Distributors Join Forces with
Police to Sting Scam Artist
Farmer’s Copper, along with a few other industry companies, recently helped the New Jersey State Police shut down a scam operation allegedly responsible for the theft of more than $650,000 worth of metal products.

Hank Signo of Elizabeth, N.J., was arrested in August on federal charges of theft stemming from his alleged involvement in the scam targeting metals distributors throughout the country.

In the scam, police say, Signo contacted metals distributors posing as an executive of Alcan Baltek interested in purchasing copper and other metals. Signo used Alcan letterhead and other information to demonstrate that his connection to the company was legitimate. Once an order for metals was secured, the product would be shipped to a location, often an empty lot.

Signo would then “take it straight to the recycling plants,” says Detective Chris Sharpe of the New Jersey State Police Cargo Theft Unit.

The case started to come together when Signo contacted Farmer’s Copper in Galveston, Texas, about ordering 5,000 pounds of C110 copper bar. The company asked for his credit information, which he forwarded to Farmer’s Copper, but inadvertently also sent to a company that had been a previous victim of the scam. The company alerted Farmer’s Copper executives about the phony metals buyer.

Detective Sharpe began communicating with Farmer’s Copper VP of Operations Greg Harrington about setting up a sting operation in New Jersey. The operation required putting together a fake shipment from Farmer’s Galveston warehouse to a warehouse in Elizabeth, N.J.

With help from several other companies, including Atlas Bronze, Cambridge Lee and freight company AAA Cooper, a phony shipment was delivered to Elizabeth, where an alleged accomplice of Signo, Jesus Martinez, was arrested. Signo was later arrested trying to leave his home.

Sharpe praised the metals industry for its cooperation, saying the arrests wouldn’t have been made without it.

Harrington lauded two Farmer’s employees in particular. “During the operation Laura Ingrasin and Elizabeth Bock had numerous phone conversations with the suspect,” Harrington says. “They did an outstanding job keeping him interested in the order’s progress without raising any suspicions.”

Ranger Steel Opens New Southern California Site
Ranger Steel, Houston, has opened its fourth distribution center in the Los Angeles Basin to serve the West Coast and Pacific Northwest.  Located in the Inland Empire cities of Fontana and Bloomington, Calif., the five-acre center was chosen for its rail facilities and access to major highways.

“For many years, Ranger has maintained a customer base in the western and northwestern states,” says Ranger Steel President Ron Whitley. “The amount of steel we’ve shipped to these customers has been dependent on market conditions and steel availability. Having inventory on the ground in California puts steel closer to our customers, which helps us serve them better. That’s always our goal.”

Ranger’s new California facility initially will stock 10,000 to 15,000 tons of steel plate.  Dalton Logistical Services, in a joint venture with Ancon Transportation, is handling operations and transportation services for Ranger at the new center. The company plans to open its own California sales office within the year.

“With continual restrictions on incoming import steel into the U.S and the West Coast, a void has developed for dependable on-ground plate supply,” Whitley explained. “Maintaining a stock distribution center in California will enhance this supply, which is especially needed to meet the ongoing population growth and construction infrastructure demands on the West Coast and in numerous western states.”

Russel Metals Purchasing JMS Metal Services
Russel Metals Inc., Mississauga, Ontario, has entered into a share purchase agreement to buy JMS Metals Services Inc., a full-line steel and aluminum distributor with eight facilities in the southeastern U.S.  JMS, founded in 1990, has processing and distribution facilities in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee.

JMS revenues are forecast at about $200 million for the current year. The transaction was expected to close at the end of the third quarter.

“The acquisition of JMS provides Russel Metals with a new geographic presence in the United States and a management team that will grow our U.S. business, both organically and through further acquisitions,” says Bud Siegel, president and CEO. “We have patiently waited for over four years to find a company such as JMS, where we are completely comfortable that the culture and focus is similar to ours and that all parties feel the transition will be seamless in nature.”

The total transaction value of approximately $125 million will be funded from the $207 million cash balance of Russel Metals as of June 30.  

Klein Chooses Facility in Western New York
Klein Steel Service Inc., Rochester, N.Y., has taken over the former Gibraltar Industries warehouse strategically located between Buffalo and Niagara Falls, N.Y., in Tonawanda. The company had been operating in western New York State from a leased facility in Blasdell, south of Buffalo. 

Company executives say they chose to invest in the Tonawanda site for its proximity to customers in both Niagara and Erie counties. The 110,000-square-foot building will support Klein’s mission to serve customers in western New York and northern Pennsylvania. In addition, the facility will accommodate Buffalo Steel, one of Klein’s two retail stores serving walk-in customers. 

