Get to Know Gary

Steel runs deep in Gary, IN and Olympic Steel’s Gary facility continues that legacy as a key Midwest processing hub. Take a look at what goes into what comes out of our Gary, IN division.

Steel runs deep in Gary, Indiana—so deep that it’s really the reason the city exists. U.S. Steel acquired the land in the early 1900s to build what would become one of the largest steel mills in the country, then built the town right along with it, laying out streets, houses and schools for the workers who'd run the mill. Named after the company’s founding chairman, Elbert H. Gary, the city was, from day one, built to support the mill and keep steel production running.

More than a century later, Olympic Steel expanded into Gary, installing our third temper mill and cut-to-length line at 1251 North Clark Road. This was a strategically chosen location on the far west side of the same U.S. Steel Gary Works campus the city was built to serve. It put us close to a major source of domestic steel and right in the heart of the Midwest manufacturing corridor, where many of the customers and industries we support do business.

The expansion gave us capacity to temper pass an additional 150,000 to 180,000 tons of steel each year, and with direct access to rail, nearby port service and busy interstates, the team also had several ways to get material in, processed and out to customers. Together, those advantages helped us keep up with growing customer demand in the Chicago area, while the new line freed up capacity at our temper mills in Cleveland and Bettendorf.

The Gary team processed its first coil on Dec. 19, 2011, and became fully operational soon after. At the time, the division was focused primarily on carbon steel, using the new line to temper pass, level and cut coil into sheet. Today, the team works from a 177,000-square-foot facility, processing and distributing both carbon and stainless steel. Depending on what the customer needs, material can take a few different paths through the building.

One coil might be temper passed and leveled to improve its flatness, surface quality and yield strength before it’s cut to length. Other material may head to the laser, where it becomes a value-added fabricated component ready for the customer’s next step. Once it leaves Gary, the steel could be headed for a truck trailer, a piece of heavy equipment, a construction project, agricultural machinery or power-generation equipment. Steel leaving Gary ends up doing some pretty heavy lifting—literally!

And some material takes a path that’s unique to Gary. The division’s 4-high temper mill is used to produce OLY-FLATBRITE®, an Olympic Steel-exclusive stainless steel product designed for improved flatness, stress control and surface condition. For customers who might otherwise choose a 2B finish—a common, smooth stainless finish—it can be a more cost-effective option when flatness and appearance matter.

That consistency helps during fabrication, too. OLY-FLATBRITE® is more predictable through laser cutting and forming, with fewer issues like bowing, waviness or buckling. It’s also easier to polish than standard hot-rolled, annealed and pickled stainless. For customers, that can mean fewer surprises during fabrication and a smoother path to the finished product.

Gary can do more today than it could when that first coil ran. Continued investments in leveling technology, crane systems, material handling, safety and processing equipment have improved quality and throughput and strengthened Gary’s role as a key Midwest processing hub within Olympic’s national network.

Michael Heenan, General Manager of Gary, believes recognizing the people behind the work is just as important an investment as the equipment around them. “Our people are one of the primary reasons we’ve been successful here,” Michael says. “We have a team of dedicated, experienced, adaptable and committed employees who are willing to step in wherever they’re needed. They look out for our customers and they look out for each other—they really drive everything we do.”

The team also gives back to its community, carrying our Core Values beyond the walls of the facility. Employees participate in charity events, golf outings and fundraisers throughout the year, and the division is an annual sponsor of Gary Police Department community initiatives.

As Olympic Steel–Gary looks ahead, the goal is to keep growing in the city shaped by steel—building out downstream processing capabilities and tapping into the broader strengths of the Ryerson family along the way.

Keep learning and growing with us! Visit Olympic Steel Academy for more behind-the-scenes insight on the work we do, our products, processes, services, Family of Brands and more.