Alro Steel Corporation

What Alro Steel Corporation does

Alro Steel Corporation is a privately held metals and plastics service center founded in 1948 by Al and Robert Glick, headquartered in Jackson, Michigan, and operating through four wholly-owned subsidiaries: Alro Metals, Alro Plastics, Alro Metals Outlet, and Alro Industrial Supply. The company distributes a broad portfolio of ferrous and non-ferrous metals (carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, copper, cast iron, tool steel, alloys) in forms including bars, plates, sheets, structurals, tubing, pipe, and rebar, alongside engineering plastics (TIVAR UHMW-PE, TUFFAK polycarbonate, Delrin, PTFE, PEEK, cast nylon, polyethylene, fiberglass, phenolics, urethane). The company operates over 80 physical locations across 16 U.S. states, serving 50,000+ customers across North America with next-day delivery, and supplements its physical footprint with a 24/7 e-commerce platform (MyAlro.com) and walk-in retail outlets.

Alro's technical capability centers on value-added processing services including oxy-fuel cutting, plasma and laser cutting (plate and tube), 5-axis waterjet cutting using Mach 4 series with Dynamic Waterjet XD technology, CNC milling and routing, press brake forming, thermal processing, precision plate sawing, shearing, plastic welding, CAD/CAM services, and Faro CMM arm inspection for quality control with +/-0.003 inch accuracy. The company holds distribution rights for proprietary brand families including SlipNOT anti-slip surface treatment, TIVAR, TUFFAK, Zelux (Westlake Plastics), King Plastics, Vivak PETG (Plaskolite), Rochling Polystone, and Ensinger engineered plastics. GTM is sales-led across direct field sales, inside phone sales, e-commerce, and retail, with active membership in trade associations including AISC, AISI, FMA, MSCI, AWS, and IAPD.

The business model is transactional distribution plus value-added processing, with quote-based pricing, no public price list, and revenue derived from one-time sales of materials combined with professional services revenue from cutting, forming, and machining. Customer segments span construction and infrastructure (primary), industrial manufacturing (primary), food and beverage processing, aerospace and defense, security, and SMB/individual retail buyers. The company completed one disclosed acquisition (Riverfront Steel, February 2019) and maintains a multi-channel marketing presence across web, social media, trade publications, and industry events such as FABTECH.

Name

Alro Steel Corporation

Legal name

Alro Steel Corporation

Website

http://www.alro.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Alro Steel Corporation is a privately held U.S. metals and plastics service center operating 80+ locations across 16 states, distributing ferrous and non-ferrous metals and engineering plastics with next-day delivery, value-added processing, and serving 50,000+ customers in construction, manufacturing, and industrial verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Metals and Plastics Distribution

NAICS

Other Aluminum Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding (331318)

SIC

Sheet Metal Work (3444)

akta.pro primary industry

Aluminum Value-Added Components (Automotive, Aerospace, Packaging, Building Systems) (IMAKACAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Metals Recycling & Processing (Ferrous/Non-Ferrous) (BPALADAF), Aluminum Scrap Collection, Sorting & Processing (IMAKACAJ)

Keywords

• Metals distribution services
• Plastics distribution services
• Metal processing services
• Steel service center
• Cut-to-size metals

Headquarters

HQ city

Detroit

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Metals Distribution: Distribution of metals including carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, copper, cast iron, tool steel, and alloys. Products include sheets, plates, bars, structural shapes, tubing, pipe, and rebar.
2. Plastics Distribution: Distribution of engineering plastics including UHMW-PE (TIVAR family), PTFE, polycarbonates (TUFFAK family), nylons, acetals, acrylics, urethanes, and phenolic laminates.
3. Metal Processing Services: Processing services including oxy-fuel cutting, grinding, plasma cutting, plate laser cutting, precision plate sawing, press brake/forming, thermal processing, tube cutting and chamfering, tube laser cutting, saw cutting, shearing, and waterjet cutting.
4. Plastics Processing Services: Processing services including bending and gluing, CAD/CAM, CNC milling, CNC routing and machining, CNC saw cutting, drilling and tapping, waterjet cutting (5-axis), plastic welding, and rod/tube cutting.
5. Retail Outlet Sales: Walk-in retail outlets for customers to purchase metals and plastics directly, operating as Alro Metals Outlet.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Alro Steel Corporation distributes ferrous and non-ferrous metals (carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, copper, cast iron, tool steel, and alloys) and engineering plastics (UHMW-PE, polycarbonate, Delrin, PTFE, PEEK, phenolics, urethanes) from 80+ locations across 16 states, offering cut-to-size, next-day delivery, and value-added processing services including waterjet cutting, laser cutting, plasma cutting, CNC machining, press brake forming, and CMM inspection.

