Private equity firm puts Contractors Steel's assets up for bid

A source said that more than 300 employees have been laid off.

Founded in 1960, Contractors Steel was acquired in 2018 by Chicago-based UPG Enterprises, a private equity firm with a portfolio of metals and logistics companies. At the time, Contractors Steel maintained over 100,000 short tons of carbon and structural plate, beams, pipe, tube, angles, and channels, within 2.1 million square feet of indoor and outdoor storage space.

UPG has been whittling down Contractors Steel in recent years. UPG sold off a subsidiary, West Coast steel products distributor Borrmann Metals Co., in September.

Also in September, UPG filed a WARN notice in Michigan due to the upcoming closure of Contractors Steel’s Belleville plant, affecting 94 workers. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers to file if a workplace closure will impact more than 50 workers.

A message to UPG was not returned Tuesday.

The auction “surplus for the continuing operations of Contractors Steel” begins Friday and is being held through B. Riley Wholesale and Industrial Auctions LLC.

Here is a direct link to the Online Auction Catalog for Sale # 1 Wyoming, Mich., and Hammond, Ind.: B. Riley Wholesale & Industrial Solutions, LLC | Assets Surplus to the Continuing Operation of Contractors Steel lots