Though many companies are struggling with a tough economy, High Steel Service Center Inc has taken a bold step to expand its business. The full-line carbon steel service center — which celebrated its 25th anniversary in fall 2003 — has entered entirely new markets as the result of an $8 million investment. The firm's new, 58,000-square-foot Bay 5 expansion boosts the facility size to more than 200,000 square feet and has enhanced its capabilities and services.
High Steel added a high speed slitter, precision blanking line, and a 65,000-lb coil crane system that enables it to receive much larger coils from the steel mills. The slitter takes wide-width coils and slits them into narrower widths. The blanking line slits the coils, levels, and cuts the sheet metal to length in one operation. Resulting metal blanks are cut to precision, economically.
In a move to complement the expansion, the firm also recently acquired assets from a Philadelphia PA affiliate of MetalsUSA for an undisclosed price. The acquisition quickly moved High Steel into the pre-painted steel distribution business, expanding its market to include the entire Northeast.