Moving Metal

Bill Gimbel’s early 1960s invention had come a long way by 1988, when Reliance division Tube Service Co. installed the first automatic storage and retrieval system of its kind.

dent.” If Reliance believed that the prospective companies could be fixed then it bought them, and subsequently ran them as separate divisions under Reliance managers, refi- nanced them, or integrated them into existing operations. “It was really just buying the assets of those companies and their customer lists,” Hannah explained. “We did that, on average, a couple a year between the time I started in ’81 until 1994.” All of this good news was tempered by a tragic accident at the Vernon plant, followed by a three-year investigation and trial. During the night shift on July 22, 1985, a twenty- two-year-old employee was crushed to death in the recoiler of a steel slitter. As required by law, Reliance conducted an internal investigation and officially reported the death and the cir- cumstances surrounding it to the proper city, county, and state authorities. At the time, the city of Los Angeles was cracking down on violations of the Occupational Safety and SHOP FLOOR AND EXECUTIVE OFFICE CHALLENGES

In 1988, Reliance took over part of another competitor when it acquired Earle M. Jorgensen’s coil and sheet pro- cessing division in Los Angeles for $7 million. This facility was consolidated with Reliance’s Los Angeles division. In line with the policy of separating metal product lines, Bralco opened a new division that was augmented by the non-ferrous inventory transferred there by Reliance Phoenix, which maintained its carbon steel business. Tube Service Co., meanwhile, installed the first automated tube handling system of its kind in the nation and opened a new branch in Tempe, thereby expand- ing Reliance’s Arizona territory. In 1989, Reliance bought the carbon steel assets of Gate City Steel in Albuquerque from Valmont Industries of Valley, Nebraska. As Reliance celebrated its fiftieth anniversary that year, sales topped a record $350 million, boosted by a strong national economy. Dave Hannah later described the strategy behind these 1980s acquisitions. “We always paid attention to what the companies did and what their reputations were,” he said. “Mostly in those days the only companies that were available were small, troubled ones. They either were mismanaged or they didn’t have the financial capability to stay indepen-

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