Olympic Steel
American metals service center that processes and distributes steel, aluminum, and related metal products.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Olympic Steel is a Cleveland, Ohio-based metals service center founded in 1954. Rather than operating primarily as a commodity steel mill, the company buys, processes, warehouses, and distributes flat-rolled steel, plate, stainless steel, aluminum, tin mill products, tubing, pipe, bar, valves, fittings, and related metal-intensive products. Its customers are mainly industrial manufacturers, fabricators, construction-related businesses, transportation companies, machinery producers, and other commercial users that require material cut, shaped, finished, or delivered to specification. The business began as a metal-trading operation established by brothers Sol and Morris Siegel and Sam Sigel. It initially owned no processing facilities, but opened an 11,000-square-foot site in Bedford Heights, Ohio, in 1956. The company expanded its physical capabilities as demand grew, adding broader flat-rolled offerings and increasing warehouse capacity. By the 1970s, Olympic Steel had developed a more substantial regional operating base, and the arrival of Michael Siegal, Sol Siegal’s son, helped shape the company’s subsequent ownership and leadership. Olympic Steel’s growth has combined geographic expansion, acquisitions, and investment in value-added processing. Its capabilities have included tempering, stretch leveling, cutting to length, slitting, edging, shearing, blanking, burning, forming, shot blasting, laser punching, plate rolling, fabrication, machining, and welding. These processes allow customers to purchase material in forms closer to their production requirements, reducing handling and the need for in-house preparation. The company has also expanded beyond conventional flat-rolled distribution through businesses serving tubing, pipe, bar, valves, fittings, tin mill products, stainless strip, and branded products. Acquisitions have been central to this model. The company added regional steel distributors and processors from the late 1980s onward, entered machining through the purchase of JNT Machining assets in 1998, acquired Tinsley Group in 2006, and bought Chicago Tube & Iron in 2011. Chicago Tube & Iron broadened Olympic Steel’s reach into tubular products and related fabrication, including pressure-part manufacturing. Later transactions added Berlin Metals, McCullough Industries, the EZ-Dumper product line, and Action Stainless & Alloys. Olympic Steel became a public company in the 1990s and trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol ZEUS. Its operating footprint has included facilities and distribution locations across the United States, with international trading activity connected to Mexico and Puerto Rico. Leadership transitioned from Michael Siegal, who moved from chief executive to executive chairman effective January 1, 2019, to Richard T. Marabito as chief executive officer. The company’s positioning is that of a value-added metals distributor and processor: it competes through inventory availability, processing expertise, logistics, customer service, and specialized operating businesses rather than through primary steelmaking alone.
History
Olympic Steel was founded in 1954 by Sol Siegel, Morris Siegel, and Sam Sigel as a metal-trading company. The business initially operated without its own facilities, relying on trading and distribution activity. In 1956 it opened an 11,000-square-foot facility in Bedford Heights, Ohio, establishing a physical base for warehousing and processing. The site grew to 35,000 square feet by 1966, by which time Olympic Steel was offering several flat-rolled steel products, including coil and plate. A further expansion in 1976 brought the facility to 56,000 square feet. Sol Siegel’s son Michael joined the company in 1975 and bought out his father’s interest in 1984. David Wolfort joined the management team as general manager. During the 1980s, Olympic Steel began developing a broader regional network, opening sales offices in Georgia and Pennsylvania, acquiring Viking Steel Company in Illinois in 1987, and converting its eastern sales operation into a warehouse-based Philadelphia Division in 1988. In 1989, the Southern Division was consolidated in Greenville, South Carolina, and Olympic Steel Trading was formed to sell steel in Puerto Rico and Mexico. The company acquired Eastern Steel of Connecticut and Juster Steel of Minnesota in 1990, followed by Lafayette Steel & Processing of Detroit in 1995. Olympic Steel became a public company in the 1990s. It sold four million shares in its initial public offering and sold an additional 2.5 million shares in 1996. The company continued to broaden its processing platform. In 1997 it acquired Southeastern Metal Processing for $17 million and began construction of a second temper mill in Bettendorf, Iowa. In 1998 it entered machining by acquiring the assets of JNT Machining for $795,000 and opening a facility in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The company continued its acquisition and capital-investment strategy in the 2000s. In 2006 it acquired Tinsley Group of Siler City, North Carolina, for $10 million. In 2008 it announced fabrication facilities in Dover, Ohio, and Sumter, South Carolina. In 2010 it acquired a 100,000-square-foot Mount Sterling, Kentucky, facility for plate burning, machining, forming, and shot blasting. In 2011 it acquired Chicago Tube & Iron for $156 million, adding a substantial tubular-products distribution and fabrication business. That year it also acquired a facility at U.S. Steel’s Gary Works site in Gary, Indiana, for a temper mill and cut-to-length line, and opened a warehouse and distribution center in Kansas City. Olympic Steel received the American Metal Market Service Center of the Year award in 2012. In 2013, Sol Siegal died. The company added a cut-to-length stretcher-leveler line at its Winder, Georgia, facility in 2015. In 2017 it closed its Chatham County, North Carolina, plant, resulting in 51 layoffs. In 2018 it acquired the assets of Berlin Metals, a North American service center focused on prime tin mill products and stainless-steel strip in slit-coil form. The company’s portfolio expanded further in 2019. It acquired the assets of McCullough Industries, a Kenton, Ohio, manufacturer of branded self-dumping hoppers, opened a distribution facility in Hanceville, Alabama, and acquired assets related to the EZ-Dumper hydraulic dump-insert business. In December 2020 it acquired Action Stainless & Alloys. Across these phases, Olympic Steel developed from a regional trading operation into a multi-location metals service center with processing, distribution, fabrication, machining, and branded-product capabilities. Reference material also reports a 2026 merger of Olympic Steel’s operations with those of Ryerson Holding Corporation; the corporate implications and present operating structure require verification against current company disclosures.
