Service Centers

McDonald Steel Acquires Cleveland Plate Processor General Steel

October 26, 2022

Engineered shapes producer McDonald Steel Corp. is adding plate processing capabilities to its portfolio via the acquisition of General Steel Corp.

Mac Steel GSC Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of McDonald Steel, recently acquired the assets of General Steel, a Cleveland-based plate service center and processor, for an undisclosed sum.

The addition of plate processing capabilities naturally complements McDonald’s line of specialty hot-rolled shapes, according to McDonald Steel president Jim Grasso.

Additionally, the “partnership will enable us to more fully serve our current customers, particularly those related to rail transportation and infrastructure reinvestment, and will pave the way for increased penetration of the construction and agriculture markets,” Grasso said.

General Steel will continue to operate as its own stand-alone company.

McDonald Steel, a company represented on the Steel Manufacturers Association’s Board of Directors, is based in eastern Ohio in the village of McDonald — just about halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The company was founded in 1981 on the site of US Steel’s McDonald Works which were shuttered by the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker in 1979.

By Laura Miller, Laura@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held a variety of positions within the steel industry since 2007, including reporting and editing for Steel Business Briefing/Platts, the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, and Kallanish Commodities, as well as marketing for what was then known as ThyssenKrupp Steel USA (now AM/NS Calvert). After a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel in 2021 and has covered the flat rolled, tubular, and trade areas of the industry. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.