Maksteel, part of the Union Partners group of service centers, has completed the acquisition of LexWest Steel in Los Angeles. LexWest Steel is a full-line distributor of flat rolled steel products and will be rebranded as Maksteel USA under the expanding Union Partners portfolio. Maksteel USA is a U.S. division of Maksteel, which is based […]
Barsteel Corp., a flat rolled steel distributor and processor, has acquired Millennium Metals LLC. Headquartered in Steger, Ill., Millennium Metals specializes in the processing and distribution of plate and bar products to a wide range of manufacturers across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Far East. Art Hoekstra, co-founder of the company, will continue as […]
Canadian distributor Russel Metals reported strong financial results for the 2018 fourth quarter and for the year ended Dec. 31, 2018, for all three of its operating segments. The company attributed its success to growth in value-added processing and its U.S. energy field stores, as well as an improvement in its average selling price. Russel, […]
Union Partners, a full-service metals and logistics company, announced that Steve Letnich will join the company as Chief Operating Officer of Contractors Steel, effective immediately. Letnich has held several leadership positions in his 25 years in the steel and metals industry including those at Outokumpu, Castle Metals, Central Steel & Wire and Worthington Industries. “We […]
Ryerson Steel has sold a Central Steel & Wire facility in Milwaukee to Alro Steel for $7.1 million. CS&W was acquired by Ryerson in July. In its third-quarter 2018 earnings report, Ryerson stated it expected to receive about $10.5 million in proceeds from the sale of two midwestern CS&W facilities after consolidating operations into existing […]
The service center sector will witness the return of a familiar old name in the new year. Norfolk Iron & Metal Co. has closed on its acquisition of O’Neal Flat Rolled Metals (OFR), which will now go to market under its former moniker Metalwest. Norfolk Iron purchased OFR from O’Neal Industries, based in Birmingham, Ala. […]
Ratner Steel ran the first coil on its new stretch leveler cut-to-length line in Osceola, Ark., on Monday, reported Ratner President and CFO Steve Gottlieb. The company hopes to replicate the success it has seen at its other service centers in Minnesota and Indiana. The line was installed by Red Bud Industries in a 150,000-square-foot […]
In a deal in the construction materials market, Carlisle Companies, Inc., has agreed to acquire Petersen Aluminum Corp. for approximately $197 million. Headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Ill., Petersen’s primary business is the manufacture and distribution of architectural metal roof panels, steel and aluminum flat sheets and coils, wall panels, perimeter roof edge systems and […]
Cleveland-based Majestic Steel USA, Inc., has acquired Titan Metal Service, Inc., a Tampa, Fla., service center and processor. The acquisition expands Majestic’s business in the coated flat-rolled market and extends its reach in the Southeast, particularly the growing Florida market, the company said. “We are happy to welcome Titan Metal Service to the Majestic Steel USA […]
Andy Gross is placing a big bet on his company and on a new community—a wager he is confident will pay off. The president of Alliance Steel is making a $19 million investment to move his service center operation some 40 miles east from Chicago’s south side to Gary, Ind. He hopes to be operational […]
Pacesetter and Nippon Steel & Sumikin Bussan Americas are joining forces to build a new, world-class steel service center in Houston. The strategic partnership will strengthen NSBA’s and Pacesetter’s position in key growth markets in the Southwestern U.S. and Mexico. The partnership is a strong strategic fit, said the companies, leveraging their respective strengths. NSBA […]
Norfolk Iron & Metal Co., a full-line steel service center, and O’Neal Industries Inc. (ONI), the largest family-owned group of metals service centers in the United States, have entered into a definitive agreement in which Norfolk Iron will acquire O’Neal Flat Rolled Metals, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ONI. The companies expect to close the […]
Industrial Metal Supply Co., a full-line metals distributor in the Southwest, has named David Pace as its new president, effective immediately. Pace will have responsibility for the Sun Valley, Calif., company’s strategic direction and growth initiatives and will report directly to owner Neil Sherman. Pace is a 23-year veteran of Industrial Metal Supply and since […]
Toronto-based Russel Metals reported “stellar” results for its third quarter, attributing the company’s success to a high steel price environment and improved demand in all three of its business segments: service centers, energy products and steel distributors. Trade actions by government authorities have increased steel prices, which has benefited both producers and distributors. However, these […]
Metalforming companies are expecting business conditions to slow slightly during the next three months as new orders decline, according to the October 2018 Precision Metalforming Association survey. Average daily shipping levels also decreased in October with 23 percent of firms forecasting a decrease in orders compared to 15 percent last month. Only 2 percent of […]
