SMU Community Chat: FGM's Jeremy Flack touts closing of Pacesetter deal

Expanding on what’s happening in the domestic market now, Flack said, “They’re not buying things made out of steel right now, and I think we’re suffering through that.”

“So we need to find edible steel. Is that the solution?” Cowden quipped.

Flack laughed. “I mean it’s probably cheaper to eat a steel sandwich than a steak these days out there.”

(So, for all our readers with culinary inclinations, please take note and send over any recipe ideas.)

Pacesetter buy

As previously mentioned, FGM recently closed on its majority stake deal for Pacesetter.

Flack dubbed it a “legendary” company founded by Steve Lebow. It operates service centers in Atlanta, Chicago, and Houston.

“Steve is still going to be with us. He’s going to continue on and help us transition the business, help us regrow that business,” Flack said. “Steve is brilliant man, and he’s got a wonderful team of people at Pacesetter.”

Flack noted that Pacesetter will remain its own brand and its own business.

“We are not going to go in there with a wrecking ball in any way, shape, or form. We want to continue to support the great things that Pacesetter does for its customers,” he said.

Shaking up the market

Flack noted two other acquisitions, metal roofer Fabral and Windsor America, parent of Windsor Door, Garage Door Services of USA and Lodi Door, both from 2023. But the Pacesetter announcement has already made a bigger splash in the market, he said.

“This thing set a bomb off both with our mill suppliers and with the community at large,” he said.

“You know, we didn’t do Field of Dreams at FGM,” Flack said. “We built a nice distribution business using the tolling route.” He noted that FGM didn’t have its own processing equipment until early last year, when the company developed its Houston facility.

“And so this (buy) smacked the industry in the forehead, saying: ‘OK, we actually are for real. It’s not just a futures and options game, but we are in the steel business,” he said.

Flack noted that prior to Pacesetter, FGM was the 30th largest steel service center in the US, even without having much of a physical footprint. He hasn’t crunched the numbers yet on where this puts FGM post-acquisition.

One thing is certain: “This now solidifies our physical footprint, allows us to control supply chains much better, and is much better for our customers and for the community,” Flack said.

“Gratitude to Steve Lebow and his team. Incredible people!” he added. “The Pacesetter team is going to stay intact and come along on this ride. So we’re just super excited.”