Esmark to Buy Winner Steel
Esmark, Inc., the fast-growing Illinois company that vows to dominate the Midwest steel market, has teamed up with international partners to buy the assets of Winner Steel Inc. (Sharon, Pa.). Esmark has formed a joint venture with Russia’s Novolipetsk Steel and Switzerland’s Duferco Group to buy the galvanized steel operations for an undisclosed price. The deal could be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2007. Winner Steel is one of the largest independent producers of galvanized steel in the United States, with three lines that can produce 1.2 million tons per year. Its products are used mainly for automobiles, construction and appliances.