Moving Metal

In April 2002, Reliance acquired Olympic Metals, Inc. Founded in 1978, the company specialized in the process- ing and distribution of aluminum, bronze, brass, and copper, along with stainless steel products. With a 20,000-square- foot facility, Olympic Metals put Reliance decisively into the long-sought Denver and Rocky Mountain market. At the same time, Reliance bought Central Plains Steel Company, gaining facilities in Kansas City and Wichita, Kansas. Central Plains Steel was a processor and distributor of carbon steel products that achieved sales of $39 million in 2001. KEEPING THE FOCUS In November 2001, at the height of the economic crisis, Houston-based Metals USA Inc., a roll-up company, filed for bankruptcy. Ten months later, in September 2002, a U.S. bankruptcy court approved a reorganization plan that called for Reliance to purchase the assets of Metals USA Specialty Metals Northwest Inc., a division of Metals USA Inc. For more than 120 years the division had been known as Pacific Metal Company, operating as a private company handling aluminum and coated carbon steel products based in the Pacific North- west. Fifteen years earlier, Pacific Metal’s employees had purchased the company through an employee stock owner- ship plan. “The employees really took to heart this ownership role,” recalled Pacific Metal President Sandy Nosler. “There was tremendous employee pride in the company name.” But by the late 1990s Pacific Metal needed deeper pockets in order to expand and selling the company seemed like the best solution. Reliance was interested in the company, but was outbid by Metals USA, which acquired the company with its stock in 1998 and retired the Pacific Metal Company name. With the bankruptcy of Metals USA, Pacific Metal employ-

A cut-to-length line at Central Plains Steel, acquired by Reliance in 2002.

Pacific Metal lost no time changing the signs when, after the 2002 acquisition, Reliance brought back its venerable name.

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