A.M. Castle Expands in Aerospace,
Defense with Transtar Acquisition
A.M. Castle & Co., Franklin Park, Ill., has agreed to acquire Torrance, Calif.-based Transtar Metals for a purchase price around $180 million. The deal was expected to close this month.

Transtar is a leading supplier of high-performance metals to the aerospace and defense industries, offering a broad range of inventory, processing and supply-chain services. Its 12-month sales for the period ended June 30 totaled approximately $250 million. Transtar has six operations in the United States and locations in both the United Kingdom and France. Additionally, Transtar maintains a sales presence throughout Europe and the Far East; international sales provide over one-third of Transtar’s total revenue stream.

Transtar management will remain in place including current CEO Steve Scheinkman, who will continue to lead the company. Transtar will initially run as a wholly owned subsidiary of A.M. Castle following closing of the deal.

“We are extremely excited to add such a high-quality company, experienced management team and dedicated employees to the A.M. Castle family,” says Michael Goldberg, president and CEO of A.M. Castle. “Transtar is a strong complement to our existing metals segment. Our presence in the aerospace and defense industries will more than double with this acquisition, accelerating both our near- and long-term growth prospects.”

“Our whole team is delighted at the prospect of joining such a highly respected organization as A.M. Castle,” adds Scheinkman. “Together, we plan to leverage our product, processing and supply-chain expertise to deliver the best possible solutions to meet our customers’ growing requirements.”

Founded in 1890, A.M. Castle provides highly engineered materials and value-added services to a wide range of companies within the producer durable equipment sector of the economy. Within its core metals business, it specializes in the distribution of carbon, alloy and stainless steels; nickel alloys; and aluminum. Through its subsidiary, Total Plastics Inc., the company also distributes a broad range of value-added industrial plastics. All total, Castle operates over 50 locations throughout North America.

Transtar Metals is a major supplier of both flat-rolled aluminum and extruded high-performance alloy products. Its customer base includes the primary airplane manufacturers in the world and their sub-contractors.

Transtar maintains eight major facilities strategically located in aerospace hubs throughout the United States and Europe, and completes its global footprint through a network of exclusive sales representatives located throughout Asia and the rest of the world.

Ferguson Metals Completes
Upgrade at Ohio Center
Ferguson Metals has completed installation of a Red Bud 10-28 gauge cut-to-length line at its Hamilton, Ohio, service center. The new line features a 50,000-pound coil stage and load system, Herr-Voss leveler and a stacking system capable of producing solid-block stacks.

The new line was part of a major upgrade at the facility, which included the addition of 39,000 square feet of warehouse space.

“The addition has really allowed us to capitalize on many of the suggestions that have resulted from our lean manufacturing efforts over the past two years. The technology represented in our new cut-to-length line will provide efficiency gains. But having the space to better organize and streamline our processing and warehousing operations will also be beneficial,” says Bob Vogel, Ferguson’s director of operations.

Ferguson Metals is hosting an open house Oct. 4-6 to showcase the changes.

RathGibson Diversifies Line with Greenville Tube Deal
RathGibson, Janesville, Wis., has acquired Greenville Tube Co., a supplier of specialty stainless steel and nickel alloy tubing to the oil and gas, chemical/petrochemical, transportation, agriculture, medical, and food and beverage markets. The transaction was valued at $35 million.

Greenville Tube, based in Greenville, Pa., also has a 110,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Clarksville, Ark. The company’s product offerings include seamless, welded and drawn, and as-welded tubing in a variety of stainless steel and nickel alloys in both straight lengths and coils.

Harley Kaplan, president and CEO of RathGibson, says Greenville Tube has consistently achieved a strong record of performance and a stellar reputation in the marketplace. Greenville also enables RathGibson to diversify its product line and expand its customer base.

“The customer-focused philosophy of Greenville is in line with the historic approach at RathGibson,” Kaplan says. “The product capabilities in the Clarksville facility are an excellent fit and will enhance service to our domestic customers, as well as fuel the international growth already under way at RathGibson.”

The existing management team remains with Greenville. “The management team, as well as the employees of Greenville Tube, have created a successful company and brand that is highly regarded by its customers. Our intention will be to retain the Greenville Tube name for the products manufactured in Clarksville,” Kaplan adds.

Norfolk Expands Facilities
in Nebraska, Kansas
Norfolk Iron & Metal Co. is expanding its facilities in Norfolk, Neb., and Emporia, Kan., to increase its steel shipping and processing capabilities. The company will add 57,000 square feet to its Norfolk facility, increasing the total area to well over 300,000 square feet. Additionally, the company will add 75,000 square feet to its Emporia facility, increasing its total square footage to over 230,000.

