any of the domestic steel industry’s roots are sunk into the soil of Gary, Indiana. The city was founded in 1906 by U.S. Steel Corp. as the home for its new Gary Works. It’s had ups and downs over the years, like many other Rust Belt towns, but it’s rebuilding for growth. Indiana as a whole is home to the world’s second-largest automotive industry and leads the nation in creating manufacturing jobs, among other accolades like second-ranked infrastructure in the nation and Chief Executive Magazine’s 2019 Top Five states for business.
Alliance Steel, a supplier and processor of flat-rolled steel, earlier this year completed a move of its headquarters to Gary and plans to become a integral part of the city’s future. The company purchased a facility in Gary that was originally owned by steelmaker Republic Steel and more recently by Gary Metal Products, a manufacturer of building vents and ducts.
Leaving a longtime home is never without challenges, but the bottom line was the company was out of space in Bedford Park. Gross says that the company’s rapid expansion over the past 10 years meant that Alliance was spread out over three buildings—“which was completely inefficient. Consolidating into one facility was a must.”
He says that location was a “big factor” in deciding to migrate to Gary. “We wanted to be closer to our suppliers and processing customers. We knew we could save very significant dollars on inbound freight being in between two of the major mills and even closer to the minis.”
“The state of Indiana provided tremendous incentives by way of grants and tax credits that helped Alliance afford the facility build-out and moving expenses,” Gross says. “When you are refurbishing a building, you can encounter all types of unexpected surprises from electrical to underground storage tanks. We had to completely reconstruct all the crane ways and add 11 new overhead cranes with a fully automated retrieval system. We also had to install over $2 million of new foundations and approximately another $2 million in installation and electrical costs.”
Our team is excited to settle in and begin laying down our roots here in Northwest Indiana. 
“We have made several investments in the latest coil processing equipment, which will complement an already-robust arsenal of capabilities,” Gross says. Alliance was able to retain 95 percent of its administrative team and approximately 85 percent of its plant employees. “Our team is very excited to settle in and begin laying down our roots here in Northwest Indiana.”