CMC makes downstream acquisition

Commercial Metals Co. (CMC) has acquired Denton, Texas-based EDSCO Fasteners LLC.

CMC operates scrap yards and scrap-fed electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mills, while EDSCO provides anchoring products made of steel rebar for the electrical transmission market.

CMC, based in Irving, Texas, purchased EDSCO from Kentucky-based private equity firm MiddleGround Capital, which owns about a dozen medium-sized manufacturing firms.

EDSCO produces a custom engineered line of anchor cages, bolts and fasteners principally made from rebar and used primarily to secure high voltage electrical transmission poles to concrete foundations.  

“EDSCO’s innovative reinforcement solutions are well-positioned to benefit from the long-term transition to renewable energy, which will require extensive investment in electrical transmission capacity and wind power installations,” says Barbara R. Smith, CEO and board chair of CMC.

“This acquisition further advances CMC’s leadership position in construction reinforcement and extends our capabilities to new and growing applications.”

It is the second downstream steel rebar products acquisition announced by CMC this year. In March, the firm acquired Suwanee, Georgia-based Tendon Systems LLC, a provider of posttensioning, barrier cable and concrete restoration systems.

Fellow EAF steelmaker Nucor, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, also has been expanding its presence in the downstream construction products and steel fabrication sector this year. In February, Nucor announced its Towers & Structures business unit will build a new energy transmission tower production plant in Decatur, Alabama.

EDSCO serves the North American market from four manufacturing plants in Texas, Utah, Tennessee and North Carolina. “Since its founding in 1985, the company has grown to become the nation’s largest provider of anchor cages for concrete reinforcement and has developed a strong reputation for customer service and reliability,” CMC says of its latest acquisition.