PRESS RELEASE DATED FEBRUARY 2,1998
Published on
EXHIBIT 20.3
RELIANCE STEEL & ALUMINUM CO. [LETTERHEAD]
NEWS RELEASE
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Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. Announces Completion of Durrett Sheppard Steel Co.
Acquisition
LOS ANGELES--Feb. 2, 1998--Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE:RS)
Monday announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of
the assets and business of Durrett Sheppard Steel Co., a carbon steel metals
service center, for $30.5 million in cash.
Durrett Sheppard annual revenues for its fiscal year ended Sept. 30,
1997 totaled approximately $47 million.
Durrett Sheppard, based in Baltimore, will operate as a wholly owned
subsidiary of Reliance, with current operating management in place.
Henry R. Hynson, a 22-year veteran of Durrett Sheppard has been named
president of the new subsidiary company. Hynson, formerly vice president of
Durrett Sheppard, will succeed Ralph H. Gibson, an entrepreneur who, along with
two other partners, purchased the business from the founders of Durrett Sheppard
in 1995.
"We look forward to our first entry into the Mid-Atlantic market area,"
said David H. Hannah, president of Reliance. "Durrett Sheppard's management team
is very strong and has successfully built an outstanding reputation for service
and quality in the metals service center industry. Our product and geographic
diversity, two important factors that set us apart from our competitors, are
enhanced by this acquisition."
Reliance Steel & Aluminum, with headquarters in Los Angeles, is one of
the largest metals service center companies in the United States. Through a
network of 45 metals service centers in 17 states, the company provides
value-added metals processing services and distributes a full line of over
20,000 metal products.
These products include: galvanized, hot-rolled and cold-finished steel;
stainless steel; aluminum; brass; copper; and alloy steel to more than 38,000
customers in various industries.
Valex Corp., a 97-percent-owned subsidiary, is a leading domestic
manufacturer and worldwide distributor of electropolished stainless steel tubing
and fittings used in the construction and maintenance of semiconductor
manufacturing plants.
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CONTACT: Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., Los Angeles
David H. Hannah, 213/582-2272
or
Hill and Knowlton Inc., Houston
Kim P. Feazle, 713/752-1927