Commercial Metals Company
American steel and metal recycling company.
Last updated August 31, 2026
Overview
Commercial Metals Company (CMC) is a United States-based steel and metals company headquartered in Irving, Texas. Its principal business is the production, processing, fabrication, and distribution of steel and related construction materials, supported by an extensive metal-recycling network. The company is particularly associated with reinforcing bar, commonly called rebar, which is used to strengthen concrete in buildings, bridges, roads, and other infrastructure. Alongside rebar, CMC supplies structural and merchant steel products, steel components, and other materials used in construction. CMC traces its origins to 1915, when Russian immigrant Jacob Feldman established American Iron & Metal Company as a scrap-trading business. The company's development reflects the relationship between scrap collection, recycling, electric-arc-furnace steelmaking, and construction-material distribution. Rather than relying principally on large integrated blast-furnace plants, CMC's operating model includes electric arc furnace mini-mills that use ferrous scrap as a major raw material. This model connects its recycling activities with its steel manufacturing operations and supports a circular approach to metal production. The company operates a broad network of facilities in the United States and Poland. The network includes electric arc furnace mini-mills, scrap-recycling locations, steel fabrication plants, and other processing and distribution facilities. Its North American activities serve construction and infrastructure customers, while its Polish operations extend the company's manufacturing and commercial presence in Europe. CMC also owns Tensar, a producer of foundation and reinforcement systems used in roadway construction, public infrastructure, industrial facilities, and related civil-engineering applications. CMC is one of the major suppliers of reinforcing steel in the United States. Its competitive position is based on manufacturing scale, access to recycled ferrous material, regional production and distribution, construction-industry relationships, and the ability to provide both mill products and fabricated or engineered solutions. In fiscal 2023, the company shipped 6.1 million short tons of steel to external customers. Approximately 84 percent of sales were generated in the United States and 16 percent by facilities in Poland, according to the referenced company overview. The brand's business scope extends beyond a single steel product. CMC combines scrap recycling, steelmaking, downstream fabrication, construction-material supply, and civil-engineering products. This integrated structure allows the company to participate at several points in the materials chain, from collecting and preparing scrap to producing reinforcing steel and supplying systems used in infrastructure projects. The company is publicly traded under the ticker symbol CMC. Its positioning is industrial and business-to-business rather than consumer-facing, with emphasis on dependable supply, construction performance, recycling, and infrastructure development.
History
Commercial Metals Company began in 1915, when Jacob Feldman founded American Iron & Metal Company as a scrap-trading enterprise. The company's early identity was therefore rooted in the collection and commercial handling of metal rather than in primary steelmaking. Over time, its activities developed into a broader metals platform incorporating recycling, steel production, fabrication, and distribution. The company's later operating model became closely associated with electric arc furnace steelmaking. Mini-mills using electric arc furnaces generally melt ferrous scrap and convert it into new steel products, linking CMC's recycling operations with its manufacturing business. This structure has been particularly relevant to the production of reinforcing steel for the construction sector. Rebar became a central part of CMC's identity because it is widely used to reinforce concrete in buildings, transport infrastructure, bridges, and public works. CMC expanded its network to include multiple types of industrial facilities. These include electric arc furnace mini-mills, scrap-recycling plants, steel-fabrication sites, and other processing and distribution locations. The resulting network supports both the acquisition of scrap and the delivery of finished steel products to construction and infrastructure customers. The company also developed an international manufacturing presence through facilities in Poland. A further element of CMC's modern portfolio is Tensar, a business producing foundation systems and reinforcement products for roadways, public infrastructure, and industrial facilities. Tensar broadens the group's construction offering beyond conventional mill steel by adding engineered systems used in civil engineering and ground-support applications. By fiscal 2023, CMC was described as operating 212 facilities in the United States and Poland. It shipped 6.1 million short tons of steel to external customers during that fiscal year. The United States accounted for 84 percent of sales, while facilities in Poland accounted for 16 percent. These figures illustrate the continuing importance of the North American market alongside the company's European operations. CMC is identified as one of the two primary United States suppliers of steel used to reinforce concrete, together with Nucor. Its history consequently reflects the growth of a scrap-based steel business into a major construction-materials supplier. Today, its activities span recycling, electric-arc-furnace steelmaking, steel fabrication, construction products, and infrastructure reinforcement systems, with the company operating as a public corporation under the CMC ticker.
- 2023Large-scale North American and Polish operations
In fiscal 2023, CMC operated 212 facilities in the United States and Poland and shipped 6.1 million short tons of steel to external customers.
- 1915Founding as a scrap-trading company
Jacob Feldman founded American Iron & Metal Company in the United States, establishing the business that later became Commercial Metals Company.
Products and positioning
Steel manufacturing and recycling
RebarReinforcing steel
Reinforcing bar is CMC's best-known steel product and is used inside concrete structures to improve tensile strength and structural performance. Its applications include buildings, bridges, roads, and other infrastructure. CMC is described as one of the principal United States suppliers of steel reinforcement products.
Structural and merchant steelConstruction steel
CMC produces and supplies structural and merchant steel products used by construction and industrial customers. These products support the fabrication of building frameworks, infrastructure components, and other construction assemblies. The referenced material identifies structural steel and related construction materials among the company's core offerings.
Metal recyclingRecycling services and materials
CMC collects, processes, and recycles ferrous scrap for use in its metals operations and for commercial supply. Recycling is a foundational part of the company's business model, connecting scrap procurement with electric-arc-furnace steelmaking and helping create a circular flow from discarded metal to new construction products.
Tensar foundation systemsCivil-engineering and infrastructure systems
Tensar produces foundation and reinforcement systems used in roadway construction, public infrastructure, and industrial facilities. The business extends CMC's portfolio into engineered civil-engineering solutions that complement conventional steel products and address ground-support and infrastructure-construction requirements.
Flagship businesses
- recycled steel
- Rebar
- Structural steel
- Metal recycling
- Tensar foundation and reinforcement systems
Sources
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