Cd'A Metals history

In 1944, the name was shortened to Reliance Steel Co.

In 1948, Reliance Steel also began manufacturing products of aluminum and magnesium.

With the purchase, Reliance also acquired the services of Joe D. Crider, who had joined Drake in 1949 as a billing clerk and worked his way up to Fresno sales manager.

Gimbel, who started as a warehouse man, succeeded Neilan as president of the company in 1957, a year after the company name was changed to Reliance Steel & Aluminum.

Under Gimbel Reliance began its long-running territorial expansion, naming a resident sales agent in Phoenix in 1958.

In 1966, Reliance extended its reach into Texas by acquiring metals service centers in Dallas and San Antonio from Delta Metals, Inc.

Reliance Steel acquired Southern Equipment & Supply Co., San Diego's oldest metals service center, in 1972, and immediately launched a $1.8 million project to double the size of the San Diego facility.

After more than three decades of operating full-service metals service centers, Reliance opened its first "specialty store" in 1976, forming the Tube Service Co., in Santa Fe Springs, California.

In 1977, Reliance also acquired Bralco Metals, in Pico Rivera, California, which specialized in brass, aluminum, and copper.

In 1981, Reliance purchased the Cd'A Service Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, from Spokane-based Cd'A Steel Service Center.

The Portland operation foundered and then closed in 1984.

The move never panned out, however, and Reliance sold the center in 1987.

By 1988, the company's 50th year, sales topped $350 million.

In an interview with an industry publication in 1992, Joe D. Crider, then president and chief operating officer, explained, "You can pay the bill [for higher market share] through price cutting, or through paying goodwill to buy a competitor.

Reliance continued to invest in the aerospace business, acquiring Service Steel Aerospace Corp. of Tacoma, Washington, in October 1997.

Company president David Hannah succeeded Joe D. Crider as CEO in February 1999.

Reliance bought United Alloys Inc.'s aerospace division in August 2000.

An aggravating factor was the dramatic drop-off in commercial airliner orders following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Reliance acquired assets of Central Plains Steel Company in April 2002.