclede Chain" together with Laclede Steel, collectively the
"Borrowers" and individually, a Borrower), GENERAL ELECTRIC CAPITAL CORPORATION,
a New York corporation ("Agent"), for itself as a Lender and as Agent for
Lenders, and the other Lenders signatory hereto. Unless otherwise specified
herein, capitalized terms used in this Amendment shall have the meanings
ascribed to them in Schedule A to the Credit Agreement (as hereinafter defined).

                                    RECITALS

WHEREAS, the Borrowers, Agent and Lenders have entered into that certain Credit
Agreement, dated as of December 29, 2000 as amended by that certain Amendment
No. 1 to Credit Agreement dated as of February 14, 2001 (as amended, the "Credit
Agreement"); and

WHEREAS, the Borrowers, Agent and Lenders desire to amend the Credit Agreement
as herein set forth.

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing recitals, mutual agreements
contained herein and for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and
sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the Agent, Lenders and the
Borrowers agree as follows:

Amendment to Eligible Accounts. Section 1.6 of the Credit Agreement is amended
by amending in their entirety clauses (l) and (r) of such Section and adding new
clauses (v) and (w) immediately at the end thereof with appropriate changes in
punctuation each to read as follows:

                (l)   that is in default; provided, that, without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, an Account shall be deemed in default upon the
occurrence of any of the following:

                      such Account is not paid within the earlier of: 60 days
                 following its due date or 90 days following its original
                 invoice date;

                      the Account Debtor obligated upon such Account suspends
                 business, makes a general assignment for the benefit of
                 creditors or fails to pay its debts generally as they come due;
                 or

                      a petition is filed by or against any Account Debtor
                 obligated upon such Account under any bankruptcy law or any
                 other federal, state or foreign (including any provincial)
                 receivership, insolvency relief or other law or laws for the
                 relief of debtors;

                 (r)  to the extent that such Account, which is otherwise an
Eligible Account, together with all other Eligible Accounts of any Borrower
owing by such Account Debtor and its Affiliates to such Borrower as of any date
of determination, exceed 10% of all Eligible Accounts of such Borrower;

<PAGE>   2

                 (v) that is an Account owing by CSK Auto to Laclede Chain
created after March 13, 2001 but prior to April 30, 2001; provided, however, if
the CSK Auto Add Back equals $0 at any time during such period due to the fact
that Laclede Chain has received cash collections on all the Accounts owing by
CSK Auto that were Eligible Accounts as of March 13, 2001, but became ineligible
after such date, Accounts owing by CSK Auto to Laclede Chain created after such
time shall be considered Eligible Accounts to the extent they would otherwise be
Eligible Accounts hereunder; and

                 (w) that is an Extended Term Account.

Amended Definitions. The definitions of "Extended Term Account," "Laclede
Chain Borrowing Base" and "Laclede Steel Borrowing Base" appearing in Annex A to
the Credit Agreement are amended in their entirety to read as follows:

        "Extended Term Account" means any Account with a due date which is more
        than 90 days past its original invoice date.

        "Laclede Chain Borrowing Base" means, as of any date of determination by
        Agent, from time to time, an amount equal to the sum at such time of:

                80% of the book value of Laclede Chain's Eligible Accounts; and

                65% of the book value of Laclede Chain's Eligible Inventory
                valued at the lower of average cost or market. in each case,
                less any Reserves established by Agent at such time.

        "Laclede Steel Borrowing Base" means, as of any date of determination by
        Agent, from time to time, an amount equal to the sum at such time of:

        (a)     85% of the book value of Laclede Steel's Eligible Accounts;  and

        (b)     65% of the book value of Laclede Steel's Eligible Inventory
                valued at the lower of average cost or market;

in each case, less any Reserves established by Agent at such time.

New Definitions.  Annex A to the Credit Agreement is amended by adding the
following new definition.

        "CSK Auto Additional Ineligible Accounts" means (i) with respect to the
        determination of Borrowing Availability of Laclede Chain for any period
        after the period ending on March 13, 2001 to and including the period
        ending on April 30, 2001, an amount equal to 80% of the difference
        between (a) the aggregate outstanding amount of all Accounts owing by
        CSK Auto that were otherwise Eligible Accounts as of the Borrowing Base
        Certificate delivered on March 13, 2001 (which amount is $1,091,387 as
        of such date) that become ineligible after March 13,

<PAGE>   3

        2001, but prior to April 30, 2001 and (b) the aggregate amount of cash
        collections received with respect to such Accounts during such period,
        and (ii) with respect to the determination of Borrowing Availability of
        Laclede Chain for any period ending after April 30, 2001, $0.

