The deal for the 64-year-old Kansas-based fabricator is Olympic Steel’s sixth acquisition in the past five years and the second-largest in its history. It advances Olympic’s goal of diversifying and adding higher-return products, said chief executive Richard T. Marabito.

"Metal-Fab's consistent earnings model has proven recession-resistant and is a perfect strategic fit for Olympic Steel. Metal-Fab's manufacturing expertise and catalog of products are an excellent complement to our growing portfolio of metal-intensive end-use products. We are excited to broaden our product offerings, manufacturing capabilities and geographic reach with this acquisition," he said.

Metal-Fab was founded in 1958 and operates from two warehousing and fabrication facilities in Wichita. It fabricates venting and filtration products primarily from coated carbon and stainless steel and serves the residential, commercial and industrial markets. The business will continue to operate as Metal-Fab.

"Metal-Fab is a well-run organization with more than 60 years of experience, an established reputation for quality and a history of consistent double-digit annual EBITDA margins. It provides us with a solid platform for accelerating growth in two target market segments — carbon coated and stainless steel," said Olympic president and chief operating officer Andrew Greiff.

"Metal-Fab's values and operating principles are well-aligned to our culture and practices, and we expect to capitalize on a number of operational and commercial synergies that will benefit both the Metal-Fab product lines and Olympic Steel."