Moving Metal

April 1997 was a big month for Reliance. There was the acquisition of AMI Metals, Inc., which specialized in aluminum plate, sheet, and bar materials for the aerospace industry. “We are pleased to become a part of this exceptional company,” said Robin L. Koop, then-president of the Nash- ville, Tennessee-based service center company. In addition, Amalco Metals joined the Reliance family as a subsidiary. This company, located in Union City, California, specialized in precision cut aluminum plate and sheet products. Reliance did not turn a profit by downsizing corporations, so Hannah was usually able to inform new employees that they were not going to lose their jobs. Unfortunately, Amalco was badly overstaffed, so Hannah told its employees the bad news at the outset to avoid uncertainty and ugly surprises down the road. Reliance later merged Amalco with its existing metals service center in Santa Clara. These operations were then combined into a new, larger facility in Union City. Both acqui- sitions allowed Reliance to expand its aluminum product base and increase its share of the market in the aerospace industry. In October 1997 Reliance extended its reach further into the Pacific Northwest, buying Service Steel Aerospace Corp. in Tacoma, Washington. Service Steel Aerospace specialized in distributing and processing aerospace-quality stainless and alloy steel. Oversight fell to William K. “Bill” Sales Jr., who had just been hired as Vice President, Non-Ferrous Operations. Sales was born in Camden, Arkansas, grew up in Louisiana, and spent eighteen years at Kaiser Aluminum. Mollins had his hands full with the other acquisitions and so he handed Sales the aluminum, brass, and stainless steel portfolio. Like his other management colleagues, Sales maintained a light touch, allowing division or subsidiary personnel tomanage the day-to-day operations, while providing oversight and exper-

Sawing stainless steel rounds at Service Steel Aerospace, purchased by Reliance in October 1997.

and acquisition savvy.” In presenting Gimbel with its highest honor, the Helfrick Award, the SSCI observed that “his leader- ship and guidance grew Reliance from a small, privately held metals service center located in Los Angeles, to a nationally known company with forty locations and revenues of almost $1 billion.” Gimbel humbly accepted this tribute during this last public appearance, and subsequently retired to his home in San Marino. In the meantime, Joe Crider, Dave Hannah, and Gregg Mollins, kept Reliance on its growth trajectory. There was plenty of room to expand. The national metals service center market was very large and still fragmented— and Reliance controlled no more than five percent of it.

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