Seventy Years of Olympic Steel
Olympic Steel celebrates 70 years of growth - from a small distribution company to a leading U.S. metals service center.
Olympic Steel celebrated a milestone in 2024 that many companies rarely achieve – 70 years in business! From modest beginnings in a rented warehouse space, two brothers turned a small steel distribution company into a multi-faceted metals enterprise.
Opening in 1954 and initially growing and expanding organically, the 1980s brought a new perspective – specifically 1984. When Michael Siegal, son and nephew of the Company’s founders, became Olympic Steel’s CEO, the focus shifted to intentional, strategic growth. Armed with 10 Core Values, the business put a plan to work, ultimately taking the Company public to help fuel its growth. Since that time, strategically positioned locations have allowed Olympic Steel to evolve into a leader in the metals service center space and enter new markets, industries and geographic areas. From the first acquisition of Viking Steel Company in 1987, the Company has grown to include 49 facilities and 10 subsidiaries, offering diverse products and valued-added processing across three segments: specialty metals; tube, pipe and bar; and carbon and coated products.
In the words of Olympic Steel’s Executive Chairman of the Board, Michael Siegal, “…[when my father and uncle] decided to come together in 1954, … they did what was very difficult to do, which was start a business and make it survive. … If you sat with my father and my uncle today and said, ‘Here's who Olympic Steel is,’ they would tell you it was a fantasy. They would not believe it was real. It's unreal to me.” Click here to view the full interview with Michael Siegal as he looks back at the history of Olympic Steel and celebrates 50 years with the Company.
Olympic Steel is committed to continuous growth. The plan for the future includes a strategy based around four key pillars that benefit all stakeholders – employees, customers, vendors, shareholders and the communities where we live and operate:
1. Safety First. Always.
2. Growth & Value Creation
3. Culture & Mindset for Success
4. Diligence in Our Disciplines
Annually, to reflect our commitment to our people and the business, we provide a Corporate Responsibility Report that documents our efforts in operating responsibly with a low environmental impact, keeping employees safe and practicing corporate citizenship. We have expanded our DEI Council to include more than 30 employee volunteers, increased the award amounts of the Sol Siegal Scholarship Program for employees’ dependents, and continued our long-standing partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The Olympic Steel logo has also grown and changed with the times. In 2022, the Olympic Steel logo had a refresh with the addition of an icon, incorporating the notion of ZEUS (our enterprise stock symbol) and adding a recognizable symbol for the Company as a whole.
Olympic Steel continues to operate from its headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, where it all began in 1954, and is looking forward to the next 70 years. The Company is focused on the direct sale and value-added processing of carbon and coated sheet, plate, and coil steel products; stainless steel sheet, plate, bar and coil; aluminum sheet, plate and coil; pipe, tube, bar, valves and fittings; tin plate and metal-intensive end-use products, including water treatment systems; commercial, residential and industrial venting and air filtration systems; Wright® brand self-dumping hoppers; metal canopy components; and EZ-Dumper® dump inserts.
To learn even more about Olympic Steel, visit olysteel.com/about.
