Moving Metal

client mills and reported back on their plans and operations. In the mid-1970s, as inflation and domestic plant closures took a toll on the domestic industry, Mitsui helped keep Reliance in the carbon steel business. TPM notwithstanding, Gimbel knew that Mitsui wanted to align itself with an American company in order to secure its position in the Southern California marketplace. Since Reliance wanted to lock in a steady steel supply at a fair price, it looked like a good opportunity for a joint venture. “Reliance’s actual dollar contribution to the venture will be

due to new projections of a worldwide steel shortage in the mid-1980s. In a twist on Zurbach’s thinking, Gimbel concluded that a “tie-in with a foreign source” might ensure uninterrupted supply and make the carbon steel venture viable. The source he had in mind was Japanese firm Mitsui Co., Ltd. Mitsui was a large and venerable trading company that brokered sales for Japanese steel producers. Reliance had bought most of its foreign supply from Mitsui since the early 1960s, so the two companies were solid business partners. Executive Vice President Joe Crider regularly visited Mitsui’s

One of Bob Zurbach’s last big projects for Reliance was coming up with a way to deal with the 1970s price controls on steel.

At the outset of what seemed a promising partnership with Mitsui, Bill and Georgina Gimbel (foreground) host a reception held for Mitsui officials in 1980.

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