Liberty Steel buys Johnstown Wire Technologies

Liberty Steel USA acquired Pennsylvania carbon and alloy wire producer Johnstown Wire Technologies (JWT), expanding the US footprint of global group GFG Alliance's manufacturing services.

The wire drawing, processing, and coating facility is the largest producer of carbon and alloy wire in North America, including cold heading quality (CHQ), electro-galvanized, aluminized and spring wire. The facility will compliment Liberty's current 2mn t/yr of wire rod rolling capacity by providing additional product-refining capabilities.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Half of JWT's production is sold into the transportation market, and the facility is the third largest producer of CHQ wire used in engine block bolts and brake pad rivets, Liberty said.

The JWT acquisition allows for Liberty to provide more products meeting specifications for materials used in infrastructure and utility contracts.

More federal funding for roadways, bridges, and related transportation improvements seemed close at hand in early May, but encountered roadblocks when talks between US President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats sputtered to a halt on 22 May.

Liberty also anticipates growth at JWT as aging US infrastructure networks require updating and modernization.

The JWT acquisition is the latest in GFG Alliance-owned Liberty's strategy to grow toward its goal of producing 5mn t/yr of steel in the US.

Since late 2017, Liberty has bought two wire rod mills with electric arc furnaces in Georgetown, South Carolina, and Peoria, Illinois. It also bought a scrap processing facility in Tampa, Florida, in 2018.