CHIPS

By Staff -- Purchasing, 9/7/2000

Worthington Industries of Columbus, Ohio, has created a new business, Worthington Steelpac Systems in York, Pa., to custom-produce steel shipping pallets for a variety of shipment needs including recreational vehicles, such as motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles.

Azco Steel of Saddle Brook, N.J., has been purchased by Bushwick Metals of Bridgeport Conn., a subsidiary of Marmon/Keystone Corp. Azco is a distributor of high-strength steel bars, plate, channels and wide-flange beams.

Crucible Materials of Syracuse, N.Y., has decided to retain its Trent Tube operations and operate it as an ongoing business. Earlier, Crucible had retained kpmg to determine whether to divest or retain the East Troy, Wis.-based producer of stainless steel and high-alloy tubular products.

Steel bar products firm Republic Technologies International Inc. of Fairlawn, Ohio, will close its 12-inch rolling mill in Canton, Ohio, in late September and move the work to more modern rolling operations in Lorain, Ohio, and Lackawanna, N.Y. Republic Technologies was formed last July when Republic Engineered Steels merged with Bar Technologies. The company has 14 plants in the U.S. and Canada.

NKK Corp. of Japan and National Steel Corp. of the U.S. have initiated a formal research and development agreement for the development of advanced high-strength steels and such new coated products as anti-fingerprint and anti-friction sheet and laminated coating systems for sheet steels.

BHP Copper has sold its copper refinery in White Pine, Mich., to Considar of Canada. The Michigan plant will refine anodes from Considar Metal Marketing, a smelter formerly called Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting, into 75,000 short tons/year of copper cathode.

Solitario Resources Corp. of Denver has acquired Altoro Gold Corp. of Vancouver. The combination of Solitario's and Altoro's assets will create a mineral resource company with an expanded array of South American exploration properties which have the potential to host major zinc, platinum, palladium, nickel and gold deposits.

Construction of the Mobile Steelworks of Ipsco Inc. still is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2001. The $425-million steel plant in Alabama will have capacity to pour 1.25 million tons annually in raw carbon and alloy steel and will produce thick sheet, coiled plate and cut (discrete) plate products.