Samuel Expands New Tennessee Facility

As part of its ongoing automotive growth strategy, Samuel, Son & Co., Limited (Mississauga, Canada) announced a further expansion of its newly opened facility in Columbia, TN. Their grand opening was held on April 14, 2016, and attended by Dean Dickey, the mayor of the city, along with other dignitaries. Company chairman Mark Samuel announced the expansion of the state-of-the-art facility.

According to Bill Chisholm, the company president and chief executive officer, the improvements will bring the total investment in the plant to more than $62 million and, when completed, the 200,000 sq ft facility will house two blanking lines and a slitting line. “This major investment clearly signals that we will be a first mover into the advanced high strength metals and aluminum business in the U.S.,” said Chisholm. Specific details of the announcement include:

• A 100,000 sq ft expansion of the facility, adding two additional bays
• A second blanking line
• A state-of-the-art 84 in slitter

These improvements are expected to be operational within approximately seven months to a year and will complete the start-up of the green field facility. This expansion will provide their customers with a one-stop processing solution that will see product railed to the facility, slit, lubricated, and blanked all at one location representing significant cost savings, improved quality control and greatly improved freight and logistics. The Columbia plant is also close to several OEMs, a number of steel and aluminum mills and numerous significant end-use customers.

Tom McGrogan, the president of Canadian service centers and the head of Samuel Automotive Vertical, says this announcement is the next step for the company in continuing to develop their automotive business. “This expansion supports our automotive customers in increasing their use of aluminum and advanced high strength steels in today’s vehicles to reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency, and clearly signals that we are poised to become a major player in this changing market,” he noted.

Samuel provides end-to-end solutions in the distribution, transportation, processing and manufacturing of metals and industrial products. Founded in 1855, this North American family-owned metals processor and distributor operates with more than 4,800 employees in over 100 locations and offers a full range of processing services and a complete range of carbon, stainless and aluminum products in all shapes and forms.

www.samuel.com