Republic Steel Celebrates 125 Years of SBQ Excellence
09/21/2011 - Celebrating 125 of leadership in special bar quality steel manufacturing, Republic has announced it will return to the name Republic Steel, reflecting its heritage of SBQ leadership and innovation.
Republic Steel is celebrating 125 years of leadership in special bar quality steel manufacturing.
In recognition of its heritage of SBQ leadership and innovation, the company — known most recently as Republic Engineered Products, Inc. — announced this week it will return to the Republic Steel name that over the past 125 years has grown to be ‘synonymous with SBQ’.
"Yes, we do make highly engineered products, but the name 'Republic Steel' ultimately defines our company, our people and our steel," said President and CEO Jaime Vigil. "The more we thought about our identity, the more it became apparent that Republic Steel is really the best name we can have. It's our brand, and it stands for SBQ. Pure and simple."
Vigil cited the company’s 125 years of continuous service to loyal customers with a workforce that has historically been at the Pinnacle of SBQ leadership.
"Republic is the undisputed leader in SBQ,” continued Vigil. “We produced the first alloy heat in the world in 1907, making us the inventor of SBQ. We created the product category and even coined the term. We are 2,000 people strong, making and selling more SBQ than any other company. We're really celebrating where it all began for SBQ.”
Vigil noted that customers have already embraced the change back to the Republic Steel identity. He added that employees are ‘supercharged’ about the opportunity to forge into the next 125 years with the know-how that has become the Republic Steel hallmark.
"Our customers don't want ‘ordinary’ steel and we don't make ordinary steel," Vigil said. "We engineer SBQ products in a custom manner, melting, refining and finishing to customers' specifications. That's what they expect and that's what we deliver.
Republic, which maintains a debt-free position, continues to look for opportunities to bring more capacity on line and enhance processing capabilities in order to maintain its SBQ leadership position.
Republic Steel (formerly Republic Engineered Products, Inc.) is a leading North American supplier of special bar quality (SBQ) steel. Republic's products include hot rolled steel bars, cold-finished steel bars, and bottom-poured steel ingots. Headquartered in Canton, Ohio, the company operates steelmaking capabilities in Canton and Lorain, Ohio, as well as value-added rolling and finishing facilities in Canton, Lorain, and Massillon, Ohio; Lackawanna, N.Y.; Gary, Ind.; and Hamilton, Ontario. Republic employs approximately 2000 people.