- 2026
Reported merger with Ryerson operations
[1]Reference material reports completion of a merger involving Olympic Steel and Ryerson Holding Corporation operations.
- 2020
Action Stainless & Alloys acquired
[1]Olympic Steel acquired Action Stainless & Alloys.
- 2019
Leadership transition and portfolio expansion
[1]Michael Siegal became executive chairman, Richard T. Marabito became CEO, and the company added McCullough Industries and EZ-Dumper-related assets.
- 2018
Berlin Metals assets acquired
[1]Olympic Steel acquired assets of Berlin Metals, focused on tin mill products and stainless-steel strip.
- 2012
Service Center of the Year
[1]American Metal Market named Olympic Steel its 2012 Service Center of the Year.
- 2011
Chicago Tube & Iron acquired
[1]The acquisition expanded Olympic Steel into tubular-products distribution and related fabrication.
- 2006
Tinsley Group acquired
[1]Olympic Steel acquired Tinsley Group of Siler City, North Carolina.
- 1998
Machining capability added
[1]The company entered machining by acquiring JNT Machining assets and opening a Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, facility.
- 1997
Southeastern Metal Processing acquired
[1]Olympic Steel acquired Southeastern Metal Processing and began building a second temper mill in Iowa.
- 1994
Initial public offering
[1]Olympic Steel became a public company through an initial public offering of four million shares.
Products and positioning
Value-added metals service center combining broad inventory, regional distribution, specialized processing, fabrication, and customer-specific supply services.
Flat-rolled steel · 1954
Carbon steel
Olympic Steel distributes carbon-steel sheet, coil, and plate and provides processing that can prepare these products for manufacturing and fabrication customers. Services include cutting to length, slitting, leveling, shearing, blanking, forming, and other customer-specific preparation.
Specialty flat-rolled metals
Stainless steel
The company processes and distributes stainless-steel sheet, coil, plate, and strip. Its stainless activities include slit-coil processing and distribution, supported by the Berlin Metals and Action Stainless & Alloys businesses referenced in company history.
Nonferrous metals
Aluminum products
Olympic Steel distributes aluminum alloy products for industrial customers. Aluminum may be supplied in forms suited to manufacturing requirements through the company’s inventory, processing, and logistics network.
Tubular products · 2011
Chicago Tube & Iron products
Chicago Tube & Iron distributes steel tubing, pipe, bar, valves, and fittings and provides fabrication of pressure parts. The business broadened Olympic Steel’s offering beyond flat-rolled materials and added specialized tubular-product support.
Specialty steel · 2018
Tin mill products
Olympic Steel processes and distributes tin mill products, including products associated with the Berlin Metals acquisition. These materials serve specialized industrial and packaging-related applications.
Branded metal-intensive products · 2019
EZ-Dumper
EZ-Dumper is a branded hydraulic dump-insert product line acquired through assets related to its manufacturing business. The inserts are designed for use with vehicles and provide a specialized finished-product extension to Olympic Steel’s metals platform.
Brand decisions
2026
Reported merger with Ryerson operationsM&ABackground
Reference material describes a combination involving two metals processing and distribution businesses.
Action taken
Olympic Steel reportedly completed a merger of its operations with those of Ryerson Holding Corporation.
Aftermath
The resulting ownership, brand architecture, listing status, and operating structure require confirmation from current corporate filings or company announcements.
2020
Acquisition of Action Stainless & AlloysM&ABackground
Olympic Steel continued expanding its specialty stainless-steel distribution capabilities.
Action taken
It acquired Action Stainless & Alloys.
Aftermath
The acquisition added to the company’s stainless and specialty-metals platform.
2019
Chief executive leadership transitionStrategyBackground
The company planned a change in its senior leadership structure while retaining Michael Siegal in a board leadership role.
Action taken
Effective January 1, 2019, Michael Siegal became executive chairman and Richard T. Marabito became chief executive officer.
Aftermath
The transition separated the executive-chairman and CEO roles and marked a new phase of operational leadership.
2018
Acquisition of Berlin Metals assetsM&ABackground
Olympic Steel pursued additional specialization in tin mill products and stainless-steel strip.
Action taken
The company acquired the assets of Berlin Metals.
Aftermath
Olympic Steel added a specialized North American service-center operation focused on prime tin mill products and slit stainless strip.
2011
Acquisition of Chicago Tube & IronM&ABackground
Olympic Steel sought to expand its product range and processing footprint beyond flat-rolled steel distribution.
Action taken
It acquired Chicago Tube & Iron for $156 million, adding tubular-product distribution and pressure-part fabrication.
Aftermath
The transaction broadened the company’s metals service-center platform into tubing, pipe, bar, valves, fittings, and related fabrication.
Acquisition price. $156 million (May 2011)
Recent events
Venture Steel acquires Olympic Steel’s Detroit assets[3]
Reported:
Venture Steel acquired Olympic Steel’s local Detroit assets for $58.4 million in cash, subject to a future working capital adjustment.
Sources3 sources
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