CEO and owner Joseph Klein is committed to growing his company in New York State and is a staunch and vocal supporter of the “Unshackle Upstate” campaign’s goals of reducing the cost of doing business in New York State and creating new jobs. The facility will be known as Klein Steel of Western New York. Ken Woodring will serve as branch manager.

A.M. Castle Sells Metal Express Business
Metal Supermarkets Corp., Mississauga, Ontario, has acquired Metal Mart LLC, which does business as Metal Express, from A.M. Castle & Co, Franklin Park, Ill.

“The Metal Express business model closely mirrors that of Metal Supermarkets and was a natural, logical and synergistic fit to our own business,” says Stephen Schober, MSC’s president and CEO. “There were few markets where there were any overlaps with our existing locations, enabling us to considerably expand our geographic coverage in markets we had targeted for our own growth.”

Metal Supermarkets is a specialized metal distributor focusing on small quantities of virtually all types and forms of metals, custom cut to size.

Excluding Metal Mart, MSC operates 23 corporate locations in Canada, the United States, England and Scotland. A total of 60 franchised outlets are located in the United States, Canada, England, Austria and the United Arab Emirates.

Metal Supermarkets was founded in Canada in 1985.

Metal Express has operated as an independent division of A.M. Castle, with 15 locations throughout the U.S. Metal Express specializes in cut-to-order metal, providing an extensive selection of top quality metals, MSC officials say.

“We are very thrilled and pleased to welcome the Metal Express team into the newly expanded Metal Supermarkets family,” says Schober.  

Paragon Expanding, 
Adds Slitter at Butler
Paragon Steel, Fort Wayne, Ind., has broken ground on a major expansion project at its facility in Butler, Ind. Paragon will add 64,000 square feet to its facility, increasing the size by 65 percent.

With the expansion, Paragon will install a 3/16-inch by 60-inch Pro Eco slitter with an in-line Kor-Flex leveler. The new piece of equipment complement’s the facility’s existing two slitters, which process hot-rolled, hot-rolled pickled and hot-dipped galvanized steel.

Channel Corp. Adds Houston, Seattle Depots
The Channel Corp., Stamford, Conn., a master distributor of aluminum mill products, has added two new depot locations, one in Houston, which opened earlier this year, and another in Seattle, scheduled to open in the fourth quarter. The new locations represent Channel’s on-going expansion, as well as its commitment to more efficiently serve its customers, say company officials.

The new locations will be stocked with the subsets of products that specifically satisfy the material demands of the regions they serve. The Houston depot will serve service centers in the central and southern United States, additionally assisting centers that sell to Mexican markets. The depot stocks: 6061 extruded rod up to 21 inches, 6061 plate up to 5 inches, and 6061 tread plate up to 3/8-inch.

The Seattle depot will serve customers in northeastern U.S. and western Canada. When it opens later this year, the Seattle depot will stock: 6061 extruded rod from 7 1/2 to 18 inches, 6061 plate from 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches, and 6061 tread plate from 1/8- to 3/8-inch.

Kinder Acquires Marine Terminals
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P., Houston, has purchased the assets of Marine Terminals Inc. for approximately $100 million. Marine Terminals, which primarily handles and stores steel and alloys, has two facilities in Blytheville, Ark., and individual terminals in Decatur, Ala., Hertford, N.C., and Berkeley, S.C. The five facilities handled approximately 13.4 million tons of steel products in 2006.

“These strategically located terminals will continue to provide handling, processing, harboring and warehousing services to Nucor Corp. under long-term contracts,” says KMP Terminals President Jeff Armstrong. “Additionally, these facilities will provide Nucor and other customers further access to our growing national network of marine and rail terminals.” 

Reliance Acquiring UK Aluminum Distributor
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., Los Angeles, has acquired the stock of Metalweb plc., a metals service center company headquartered in Birmingham, England, Metalweb has three additional service centers in the UK, in Manchester, London and Oxford.

Metalweb was established in 2001 and specializes in the processing and distribution of primarily aluminum products for non-structural aerospace components and general engineering parts used in high-end industrial applications. Metalweb’s net sales for the year ended May 31 were approximately $53 million.

Future Metals Expands in The Netherlands
Future Metals, an affiliate of Marmon/Keystone Corp., has opened a new warehouse facility in Schelluinen, The Netherlands. The newly constructed 15,000-square-foot facility replaces a 5,000-square-foot plant. It will stock a full range of aerospace grades of stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, aluminum-nickel-bronze and high-temperature alloys in tubing, sheet, bar and extrusions. Division Manager Aart Van der Griend will be in charge of the facility.

“The tremendous growth of the aerospace industry on the European continent and other regions serviced from The Netherlands led us to expand our facilities, services and product lines to better serve our customers,” says Future Metals President Luis Benitez.

