Esmark Steel Group has completed its acquisition of five steel service centers in Illinois and Ohio from OAO Severstal. Terms of the acquisitions were not disclosed.
Esmark also acquired the intellectual property assets, brand names and trademarks of Chicago-based Great Western Steel and Homewood, Ill.-based North American Steel.
Esmark said it intends to immediately reintroduce the legendary 100-year-old Great Western Steel Co. as well as North American Steel as part of its operations and growth strategy.
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Esmark Steel Group acquired the assets of Century Steel and Sun Steel in Chicago Heights, Ill., and Independent Steel in Cleveland, Ohio. All of the service centers will become wholly-owned subsidiaries of the company, joining recently acquired Amtex Steel, Inc. (now Chicago Steel & Iron) in the Esmark Steel Group service center portfolio.
Century, Sun and Independent Steel are specialists in flat-rolled steel processing, bar products and just-in-time services and serve the automotive, construction, durable goods and light manufacturing industries. Employing approximately 200 people, the three companies have combined annual steel shipments of approximately 300,000 tons of flat-rolled, value-added products.
James P. Bouchard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Esmark Incorporated, said the acquisitions of Century, Sun and Independent Steel greatly expands Esmark Steel Group’s presence in the Midwest market and aligns with its business strategy of acquiring family-owned businesses in the steel belt with strong customer bases and value-added service offerings.
“We’re extremely pleased to have these companies in the Esmark fold and joining Chicago Steel & Iron in serving our customers in Chicago and across the Midwest. Esmark Steel Group CEO Tom Modrowski and his management team have done a tremendous job in returning Chicago Steel & Iron to profitability and we expect the integration of these companies under the Esmark umbrella will result in similar success.”
Tom Modrowski, CEO of Esmark Steel Group, said the acquisitions are in keeping with its business strategy and will help Esmark achieve its annual revenue goals. “When we acquired Amtex Steel our growth plans called for reaching the $250-million revenue threshold by the end of 2010. We fully expect to exceed that target by the end of this year. And, we will continue to pursue other attractive service center assets in the Midwest that meet our growth strategy requirements.”
Modrowski added that Esmark intends to build on its longstanding relationship with the United Steelworkers of America and utilize its financial resources to integrate Century, Sun and Independent Steel into the Esmark Steel Group and capitalize on the economies of scale they provide. “We’ve enjoyed a long and successful relationship with the USW and look forward to building another great company with their support and participation.”
Esmark Steel Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Esmark, Inc., was formed in November 2009 to identify and pursue strategic acquisitions in the steel service center sector in the Midwest. The formation marked Esmark’s return to the steel industry following the company’s sale of its Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. and network of ten Midwest service centers to OAO Severstal in July of 2008. In addition to its acquisition of Amtex Steel in November 2009, Esmark also acquired Meadville, Pa.-based Excalibur Machine, a precision machining and steel fabrication firm that supplies parts, sub-assemblies and materials handling equipment to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) engaged in the transportation, materials handling, heavy construction and power generation industries. Excalibur is now part of Esmark’s Industrial Group subsidiary.
Esmark, Inc. is a privately owned holding company created to house the investment and philanthropic activities of James P. Bouchard, Chairman of the Board, and his brother, Craig T. Bouchard, Vice Chairman. In addition to steel, Esmark has focused on several other key industries, while Esmark Energy focuses on exploring and producing more domestic oil. The company also includes Esmark Aviation, which has an exclusive contract with the famed Cleveland Clinic to provide contract medical flight services to the institution.