Steel Mills
Olympic Sells Detroit Location to Canada's Venture Steel
Written by Michael Cowden
September 17, 2021
Olympic Steel Inc. has sold its Detroit operations to Canadian flat-rolled metal processor and distributor Venture Steel Inc. for $58.4 million in cash.
The Cleveland-based service center said the final sale price would be higher once working capital adjustments were taken into account.
The deal will allow Olympic to reduce debt, give it more flexibility to chase acquisitions and to invest in automation, company CEO Richard Marabito said in a statement on Friday, Sept. 17.
The Detroit operation focuses primarily on processing and distributing flat-rolled products for domestic automotive manufacturers and their suppliers.
“We believe redeploying the capital from this business to higher value-added opportunities … including our growing automotive business in the southeastern United States, accelerates our drive to deliver consistently higher returns,” Marabito said.
Toronto, Ontario-based Venture said the acquisition of the Detroit facility, officially known as Olympic Steel Detroit, would boost its number of locations to six and expand its footprint in North America.
“The team at our new Detroit facility has built a great reputation for customer service and will strengthen our reach, particularly as it relates to the automotive sector,” Venture Steel President Tony Kafato said in a statement.
The Detroit plant serves customers across the Midwest and sports three configured blanking presses, two slitters, and a Red Bud multi-blanking line with Herr Voss levelers. It is also capable of processing the advanced high-strength steels increasingly required by automotive OEMs and their suppliers, Venture said.
Venture has operations in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. The Detroit plant processes not only carbon flat-rolled steel but also stainless and aluminum products.
By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Michael Cowden
Read more from Michael CowdenLatest in Steel Mills
Nucor lowers 2024 output estimate for Brandenburg plate mill
Nucor has lowered the 2024 production estimate for its Brandenburg, Ky., plate mill due to soft market conditions.
SSAB adjusts output in weak Q3, readies for Q4 rebound
SSAB said lower plate prices in the US were the primary reason for reduced results in the second quarter. With a dismal Q3 outlook, the Swedish steelmaker is adjusting production across its facilities. That includes moving up its annual US mill outage in anticipation of a better Q4. SSAB Americas Revenues in the Americas segment […]
Topalian puts focus on “unfair” trade, eyes USMCA partners
Nucor’s top executive expressed concerns over unfair trade practices, highlighting increased steel imports from Mexico and Canada.
Cliffs sees close of Stelco buy, bottom to steel tags, and Mexico out of USMCA
Cleveland-Cliffs expects its acquisition of Canada’s Stelco to close later this year, which will help the the Cleveland-based steelmaker as a bottom to steel tags nears.
Nucor posts lower Q2 earnings, predicts tough Q3 too
Nucor recording lower second quarter earnings on falling steel prices. And the Charlotte, N.C.-based predicted that profits would be lower still in the third quarter, primarily because of weaker results from its steel mills divisions.