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American Commercial Holdings Acquires Harper Steel; Forms American Commercial Steel

23 September 1997

American Commercial Holdings Acquires Harper Steel; Forms American Commercial Steel

    CLEVELAND, Sept. 23 -- American Commercial Holdings Inc.
(ACH) has acquired Harper Steel Service Center, forming a new operating
company called American Commercial Steel Inc. (ACS).
    Harper Steel, a Warren, Mich.-based steel distributor with operations in
Lexington, Ky., specializes in the preparation and distribution of slit, cut-
to-length and sheared-to-size steel.  ACS will maintain Harper's customer and
vendor bases and will strive to maintain the company's reputation for
supplying high-quality products with exceptional customer service.
    "ACS is a steel services enterprise formed by ACH to acquire and operate
quality steel service centers and related companies," said Jeff Warren,
director of mergers and acquisitions for ACH.  "Harper is an outstanding
company for us to acquire as our initial entrant into the steel services
industry."
    The current operating management team of Harper Steel will be retained.
Michael Puffer, a 30-year veteran of the steel industry, will serve as ACS's
president.
    "This is a very advantageous development for Harper Steel," said Puffer.
"Harper gains access to the ACH group of companies as well as access to new
markets through ACH's existing customer and supplier networks."
    One operating company to benefit from the acquisition is American
Commercial Industries Inc. (ACI), ACH's automotive stamping and engineering
operation.  ACI now can better support customers throughout the entire product
life cycle, from development and testing, to material logistics, to
manufacturing and distribution.
    "The consolidation of the automotive supplier base is making competition
fierce.  We need to provide as much value to our customers as possible," said
Larry O'Dowd, president and CEO of ACI.  "ACS's capabilities will further
secure our position as a leading supplier of metal-formed and stamped
automotive niche components."
    ACS will be headquartered at Harper Steel's Warren, Mich., office and the
division's sales are expected to be in excess of $75 million in 1998.
    American Commercial Holdings Inc. is a holding company with four operating
companies in addition to ACS.  These companies include American Commercial
Industries Inc., American Commercial Assembly Inc., AAP Holdings Inc. and GPI
Inc.  The companies serve the North American fenestration, aluminum extrusion
and automotive stamping and engineering industries.

SOURCE  American Commercial Holdings