Steel Dynamics

expanded its bar product operations with its purchase of Roanoke Electric Steel, a fabricator of small beams in Virginia, for $240 million. The deal includes Steel of West Virginia, a bar making subsidiary of Roanoke, with two melt shops, one in Memphis, Tenn., and one in Huntington, W.Va.

Metaldyne, one of North America's largest suppliers of automotive forgings, is preparing to exit the business. The Plymouth, Mich.-based firm has hired investment firm Goldman Sachs to explore a sale of the forgings division, which generated $346 million in sales in 2004.

Scot Forge

has begun operating a new multi-million-dollar open-die press, one of the largest of its kind in the world, in Spring Grove, Ill. The employee-owned company manufactures metal open-die and rolled-ring forgings for about 6,000 customers.

Sheffield Steel, a mini-mill, is installing a new 750,000 net ton/year ladle furnace at its plant in Sand Springs, Okla., to boost value-added processing of hot-rolled merchant and special quality steel bar products. Start-up of the new equipment is planned for late 2006.

O'Neal Steel, a steel distributor based in Birmingham, Ala., has acquired TW Metals, a specialty metals service center company that will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary. Based in Exton, Pa., TW Metals stocks and processes a wide variety of steel, along with high alloys such as nickel and titanium.

will open a new service center in northern Alabama and "significantly" expand its Montreal, Quebec, Canada, facility during the first half of 2006. The firm specializes in the distribution of carbon, alloy and stainless steels; nickel alloy; aluminum; copper and brass.

plant in Jackson, Tenn., which casts aluminum engine blocks for its parent, Toyota. Eventually, Bodine will cast about one million engine blocks annually and beginning in 2007 will have the capacity to cast 270,000 aluminum transmission cases and housings annually.

completed its sale of its steel pipe (Stelpipe-brand) assets to tube maker Lakeside Steel

of Welland, Ontario, Canada. Meanwhile, Hamilton, Ontario-based Stelco signed a deal to sell global giant Mittal Steel

three of its subsidiaries: Stelwire in Ontario, Stelfil in Lachine, Quebec, and Norambar in Contrecoeur, Quebec.

Atlas Tube

of Harrow, Ontario, Canada, will build a $55 million steel tube mill in Blytheville, Ark. The 450,000 sq ft mill will house two state-of-the-art tube mills capable of producing 0.625-in. wall round tubing up to 16 in. in diameter and square or rectangular tubing up to 12 in. Atlas Tube recently acquired Maverick Tube's structural tubing business and Copperweld's structural tubing operations.

Ryerson Tull Inc.

of Chicago, North America's largest metals distributor, is changing its name to Ryerson Inc.

on Jan. 1, 2006. The move completes the takeover of Integris Metals, which gives Ryerson about $6 billion in sales this year. Earlier, what had been Joseph T. Ryerson purchased J.M. Tull Metals and J&F Steel.

Macsteel Service Centers USA

is expanding its heavy-gauge steel processing capabilities by acquiring the business and assets of Alpha Processing

in Chicago, an affiliate of distributorship Alpha Steel, which Macsteel acquired earlier this year.

has started a major upgrade of the electric-arc furnace at the company's Canton, Ohio, steelmaking facility. Republic expects the upgrade to improve furnace productivity by 20% while decreasing electrical energy use.

Northwest Pipe

of Portland, Ore., and Lone Star Steel

of Dallas have entered into a strategic marketing alliance under which Lone Star Steel will be the exclusive marketing representative for Northwest Pipe's light-wall, high-strength API (American Petroleum Institute) line pipe products in North America.