Ampco-Pittsburgh

Pennsylvania Steel Producer Transfers Specialty Steel, Cast Roll Subsidiaries

A Pittsburgh-based steel and aluminum producer for multiple industries, including oil and gas, sold its Canadian specialty steel subsidiary to a global manufacturer of stainless steel and nickel alloys bars and wires.

Valbruna Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of Acciaierie Valbruna S.p.A., of Vicenza, Italy, purchased ASW Steel Inc, a steel fabricator in Welland, Ontario, from Ampco-Pittsburgh, which operates through its operating subsidiary Union Electric Steel which produces forged and cast rolls for the worldwide steel and aluminum industries.

The new company will now be known as Valbruna ASW.

Brett McBrayer, Ampco-Pittsburgh’s CEO

In a related transaction, Ampco-Pittsburgh, which also manufactures ingot and open die forged products, air and liquid processing equipment, primarily custom-engineered finned tube heat exchange coils, large custom air handling systems, and centrifugal pumps, announced it completed the sale of its Avonmore, Pennsylvania, cast roll manufacturing facility, Akers National Roll, to an affiliate of WHEMCO, Inc., also located in Pittsburgh, which uses heat treating and other metal-forming capabilities in the manufacture of heavy industrial components for the metals, power generation, mining, and shipbuilding industries.

“As previously discussed, excess capacity and high operating costs in our cast roll system have made the operation of the Avonmore facility unsustainable,” said Brett McBrayer, Ampco-Pittsburgh’s CEO. “With the closing of this transaction, the divestiture of our Canadian specialty steel operations, as announced yesterday, and further improvement initiatives being implemented in our businesses, we expect a significant impact on our future financial results moving forward. The Corporation remains focused and committed to building a sustainable and profitable future for our core businesses.”

 

Photo image credit: Akers National Roll

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Ampco-Pittsburgh Acquires ASW Steel Inc.

 

John Stanik CEO Ampco-Pittsburgh

John Stanik - CEO Ampco-Pittsburgh

Ampco-Pittsburgh said it would pay $3.5 million in cash and assume $9.6 million of the Welland, Ontario, company's liabilities. ASW will become a part of the Union Electric Steel Corp. division of Ampco-Pittsburgh. The manufacturing plant, with an electric arc furnace, is located close to the U.S.-Canadian border near Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Buffalo. It was founded in 1918 as the Dillon Crucible Steel Alloy Co. and was acquired by MMFX in 2010.

"This acquisition is a very important element in Ampco-Pittsburgh’s strategic diversification plan," said John Stanik, CEO of Ampco-Pittsburgh, in a statement. "ASW’s proven broad expertise in flexible steel refining methods will provide us with the capabilities to manufacture the additional chemistries needed to expand our reach in the open-die forging market. The transaction also enhances our ability to grow in markets in which we currently participate and to add new markets for customers in the oil and gas, power generation, aerospace, transportation, and construction industries.”

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