History
Bruce Stein founded Triple-S Steel Supply as a small, new and used steel distribution yard in 1960. His family's roots were already deeply planted in the metals business—his father, Johnny Stein, had formed Dixie Iron and Metal Co in 1932. With the help of his wife Shirley, and a handful of great employees, Bruce made Triple-S Houston's premier source of steel.
Triple-S completed its first 20,000 square foot warehouse after relocating to a larger property in 1978. The first sales office and showroom were completed in 1983 along with a warehouse expansion to double the size. The third generation joined the company full-time in 1983, adding three Stein brothers to lead the company into the future.
The first location outside of Houston was opened in San Antonio, Texas, in 1985. The San Antonio market was so receptive that a new facility was built just two blocks away in less than three years.
An additional 100,000 square feet of steel storage was added to the Houston facility in 1995. A new hardware warehouse and administration building was also completed in 2001.
A second Houston location opened in 1998, becoming the home of the metal building components division. A new and modern facility opened at this location in 2002.
The Knoxville operation was acquired in 1998. It serves Knoxville and the surrounding area with a full line of structural steel. Shearing, cutting, and other processing services are also available at this facility.
Triple-S acquired the Houston and San Antonio divisions of this metals distribution icon in 2002. This combination created a complete resource for the steel consuming community, both large and small.
After years of planning, a new facility was completed at Port San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas. The new facility houses the joint operations of Triple-S Steel and Intsel Steel Distributors. This modern facility includes over 300,000 square feet of steel storage, with 9 overhead cranes and a complete showroom of fabrication accessories and ornamental iron.
Triple-S expanded west in 2004 with the acquisition of R & S Steel's operations in Denver and Salt Lake City. With over 20,000 tons of inventory, R & S is a key supplier of carbon steel tubing and wide flange beam to the western U.S.
Our expansion west continued in 2006 with the acquisition of Steelco and Alta-Metal Sales & Processing in Salt Lake City. At this, facility we constructed an additional structural building to house the R&S Salt Lake City operations. Today, these businesses operate under the Intsel Steel West brand and the facility has over 375,000 square feet under crane.
While North Texas has always been an important customer base for the company, in 2010 we expanded our service capabilities with a warehouse to build on the Intsel Steel and Triple-S Steel products and services.
The company's westward expansion continues during 2010 with the opening of an Intsel Steel West office in Southern California. The model for this business focuses on selling various flat rolled products to resellers and select end users.
A Triple-S store opens in April 2011 adjacent to its Intsel Steel West location. This is the first Triple-S store outside of Texas. In addition, the division installs roll forming equipment for the metal building industry to complement its already exhaustive line of products found in the Triple-S catalogue. The facility is over 80,000 square feet and houses the only indoor usable remnant yard in the area.
In May 2011, Steel Warehouse Co. of South Bend, IN and Triple-S Steel announce their joint venture to construct a new 1" x 120" capacity Temper Mill Cut to Length line located on a water and rail site in Houston. Delta Steel Technologies based in Irving, TX is commissioned by the joint venture to construct the largest Cut to Length line in the world.
In May 2012, the company acquires 71-Year Steckerl Hierros y Aceros. This division has 200 employees and includes five facilities in Colombia: Barranquilla, Cartagena, Cali, Bucaramanga, and Bogota.
In November 2012, the company enters into a Joint Venture with NexCoil, Inc. based in Long Beach, CA. This business focuses on slit coil and just-in-time delivery services for a select group of end users.
In June 2013, the company acquires General Steel of Macon, Georgia. A full line service center founded in the 1950's by the Oliner family, it has 50 employees and two locations in Macon.
In October 2013, through the Intsel Steel West, LLC entity, the company opens five new locations. It takes over the leases of three O’Neal Steel, Inc. facilities located in Commerce City, CO, Grand Junction, CO and Farmington, NM. Many of the former O’Neal employees are hired to expand the company’s presence in those regions. These new locations highly complement the existing facilities in Denver and Salt Lake City.
The company further acquires two properties in Surprise, AZ and Fontana, CA to expand on the business previously conducted through third party logistic companies. The company initiated their business through the California operations in 2010. These locations allow them to expand their business through additional product availability and services.
In October 2014, the company, under the Intsel Steel West brand name, opens a beam and plate depot in the port of Stockton, CA to augment its inventory to support its growing customer base of steel fabricators.
Maas-Hansen Steel
In the fall of 2015, the company acquires Maas-Hansen Steel. Maas-Hansen started business in 1929 and is renowned for selling cold rolled and coated flat rolled products in the west. The company has two plants, one in Vernon, California and the other in Fontana California, adjacent to Intsel Steel West's plant. For more information, go to their website
www.maashansen.com
"Today marks another milestone in the history and development of Triple-S Steel. Today, a new joint venture was formed. In partnership with Paul Sorensen, the former owner of Tube Supply Co., we have launched Triple-S Steel Tube Supply. The new business was formed by purchasing the energy steel inventories of Castle Metals in Houston and Edmonton (Alberta, Canada). This was not one of our classic ‘surplus deals.’ The purchase involved about 40,000 tons of material, nearly all of which is alloy bar and tubing. This buy puts us into a completely new line of business. We believe that it will present great opportunities for our team at this time of distress in the energy industry." Triple-S CEO Gary Stein, February 2016
Metals, Inc.
November 2016 the company acquires Metals, Inc. a Tulsa, Okla., specialty metal service center. "Stainless, Aluminum and nickel alloy plates and shapes are a new product line for us to offer our customers in Houston, and their locations in Tulsa and Mobile (Ala.) will allow us to enter entirely new geographies," Triple-S CEO Gary Stein.
www.metalsinc.com
Arbor Metals LLC
In June of 2017, we completed the acquisition of Arbor Metals in Dallas, TX. Arbor may be the most unique company in our portfolio. Arbor specializes in slitting of very thin, very narrow specialty metals. Most, but not all, of their works is in Stainless, Nickel Alloys and other specialties. Their end markets include banding, gaskets, conveyors, and all sorts of specialized manufactured goods, right down to the ball and chain on your ceiling fan! In addition to being a fine free-standing business, we think the team at Arbor, will be able to benefit in many ways from their affiliation with Triple-S.
www.arbormetals.com
Alamo Iron Works, Rolled Steel Products, BMG Metals
Triple-S acquires Alamo Iron Works, entering into the full-line MRO business. In addition, we close on two other acquisitions of Rolled Steel Products and BMG Metals.
www.aiwdirect.com
www.bmgmetals.com
Hillman Brass
In 2022, Triple-S acquires Hillman Brass & Copper based in Honey Brook, PA. They specialize in copper-based alloys, adding new capabilities to our Arbor/Metals product line and helping expand our position in the non-ferrous markets for industry and government-related projects.
www.hillmanbrass.com