Amendments to Minimum Borrowing Availability. Subsection (f) of Annex G to the
Credit Agreement is amended by deleting the amount "$9,000,000" appearing
therein and replacing in its stead the following:

                "$8,000,000 minus the CSK Auto Additional Ineligible Accounts."
Conditions to Effectiveness. This Amendment shall be effective upon satisfaction
of the following conditions precedent:

                This Amendment shall have been executed and delivered by Lenders
and the Borrowers; and

                The representations and warranties contained herein shall be
        true and correct in all respects.

                The Agent shall have received for the ratable account of the
        Lenders the Amendment Fee (as defined in Section 7 hereof).

Representations And Warranties Of Credit Parties.

<PAGE>   4
                The execution, delivery and performance by each Borrower of this
        Amendment has been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and
        this Amendment is a legal, valid and binding obligation of such Borrower
        enforceable against such Borrower in accordance with its terms, except
        as the enforcement thereof may be subject to (i) the effect of any
        applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar
        law affecting creditors' rights generally and (ii) general principles of
        equity (regardless of whether such enforcement is sought in a proceeding
        in equity or at law);

                Each of the representations and warranties contained in the
        Credit Agreement is true and correct in all material respects on and as
        of the date hereof as if made on the date hereof, except to the extent
        that such representations and warranties expressly relate to an earlier
        date; and

                Neither the execution, delivery and performance of this
        Amendment by each Borrower nor the consummation of the transactions
        contemplated hereby does or shall contravene, result in a breach of, or
        violate (i) any provision of such Borrower's certificate or articles of
        incorporation or bylaws, (iii) any law or regulation, or any order or
        decree of any court or government instrumentality, or (iii) any
        indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, lease, agreement or other instrument
        to which such Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or by which
        such Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or any of their property is
        bound, except in any such case to the extent such conflict or breach has
        been waived by a written waiver document, a copy of which has been
        delivered to Agent on or before the date hereof.

Amendment Fee. In consideration for the execution and delivery of this Amendment
by the Agent and the Lenders, the Borrowers shall pay to the Agent, for the
ratable account of the Lenders, an amendment equal to $50,000 (the "Amendment
Fee").

Reference To And Effect Upon The Credit Agreement.

                Except as specifically set forth above, the Credit Agreement and
        the other Loan Documents shall remain in full force and effect and are
        hereby ratified and confirmed.

                The execution, delivery and effectiveness of this Amendment
        shall not operate as a waiver of any right, power or remedy of Agent or
        any Lender under the Credit Agreement or any Loan Document, nor
        constitute amendment of any provision of the Credit Agreement or any
        Loan Document, except as specifically set forth herein. Upon the
        effectiveness of this Amendment, each reference in the Credit Agreement
        to "this Agreement", "hereunder", "hereof", "herein" or words of similar
        import shall mean and be a reference to the Credit Agreement as amended
        hereby.

Costs And Expenses. As provided in Section 11.3 of the Credit Agreement,
Borrowers agree to reimburse Agent for all fees, costs and expenses, including
the fees, costs and expenses of counsel or other advisors for advice,
assistance, or other representation in connection with this Amendment.

<PAGE>   5
GOVERNING LAW. THIS AMENDMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE INTERNAL LAWS (AS OPPOSED TO CONFLICTS OF LAWS PROVISIONS) OF THE STATE
OF ILLINOIS.

Headings. Section headings in this Amendment are included herein for convenience
of reference only and shall not constitute a part of this Amendment for any
other purposes.

Counterparts. This Amendment may be executed in any number of counterparts, each
of which when so executed shall be deemed an original, but all such counterparts
shall constitute one and the same instrument.

                            (signature page follows)

<PAGE>   6
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed and delivered this
Amendment No. 2 as of the date first written above.

                                    LACLEDE STEEL COMPANY

                                    By:
                                        ----------------------------------------
                                    Name:
                                          --------------------------------------
                                    Title:
                                           -------------------------------------

                                    LACLEDE CHAIN MANUFACTURING COMPANY

                                    By:
                                        ----------------------------------------
                                    Name:
                                          --------------------------------------
                                    Title:
                                           -------------------------------------

                                    GENERAL ELECTRIC CAPITAL
                                    CORPORATION, as Agent and Lender

                                    By:
                                        ----------------------------------------
                                            Duly Authorized Signatory

                                    HELLER FINANCIAL, INC.
                                    as Co-Agent and Lender

                                    By:
                                        ----------------------------------------
                                    Name:
                                          --------------------------------------
                                    Title:
                                           -------------------------------------

                                    CONGRESS FINANCIAL CORPORATION (CENTRAL), as
                                    Co-Agent and Lender

                                    By:
                                        ----------------------------------------
                                    Name:
                                          --------------------------------------
                                    Title:
                                           -------------------------------------

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