Raco Steel

What Raco Steel does

Raco Steel Company, founded in 1952, is a privately held steel service center headquartered at 2100 W. 163rd Place, Markham, Illinois, operating from a 125,000 square foot production and storage facility approximately 30 minutes south of Chicago. The company distributes and processes carbon and coated steel products, offering six core product lines — cold-rolled, hot rolled pickled and oiled, electro galvanized, galvanized, galvannealed, and long terne steels — across gauges from .014 to .437 inches, stocked in full prime, excess prime, and secondary grades. It serves industrial manufacturers in the Chicago metropolitan area and broader Midwest region requiring precision steel blanks, leveled sheets, and slit coils.

Raco's processing capabilities are anchored by two automatic Red Bud 72-inch coil-to-blank leveling lines and a 72-inch coil slitter rated for 50,000-pound coils, with width and length tolerances down to ±0.010 inches on sheets and blanks and ±0.005 inches on slit coils. The facility has held ISO 9001 certification continuously since September 2001 (currently ISO 9001:2015, registered with ACT LTD), positioning the company as an early-mover on certified quality among North American steel service centers. The company has 11–50 employees and reports no external funding, no parent company, and no disclosed ownership structure.

Raco generates revenue through quote-based, one-time sales of processed steel products, with pricing described as "the best discount prices in the industry" but not publicly disclosed. Demand generation runs through direct sales outreach — primarily email to VP of Sales Diane Rogers ([email protected]) and phone (708-985-0514) — with no e-commerce portal, digital marketing channels, or third-party distribution intermediaries. The go-to-market emphasizes short lead times, immediate delivery from on-hand inventory, and precision tolerance processing as core differentiators, targeting businesses that need quick-turn, tight-tolerance flat-rolled steel for manufacturing operations.

Name

Raco Steel

Legal name

Raco Steel Company

Website

https://racosteel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1952

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Raco Steel is a privately held steel service center founded in 1952 in Markham, Illinois, distributing and processing cold-rolled, galvanized, and coated steel into blanks, leveled sheets, and slit coils for Midwest industrial manufacturers via quote-based direct sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Steel Distribution and Processing

NAICS

Rolling and Drawing of Purchased Steel (33122)

SIC

Wholesale-Metals Service Centers & Offices (5051)

akta.pro primary industry

Steel Service Centers & Processing (Slitting, Cut-to-Length, Blanking, Leveling) (IMAKABAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Coated & Plated Steel (Galvanized, Galvalume, Tinplate, Electrogalvanized, Color-Coated) (IMAKABAG)

Keywords

• Steel distribution services
• Precision steel processing
• Steel service center
• Coil slitting services
• Steel blank leveling

Headquarters

HQ city

Markham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Steel Distribution and Processing: Raco Steel generates revenue through the sale and processing of steel products including cold-rolled, hot rolled pickled and oiled, galvanized, electro galvanized, galvannealed, and long terne steel. Products are sold as re-squared blanks, leveled sheets, and slit coils. Transactions are quote-based, one-time purchases with no recurring revenue model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Raco Steel is a steel distribution and processing center that stocks and sells six types of steel — Cold-Rolled, Hot Rolled Pickled and Oiled, Galvanized, Electro Galvanized, Galvannealed, and Long Terne — in Full Prime, Excess Prime, and Secondary grades. The company processes these materials into re-squared blanks, leveled sheets, and slit coils using automated Red Bud leveling lines and a high-capacity coil slitter, with precision tolerances held to +/-.010 on sheets/blanks and +/-.005 on slit coils. All sales are quote-based with short lead times and immediate delivery from the Markham, Illinois facility.

Product overview

Raco Steel is a steel distribution center offering a portfolio of steel products and processing services. The product lineup includes six distinct steel types: Cold-Rolled, Hot Rolled Pickled and Oiled, Galvanized, Electro Galvanized, Galvannealed, and Long Terne steels, each available in various gauges. Material is stocked in Full Prime, Excess Prime, and Secondary grades. These steel products are complemented by on-site processing capabilities that produce re-squared blanks, leveled sheets, and slit coils using automated equipment including Red Bud 72" coil to blank leveling lines. The company operates from a 125,000 square foot ISO 9001:2015 certified facility in Markham, Illinois.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cold-Rolled Steel
• Hot Rolled Pickled and Oiled Steel
• Galvanized Steel
• Electro Galvanized Steel
• Galvannealed Steel
• Long Terne Steel
• Steel Processing Services (re-squared blanks, leveled sheets, slit coils)

Quantifiable outcome

• Width and length tolerances down to +/-.010 on sheets and blanks
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Ryerson Holding Corporation: Public metals service center (NYSE: RYI) operating a national footprint with flat-rolled processing, slitting, and blanking capabilities. Overlaps directly with Raco's processing services at a much broader scale.
• Worthington Industries (Steel Processing): Long-established steel processor with flat-rolled processing including slitting and blanking across multiple U.S. facilities. A broad incumbent in the same product/process category as Raco.
• Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. Largest U.S. metals service center operator (NYSE: RS) with over 300 locations and broad flat-rolled processing capabilities. Provides the public-market benchmark for the steel service-center category and an aspirational scale comparable.

Direct peers

• Olympic Steel: Flat-rolled steel service center that processes and distributes carbon, stainless, and aluminum products including slitting, blanking, cutting-to-length, and value-added processing — directly comparable to Raco's processing business. Listed on Nasdaq (ZEUS), but the most relevant direct comparable on business model and product mix.
• Mill Steel Company: Family-owned flat-rolled steel service center founded in 1959, offering slitting, blanking, cut-to-length, and value-added processing for cold-rolled, hot-rolled, galvanized, and electrical steel — a closely comparable peer in scale, age, and product focus.
• Steel Technologies LLC: Flat-rolled steel processor operating multiple facilities with slitting, blanking, cut-to-length, and stretcher leveling. Directly comparable to Raco in service mix and customer type.
• Metalwest / Octolance: Flat-rolled steel service center offering slitting, cut-to-length, blanking, and edging of carbon and coated steel. Directly comparable mid-market peer to Raco's processing capabilities and product mix.
• Alliance Steel LLC: Steel service center providing processed flat-rolled products including galvanized, cold-rolled, and hot-rolled steel with slitting and blanking capabilities. Comparable in product portfolio and processing services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/raco-steel-company

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Raco Steel