Product overview

Alro Steel Corporation is America's premier metals and plastics service center, operating as a single unified distribution platform under three divisions: Alro Steel (metals), Alro Plastics (engineering plastics), and Alro Metals Outlet (retail). The company offers over 80 locations across 16 states providing next-day delivery and 24/7 online ordering through MyAlro.com. The metals division distributes ferrous and non-ferrous metals (carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, copper, cast iron, tool steel, alloy) in various forms (bars, plates, sheets, structurals, tubing, pipe, specialty items). The plastics division provides engineering polymers including the TUFFAK polycarbonate family, TIVAR UHMW-PE family, Delrin, cast nylon, PTFE, PEEK/KETRON, polyethylene, fiberglass, phenolics, and King Plastics branded products. Both divisions offer extensive custom processing capabilities including laser cutting, plasma cutting, waterjet cutting, CNC machining, welding, and fabrication services. The company was founded in 1948 and serves over 50,000 customers across North America.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Alro Metals: Metals distribution and service center operations offering carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, copper, tool steel, and other metal products.
• Alro Plastics
• Alro Metals Outlet
• AlroOnlineStore.com

Products and services

• Alro Steel Metals Distribution
• Alro Plastics Distribution

Quantifiable outcome

• Next-day delivery to 50,000+ customers in North America
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Aluminum AssociationminorOthersIndustry trade association for aluminum. Alro maintains membership as part of their metals industry network.
• AISC (American Institute of Steel Construction)minorOthersIndustry trade association for steel construction. Alro maintains membership as part of their steel industry engagement.
• AISI (American Iron and Steel Institute)minorOthersIndustry trade association for iron and steel. Alro maintains membership as part of their steel industry involvement.
• AMBA (American Machine Tool Builders' Association)minorOthersTrade association for machine tool builders. Alro maintains membership supporting their manufacturing customer base.
• AWS (American Welding Society)minorOthersIndustry association for welding. Alro maintains membership supporting their welding and fabrication customer base.
• FMA (Fabricators & Manufacturers Association)minorOthersTrade association for metal fabricators and manufacturers. Alro maintains membership supporting their fabrication customers.
• MSCI (Metals Service Center Institute)minorOthersIndustry association for metals service centers. Alro maintains membership as a metals service center.
• IAPD (International Association of Plastics Distribution)minorOthersTrade association for plastics distribution. Alro Plastics maintains membership supporting their plastics distribution business.
• W.S. Molnar Company (SlipNOT)coreTechnology or IntegrationAlro distributes SlipNOT anti-slip surface treatment products including Grip Plate and Grip Grate. SlipNOT uses plasma stream deposition technology protected by U.S. Patent No. 5,077,137 and U.S. Patent No. 4,961,973.
• King PlasticscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlro distributes King Plastics products including King StarBoard, King ColorCore, King CuttingBoard, King MediGrade, and other King Plastics branded materials.
• EnsingerminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlro distributes Ensinger engineered plastics including Tecaform, SustaPEEK, and other Ensinger product lines.
• Rochling (Rochling Plastics)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlro distributes Rochling Plastics products including Polystone M, Polystone P, and Polystone M XDT for UHMW applications.
• Quadrant EPP (MCAM)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlro distributes MCAM (former Quadrant EPP) products including TIVAR UHMW family, Nylatron, Ketron PEEK, and other engineering plastics.
• Westlake PlasticscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlro distributes Westlake Plastics products including Zelux polycarbonate and other proprietary products.
• PlaskolitecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPlaskolite acquired the Vivak PETG sheet line from Bayer MaterialScience in 2012. Alro distributes Vivak and other Plaskolite products.
• Crown Plastics CompanycoreTechnology or IntegrationAlro partners with Crown Plastics for UHMW Adhesive Backed Sheet and Tape products. Crown uses continuous compression molding technology for UHMW products.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ryerson Holding Corporation: Ryerson is one of North America's largest metals service centers, distributing carbon steel, aluminum, stainless steel, and other metals with extensive processing and next-day delivery capabilities—directly comparable to Alro's metals distribution platform.
• Olympic Steel, Inc. Olympic Steel is a U.S. metals service center distributing carbon steel, stainless, aluminum, and tubular products with processing services, serving similar industrial and construction end markets as Alro.
• Metals USA (Reliance Steel subsidiary): Metals USA is a metals service center subsidiary of Reliance Steel operating in a similar model to Alro—distributing carbon steel, aluminum, and stainless products with processing services across U.S. locations.

Broad incumbents

• Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. Reliance is the largest U.S. metals service center operator with 300+ locations and $14B+ revenue, offering the same metals distribution with processing services as Alro, but at far greater scale and broader footprint.
• Worthington Enterprises: Worthington operates a diverse portfolio of metals processing and consumer products businesses, including significant steel processing operations that overlap with Alro's value-added service center activities.
• Kloeckner Metals Corporation: Kloeckner is a global metals distribution and processing company with significant U.S. presence (DuBose brand), distributing and processing carbon steel, aluminum, and stainless products to industrial customers similar to Alro's served markets.
• Samuel, Son & Co. Samuel is a major North American metals service center and processing company distributing carbon steel, aluminum, stainless, and other metals to industrial customers with extensive value-added processing capabilities similar to Alro's.
• ThyssenKrupp Materials NA: ThyssenKrupp Materials is the North American distribution arm of a global industrial conglomerate, distributing metals, plastics, and providing processing services broadly across industries comparable to Alro's metals and plastics operations.

Emerging players

• E&T Plastics: E&T Plastics is a specialty plastics distributor of engineering plastics including UHMW, polycarbonate, and acrylic products, comparable to Alro Plastics' engineering plastics distribution business.
• Professional Plastics: Professional Plastics distributes engineering plastics including PTFE, PEEK, UHMW, and polycarbonate with custom fabrication services, addressing similar industrial markets as Alro Plastics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/alrosteel
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/AlroSteelandPlastics
• Facebookfacebook.com/alrosteel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alro
• Instagraminstagram.com/alrosteel
• Pinterestpinterest.com/alrosteelcorporation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Alro Steel Corporation