In a statement, Bayou Steel said Dan Lay will serve as vice president of sales and marketing. 

"We are excited to have Dan join the Bayou Steel Group team and are certain his knowledge and experience will highly accelerate our efforts to become a solid and reliable supplier in our marketplace,” said Bayou Steel chief executive officer Robert A. Simon.   

“Dan's appointment is not only exciting, but launches us forward in achieving our goal of becoming the supplier of choice," he added. 

At Gerdau, Lay most recently served as director of rebar sales for the U.S. and Canada, a position in which he was responsible for all external mills sales. Prior to that, he served as the director of merchant products and beam sales in the U.S. and Canada. 

He began his Gerdau career in 2005. 

Lay succeeds Jim Howe, who has been named vice president of strategic sales and business development. 

Howe, a 40-year industry veteran, joined the newly reconstituted Bayou Steel in 2016. 

"In his new role, Jim will work with Dan and I as well as the rest of the leadership team in continuing to pursue our objective of becoming the most reliable provider of merchant products and small beams in North America," Simon said. “The coupling of skills from Dan and Jim Howe will provide our customers with top-of-class market knowledge and understanding."

In other developments, Bayou Steel has joined the Steel Manufacturers Association, an industry group that represents North American electric arc furnace producers.  

“Bayou Steel is pleased to partner with the SMA and its member companies,” Simon said. “We are committed to strengthening and maintaining a strong safety culture, and SMA has for years led the industry in safety. This, combined with SMA’s public policy leadership, will benefit both Bayou Steel and the industry as a whole."