Briefs
Ryerson Inc., Chicago, will hold a special meeting of stockholders Oct. 17 to approve its merger with an affiliate of Platinum Equity, in a deal that values Ryerson at $34.50 per share.

Worthington Industries Inc., Columbus, Ohio, has seen a 44 percent reduction in serious injuries and a 22 percent reduction in total injuries in the first year of its Safe Works program. The reduction has resulted in a $1.2 million drop in the company’s workers’ compensation claims. “We believe that our company-wide goal of zero injuries is not just a goal to work toward, but is attainable,” says John P. McConnell, Worthington Industries Chairman and CEO. “Fewer injuries also positively contribute to the company’s bottom line through lower workers’ compensation costs and increased productivity and quality due to fewer disruptions to production.”

National Bronze & Metals, Inc. has completed construction of a new 52,000-square-foot warehouse at its Houston facility. The expansion is intended to accommodate a major increase in inventories and product lines. The $2 million dollar investment signifies NBM’s third major expansion over the last two years.

Titanium Industries, Rockaway, N.J., has responded to the strong demands of the aerospace market by stocking titanium aerostrip. The new product line, which will be certified to all standard industry specifications, will be available throughout Titanium Industries’ global service center network. The size ranges from 0.020 inches to 0.063 inches. Additional sizes will be added as market demand dictates, the company says.

Edgen Murray Corp., Baton Rouge, La., has acquired Equipment Valve & Supply Inc., a distributor of specialized valves and actuation packages to the oil and gas exploration and production, natural gas transmission, petrochemical, processing and industrial market segments. Equipment Valve & Supply has locations in Houston and Broussard, La.

Herr-Voss Stamco, Callery, Pa., will supply a high-performance tension level/inspection/side trim line to Jiauquan Iron and Steel, Jianyuquan City, China. The new 3-millimeter thick by 1,680-millimeter wide line will be installed and commissioned by first quarter 2009. The line can handle coils up to 31 metric tons in both mild and full-hard carbon steels. 

Herr-Voss Stamco also will supply a high-speed aluminum slitting line at China Southwest Aluminum Cold Rolling Co. Ltd., XiPeng, Chongqing, China. The line will be part of a new cold tandem mill facility with annual output of 250,000 metric tons of aluminum products, and is designed to uncoil, slit and recoil 0.01 millimeter thick by 1,800-millimeter wide material with a coil capacity of 22,500 kilograms.

Gibraltar Industries Inc., Buffalo, N.Y., will shut down the operation and sell the assets of its Hubbell Steel subsidiary, a service center specializing in coated and painted products. Hubbell Steel, which operates facilities in Chicago and Birmingham, is expected to cease operations by the end of the year.

As part of its development strategies in Central and Eastern Europe, Arcelor-Mittal has invested in a new cut-to-length line for hot-rolled coils at its Ostrava, Czech Republic, facility. With a processing capacity of 250,000 tons per year, this facility will strengthen the existing network of ArcelorMittal’s service center operations located in Poland and Slovakia, as well as its existing operations in Ostrava.

People
Les Lipinski has been hired as the general manager of Chicago Tube and Iron Company’s Quad Cities division, replacing the retiring Jim Glackin. Lipinski had been vice president, sales and marketing, for ATACO Steel Products in Cedarburg, Wis.

Tampa, Fla.-based McNichols Co. has made management appointments at four of its branches. Brad Harrison has been named Los Angeles District manager, overseeing sales and plant operations at its Southern California service center. Brad Hulse has been appointed operations manager at Tampa, responsible for daily warehouse activities. Robert Mariner has been named Minneapolis operations manager,  and Craig Kurtzborn was named operations manager in Phoenix.

Greg Paugh has been promoted to branch manager at Marmon/Keystone’s Birmingham, Ala., service center. He has worked at the company’s Atlanta and Orlando, Fla., locations in inside sales, account management and operations management.

Sharon Tube Co., Sharon, Pa., has recently announced the appointment of Tina Grabigel to the position of customer service manager-mechanical tubing sales. Her primary duties include most aspects of customer service, as well as management of the inside sales team.

Corrections
A product item in the September issue of Metal Center News incorrectly stated that DoALL Sawing Products had designed a new non-ferrous circular carbide saw. The saw is available from DoALL, but was designed and manufactured by Tsune Saws in Japan.

In September’s Top 50 Service Centers ranking, the No. 3 company should have been spelled as ThyssenKrupp Materials NA Inc.

In an August item, the location for Aerodyne Alloys was incorrectly listed as Ontario, when in fact the company is based in South Windsor, Conn. Aerodyne, which is part of O’Neal Steel’s High Performance Metals Group, has leased additional space for a 15,000-square-foot expansion.