Metals USA Closes Richardson Trident Deal

Metals USA Holdings Corp., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has closed the acquisition of Dallas-based Richardson Trident Co. The nonferrous company, the largest acquired by Metals USA since its IPO last year, had sales of approximately $148 million on 23,000 tons shipped in 2010.

With the acquisition, Metals USA officials say, the company significantly increases its geographic coverage toward desired markets in the Southeast, South Central, Northeast and West Coast. Trident operates eight processing centers in Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, California and Massachusetts.

“We believe that Trident embodies all the elements we look for in our ideal acquisition target: a high value-added processing and service-oriented business, superior profitability through the cycle, a first-rate reputation in the market, a defensible market position, and a high-quality employee base,” says Lourenço Gonçalves, chairman, president and CEO of Metals USA.

Processing services offered by Trident include precision sawing, boring, honing, slitting, sheeting, shearing and tuning. In 2010, aluminum, stainless and nickel sales represented 75 percent of the company’s revenues. Its primary end-users include the oil and gas field services market, though it also serves the aerospace, defense and transportation industries.

Mike Cooney, Metals USA’s president of non-ferrous, will relocate to Dallas to assume direct responsibility for Trident’s operations while continuing to lead all of Metals USA’s non-ferrous business. Metals USA will operate the newly acquired business under its current name, the Richardson Trident Co.