Pennsylvania Steel Company, Inc. was founded in 1972 as Pennsylvania Steel & Aluminum Company, Inc. Initially, our company operated out of a 2,500 square foot warehouse in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia. The focus of the business was to offer general line steel merchandise to the Philadelphia area with a level of flexibility and service unmatched in the area.

Huntingdon Valley, PA

The business grew and the need for more space became apparent. In 1973, we purchased a 12,500 square foot warehouse (also in Huntingdon Valley) just a mile from our existing facility. The larger warehouse allowed us to expand with more inventory and processing equipment, such as shears and plate burning. Our local delivery fleet grew to five trucks. Our office and warehouse were expanded to accommodate the growth in inventory and personnel.

In the late 1970's, it was decided that Pennsylvania Steel and Aluminum Company, Inc. would be better served as more of a product specialist than a general line steel service center. Cold finished carbon bars, a product whose contribution to sales was ever-increasing, became our specialty product. We recognized that the service center industry had a void to be filled by someone who could bring a comprehensive, competitive and continuing supply of cold finished bars to the marketplace. Pennsylvania Steel committed to fill that role. A warehouse that at one time contained four saws, one shear, one burning tables and countless tons of hot rolled steel, was transformed into a warehouse filled with cold finished bars. Inventories of long product in hot rolled, aluminum and stainless steel continued to be maintained, but cold finished bar became our number one product.

It was our goal to become the service center to other service centers who had a difficult time procuring both standard and non-standard sizes and grades of cold finished bars. The inventory grew and the marketing plan of a specialist steel company took shape. Sales staff was increased and word spread of a cold finished bar specialist in Philadelphia that could be a very valuable supplier to service centers across the country, as well as in Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. At Pennsylvania Steel, customers would find the size wanted, in the quantity desired, at a fair price, and for immediate shipment.

The early 1980's saw the completion of the transformation into a cold finished bar specialist. Inventories increased as our reputation grew. Sales grew as we kept pace with the changing marketplace. Our challenge was to constantly identify the expectations that our customers hadand bring their needs to the marketplace. By the late 1980's, we were leasing warehouse space to accommodate our inventory. We had expanded our Huntingdon Valley warehouse as far as we possibly could.

In 1988, our name was changed to Pennsylvania Steel Company, Inc. While we still maintained inventory in various products, such as aluminum, stainless and hot rolled, we felt this new name more accurately reflected our business.

In 1993, after a long search, Pennsylvania Steel purchased the long-sought facility that we needed for further growth. Located in Bensalem, just a few miles from our existing warehouse, this 80,000 square foot building enabled us to consolidate inventories and allowed room for more inventory. We moved into the new building in 1993.

The luxury of the added warehouse space allowed us to not only increase our cold finished bar stock, but also enabled us to expand our other products. Our aluminum, stainless and hot rolled inventory expanded as our business continued to grow. What was once 80,000 square feet of empty warehouse space is now quite full. Cantilever racks, overhead cranes, sawing centers, fork trucks and drive-through shipping bays allow material to move in and out efficiently.

In 1997, Pennsylvania Steel Company made its first acquisition. In February of that year, we acquired Lucas Metals in York, PA, 100 miles west of Philadelphia. Lucas Metals was a regional full line service center and customer of Pennsylvania Steel’s since Lucas opened its doors in 1988. Lucas Metals, now known as Pennsylvania Steel, Lucas Metals Division, was known for stainless steel, tubing, aluminum, and great service. The Lucas operation had a fine reputation and nucleus of dedicated people that fit perfectly into the Pennsylvania Steel family. In 1999, we built a new 45,000 square foot warehouse in York to allow for expansion. Since that time, the Lucas Division has undergone significant growth in cold finished bars as well as in their core products of stainless steel, sluminum and tubing.

Aluminum plate has became a large part of our product line since. Within a year of moving into our new York facility, we installed an Acra-Cut precision aluminum plate saw and built an inventory of both rolled plate, and cast tool and jig plate. Again, it was customer demand which dictated the expansion into aluminum plate. Aluminum plate has proven to be another complimentary product to the bar and long products already supplied by us.

The year 2001, despite tough market conditions, provided another acquisition opportunity for us. In July 2001, we acquired the Ambler, Pennsylvania operation of Cincinnati Tool Steel. Formerly known as DeMaris Steel Service, the Ambler facility had been providing tool steels and stainless steels to the greater Philadelphia marketplace for many decades. The key attributes that fueled the acquisition were again that the company had a fine reputation for service, a nucleus of talented people, and a product that meshed with those already being featured by our Bensalem and York operations. The tool steel product line and all of the equipment was consolidated into our Bensalem facility. We are proud to offer the most comprehensive tool steel inventory within our marketplace.

In 2003, customer demand presented another opportunity for us and we seized it. We opened a new facility in South Plainfield, NJ, specifically to service the North Jersey, New York City and Long Island markets. We offer our complete product line from this location and service on our own trucks. This market is growing and we will grow our facilities to meet its demands. The New England Division of PSC was a Greenfield expansion and began business in May 2005. We built a new 71,000 square foot warehouse in Naugatuck, CT. The New England Division grew rapidly and in 2008, we expanded by opening a second New England Division warehouse facility in Hudson, MA. The two warehouse facilities enable us to provide service to all of New England.

Bethlehem Aluminum was acquired by PSC in October 2007. Bethlehem Aluminum was a 50-year old aluminum service center located in Allentown, PA. PSC’s acquisition of Bethlehem Aluminum allowed market access for all products into central and northeastern Pennsylvania. Bethlehem Aluminum also brought tremendous product strength in aluminum plate and long products to PSC. The Bethlehem Aluminum Division moved to a 75,000 square foot permanent home in December 2011. In September of 2011, Schwartz Steel Service Inc. in Gastonia, NC, was acquired by Pennsylvania Steel. Schwartz Steel Service was a more than 40-year old carbon bar specialist providing product to western North Carolina and South Carolina. This recent acquisition will allow PSC to expand the Schwartz product line and enter the Carolinas marketplace. Richmond, VA is our latest market expansion. We acquired an existing service center operation in Powhatan, VA in February 2012. We will be expanding our staff, inventory and equipment immediately in order to accommodate all of the Pennsylvania Steel product line. Plans for a new warehouse and sales office are in the works.

Pennsylvania Steel is proud to remain a privately owned industry leader. Our people have been and will remain our strongest asset. In a market that's seen most service centers downsizing and reducing personnel, we are growing our sales staff as we increase our product offerings and service abilities. We worked hard to grow in size, but worked equally hard to maintain the same commitment to developing satisfied, loyal customers that our company was built upon.

We appreciate your interest in our company.

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