“We’re investing in these two facilities so we can continue to offer the products and services our customers have come to expect, and to continue to grow our business,” says Richard A. Robinson, Norfolk Iron & Metal Co. president. “These two expansions will allow us to more efficiently receive, store, process and load steel, thus improving our ability to get the product to our customers when they want it.”

The company expects construction to begin immediately at both sites, with completion scheduled for early 2007.

Worthington Gets into Stainless
with Precision Specialty Metals
Worthington Industries Inc., Columbus, Ohio, has acquired Los Angeles-based Precision Specialty Metals Inc., a processor of stainless steel, for $33.7 million in cash. PSM had revenues of approximately $50 million in 2005.

“This transaction represents a natural extension of our focus on the value-added processing of flat-rolled steel, providing us with a new product line, stainless steel, and a West Coast base for the introduction of carbon flat-rolled steel processing,” says Worthington Steel President Joe Harden.

Briefs
Kenwal Steel Corp., Dearborn, Mich., will construct a 210,000-square-foot service center next to the SeverCorr steel mill under construction in Columbus, Miss. The company expects to break ground in October followed by a late spring 2007 launch.

Metal Express has opened a new location in Chino, Calif., to serve Southern California and the entire West Coast. The new Chino branch offers a wide variety of stocked metal in small quantities, cutting capability and the availability of next-day delivery. Metal Express, Hartland, Wis., a wholly owned subsidiary of A.M. Castle & Co., offers an inventory at each of its locations including aluminum, brass, copper, stainless, bronze and tool steel. The company, which operates 16 service centers across the country, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

Changshu Xingyu in Changshu, China, has ordered a new tension leveling line with skin pass mill from Herr-Voss Stamco. The line includes a welder, accumulators, skin pass mill, tension leveling system, vertical inspection station, side trimming and an electrostatic oiler.

Brown Metals Co., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., has installed a new 28-inch Coil Pro slitting line to its warehouse of seven full-size slitters. The new slitting line can run materials from 0.0005 inches through 0.035 inches thick at up to 500 feet per minute. The new slitting line allows Brown to purchase inventory at wider widths and accommodate a larger variety of customer requirements.

Les Aciers Blais Inc., Terrebonne, Quebec, has installed a 3/8-inch Red Bud cut-to-length line. The line also features a stretcher leveler to help the service center produce laser-quality blanks.

OneSteel Ltd., a metals distribution company in Australia, has extended its information technology services contract with Computer Sciences Corp., El Segundo, Calif., for three years.

Battershill Steel Industries purchased a Red Bud high-speed multi-cut blanking line for its service center in Alrode, South Africa. The new line includes a Bradbury hydraulic leveler along with Red Bud’s dual action servo-controlled grip feed system.

People
Marmon/Keystone Corp., Butler, Pa., has made several personal changes. Mike Beck was promoted to national marketing manager-stainless and aluminum. Beck had been general sales manager at the Chicago-area service center in Bolingbrook. Replacing Beck in Bolingbrook is William W. Emery, formerly an inside salesperson. Additionally, Keith Gage was promoted to branch manager at the company’s Southampton, Mass., service center, while V. Clark Hamerly was promoted to general manager of M/K Express Co., a trucking subsidiary of Marmon/Keystone. Other marketing hires include Randy Bono as carbon product manager, Rick Wertz as white metals product manager, and Brad Jordan as products manager-electric weld, carbon square and rectangular tubing.

McNichols Co., Tampa, Fla., has appointed Will Hoover as director of quality assurance, with responsibility over the company’s ISO 9001:2000-based quality management system and the certification of McNichols’ 16 U.S. metals service centers. Hoover will report to Director of National Operations Jeff Croskey.

Tom Regan was named assistant general manager of O’Neal Steel’s Birmingham, Ala., district. Formerly sales manager of the district, Regan will have an active role in plant operations, quality assurance and lean manufacturing initiatives, while continuing to be involved in sales strategies.

Chicago Tube and Iron Company, Romeoville, Ill., has hired Patrick O’Connor as an outside salesperson in its Duluth, Minn., division. His territory covers the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northwestern Wisconsin. Mike Tieri has joined Chicago Tube and Iron as an outside sales manager at the Chicago sales division. The company also has added two inside sales people: Trish Munder in the Chicago division and Debra Smith in the Indianapolis division.

Jamie Lang was hired as manager of inside sales at Specialty Strip & Oscillating Inc., Masury, Ohio. She has seven years of experience in the steel business.