Worthington Steel Acquires Strip Steel Assets of Gibraltar
02/02/2010 - Worthington Industries’ Steel Processing business segment has acquired the steel processing assets of Gibraltar Industries, including its Cleveland facility, the equipment and inventory of its Buffalo facility, and a warehouse facility in Detroit.
Worthington Industries, Inc.’s Steel Processing business segment has acquired the steel processing assets of Gibraltar Industries, Inc.
The acquisition—expected to be accretive in Worthington Industries’ fiscal year—expands the capabilities of Worthington Steel’s cold-rolled strip business.
“This is an excellent growth opportunity for Steel Processing to add higher margin business, while enhancing our capacity to serve existing customers, and new customers in new markets,” said John McConnell, Chairman and CEO of Worthington Industries. “We are bringing together two leading steel processing companies well known for a commitment to high-quality products and superior customer service. We are gaining an excellent workforce to join with us in continuing to deliver the best strip steel products in the industry.
“Worthington Steel has shown continued improvement and profitability during tough economic conditions largely due to its Transformation efforts,” McConnell added. “The addition of this business will help accelerate our efforts to increase the earnings capacity of Worthington Steel. Our balance sheet remains strong, allowing us to pursue other opportunities that match our criteria for strategic growth.”
Worthington acquired Gibraltar’s Cleveland facility with the added capabilities to roll wider and lighter gauge material along with oscillate slitting. Also included in the transaction were the equipment and inventory of Gibraltar’s Buffalo facility, and a warehouse facility in Detroit (Integrated Terminals).
Gibraltar plans to begin an orderly process of closing the Buffalo facility and working with Worthington Steel to coordinate customer accounts as they are transferred to Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Worthington also acquired a 31% interest in Samuel Steel Pickling, a joint venture with operations in Cleveland and Twinsburg, Ohio.
The completion of this transaction finalizes Gibraltar’s exit from steel processing businesses and establishes it as a manufacturer and distributor of products for the building and industrial markets.
“Even though our Processed Metal Products business helped us to grow and diversify our company, with the change in our strategic direction we concluded that it would be a better match with another organization like Worthington which is already in that space. As a result of this transaction, Worthington becomes the clear market leader in this product category,” said Henning N. Kornbrekke, Gibraltar’s President and Chief Operating Officer.
Worthington Steel, a Worthington Industries company, is one of America’s largest independent processors of flat-rolled steel. Operating 15 facilities across the United States and Mexico, the company offers the widest range of services in the industry, including cold-rolling both carbon and stainless steel, configured blanking, cutting-to-length, cleaning and inspecting, acrylic coating, dry lubricating, edging, hot-dipped galvanizing and galvannealing, hydrogen annealing, pickling, slitting, temper rolling, and tension leveling. Worthington Steel also has a technical team in its metallurgical laboratory equipped to assist customers on site and in product testing.
Worthington Industries is a leading diversified metals manufacturing company with 2009 fiscal year sales of approximately $2.6 billion. The Columbus, Ohio-based company employs approximately 6300 people and operates 62 facilities in 11 countries.
Gibraltar Strip Steel is a precision processor of cold-rolled strip steel for the automotive, appliance, power and hand tool, hardware, and other end markets. The business includes flat-rolled products focused on value-added process and services. Gibraltar’s rolling mills allow for a tailor-made product to customer requirements including precision-thickness tolerances, specific tempers, and specialized finishes, and Ebner annealing furnaces.