Samuel, Son & Co., Limited, has promoted Colin Osborne to the position of president and chief operating officer. He will assume leadership responsibility for Samuel’s operations, manufacturing, purchasing and commercial activities, along with oversight of the company’s corporate functions. Samuel is a leading metals distributor and industrial products manufacturer based near Toronto. It is the […]
Tariffs are harming, and sometimes causing devastating effects, for small manufacturing businesses, said speakers at the 2018 SMU Steel Summit held in Atlanta this week. An informal survey of 486 people at the summit showed almost half (49 percent versus 43 percent) of those polled felt the Section 232 tariffs were having a negative impact […]
Distributors of secondary steel report generally positive market conditions, though the nonprime sector has experienced a bit of a lull in recent weeks. Secondary steel is nonprime or excess material that did not meet the specifications for its original intended use, but is acceptable to other buyers for other applications. The spot market on nonprime […]
Looking back last week, the Lex Group celebrated 50 years as a family-owned service center business. Looking ahead, as an affiliate of Union Partners, the company sees a different but equally promising future. With locations in Los Angeles and Chicago, the Lex Group currently distributes more than 240,000 tons of steel per year to a […]
Russel Metals reported its best quarterly results since 2008 for the second quarter ending June 30. “All of our businesses performed extremely well in the second quarter by adapting to the changing business environment. The continued uncertainty around steel tariffs and trade disruptions has resulted in the realignment of North American supply channels, which our […]
Jean Carroll Kemp may have been the speaker at the Association of Steel Distributors meeting in Chicago last Thursday, but it was ASD members who really delivered the message. The event was co-hosted by the Chicago Chapter of Association of Women in the Metals Industry (AWMI). Kemp is the Senior VP of Government Affairs and […]
Canada’s Samuel, Son & Co., a leading metals distributor and industrial products manufacturer, has invested $18 million in its Brantford, Ontario, automotive metals processing center. It expects to complete the expansion by the fourth quarter, ramping to full production in early 2019. Samuel’s Brantford facility is currently a 141,000-square-foot metals processing operation equipped with blanking […]
Metalforming companies in the U.S. and Canada are expecting business conditions to decline slightly in the next three months as tariffs take hold and steel prices and lead times increase. The latest Precision Metalforming Association Business Conditions report sampled 112 metalforming companies and found that 31 percent of participants forecast an improvement in economic activity […]
For the many friends and admirers who believed Don Simon would be in the steel business forever, the day has finally come. Simon has sold the family business to Union Partners. “I am extremely grateful to have been able to serve the steel industry for as long as I have,” stated the 87-year-old Simon, who […]
Calstrip Industries announced plans to build a $15 million steel processing plant on the Nucor campus near Blytheville, Ark. The 100,000-square-foot first phase of the facility will be adjacent to Nucor Arkansas’ new specialty cold rolled mill, currently under construction. Calstrip will operate slitting and multi-blank cut-to-length lines at the Arkansas location and will create […]
Michael Barnett has been appointed president and chief operating officer of Grand Steel Products, Inc., Wixom, Mich., transitioning the company leadership from his father Jim Barnett. “It is with great pleasure, excitement and confidence that I announce Michael Barnett has been appointed president and COO of Grand Steel Products, Inc.,” stated company founder Jim Barnett. […]
In a strategic purchase that expands its production capabilities in the Southwest, SteelCo USA has acquired certain assets of the former Douglas Steel Supply, based in Vernon, Calif. The assets acquired in the agreement include multiple large-scale production lines, material handling equipment, vehicles, tooling and inventory. “The addition of this equipment to SteelCo USA’s existing […]
Metals Service Center Institute data shows that service center shipments in March were slightly less than the seasonal norm. Daily shipments in March were down by 0.8 percent from the February result. On average since 2009, March shipments have increased by 0.3 percent; therefore, these latest numbers were seasonally slightly worse than the historical average […]
Chicago-based Union Partners announces the appointment of Chris Sekella as Executive Vice President for U.S. Operations. Sekella will be responsible for the overall leadership of operations for Union Partners’ family of companies. Specifically, he will be spearheading the strategy and day-to-day operations of Union Partners’ premier service centers that specialize in metal distribution and processing […]
The Association of Steel Distributors appears to be positioned for a turnaround that will give new life to the 75-year-old service center organization. ASD has found renewed purpose and direction under the auspices of the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, International, Elgin, Ill. ASD’s steel distributor members—mostly small to midsized family firms—have been gathering to swap […]