Feb. 5, 2007 — Quanex Corp. announced that MacSteel Atmosphere Annealing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quanex, had purchased substantially all the assets of Atmosphere Annealing, Inc. (AAI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Maxco, Inc.

Considered one of North America's leading heat-treating companies, AAI specializes in high volume, ferrous heat treating services for customers focused on automotive applications.

"The purchase of AAI builds upon MacSteel's ability to provide its Tier 1 and Tier 2 automotive customers with additional value added services and one-stop shopping. AAI, which focuses primarily on vehicular powertrain, steering and brake system components, serves many of the same customers as MacSteel," said Raymond Jean, Quanex Chairman and CEO.

"In addition, half of AAI's new business is with the automotive transplant manufacturers, which should boost MacSteel’s penetration of this growing market."

Quanex manufactures engineered materials and components for the vehicular products and building products markets. AAI, a metal heat treating company with four plants located in the Midwest, had and fiscal 2006 sales of $46.6 million.