Kirkman O'Neal started a small steel fabricating business in 1921 and quickly gained a reputation for dependability and performance. Kirkman once said in a 1926 interview with The Birmingham News, "We turn out each piece of work and each contract the very best that can be done, and we are determined that it shall be satisfactory." That set the tone for the strong work ethic and business philosophy that O'Neal would become known for in the years ahead.
Throughout the Great Depression, O'Neal held firm by maintaining strong customer relationships and by 1935 had become one of the South's first metal service centers, focusing on serving customers whose needs did not meet the high-tonnage requirements necessary to enable them to purchase materials directly from the mills.
During World War II, O'Neal became the nation's largest producer of general-purpose bombs, which were used extensively in the Pacific. In recognition of its support of the nation's military effort, the company was awarded the Army and Navy "E" for Excellence and two additional Citations for Excellence by the U.S. government.
Emmet O'Neal, Kirkman's son and former Chairman, joined the company in 1946. In 1952, O'Neal opened its first satellite district in Jackson, Mississippi. During the next half-century, through corporate planning and acquisitions, O'Neal expanded and diversified its operations with over 40 more districts throughout the South, Midwest, Southwest, and Mountain states - making it the largest family-owned metals service center in the United States. Also during that period, in 1984, Emmet's son Craft O'Neal joined the company, representing the third generation of family involvement in the business. He has held a variety of sales and district management positions through the years, and is currently Chairman.
One specialized area of growth was made possible by O'Neal's 1997 purchase of Metalwest, an industry leader among light-gauge, flat-rolled service centers, headquartered in Denver, now with 11 locations across the nation. O'Neal's Weldment Operations , with facilities in Roanoke, Virginia and Monterrey, Mexico, were begun in 1998 to provide OEMs with a reliable resource for large-scale and labor-intensive jobs that require specialized facilities and a high degree of manufacturing expertise and efficiency. And to answer the region's need for a specialized facility dedicated to the highest quality tube processing and dependable service, O'Neal's Tube Processing Center in Lebanon, Tennessee was opened in 2000.
In 2004, Aerodyne Alloys, LLC became part of the O'Neal family of companies. Aerodyne supplies nickel-based alloys, cobalt, titanium, and stainless steel in the form of bar, sheet, and plate primarily to the aerospace and energy markets throughout the U.S. and Asia.
In early 2005, O'Neal further extended its product line with the acquisition of Leeco Steel, LLC. Leeco is a leading distributor and processor of specialized grades of high-strength steel and alloy plate, and serves customers throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. And in the fourth quarter of 2005, O'Neal acquired TW Metals, a service center specializing in pipe, tube, bar, and rod in stainless, aluminum, alloy, and carbon, as well as a variety of high alloys such as nickel and titanium. TW Metals has stocking and processing locations throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia, including facilities operating under the name Philip Cornes Group, a U.K.-based processor and distributor of nickel and super alloys.
In early 2006, O'Neal acquired
Timberline Steel, a full-line service center based in the Denver area
with one of the largest and most comprehensive processing facilities in the
Rocky Mountain Region. And in the summer of 2006, Ohio-based
Ferguson Metals, a leading supplier and processor of hard-to-find
specialty stainless steel and high-temperature alloys was acquired by O'Neal as
the company continued to expand its product expertise, inventory, and
capabilities directed at highly specialized markets. Later that same year,
aerospace specialist
AIM International,
located in Cincinnati, became a part of the O'Neal family, bringing with it
everything from sheet metal, bar stock, forgings, and castings to small
hardware in many alloys such as nickel and cobalt. Also acquired at the same
time was Supply Dynamics,
a professional services company widely recognized as the leading provider of
supply chain management solutions called "Material Demand Aggregation."
At the beginning of 2008, Ferguson Metals and AIM International merged to form United Performance Metals, which now offers the combined product lines and expertise of both former companies, still based in Cincinnati. Also in early 2008, TAD Metals, a service center specializing in stainless and aluminum sheet, plate, and long products, joined the O'Neal family of companies. The addition of TAD extended O'Neal's footprint in the Northeast, Southwest, and, for the first time, Canada. In April, 2008, together with its subsidiary Aerodyne Alloys, O'Neal aquired the assests of Southern Nickel and Titanium (SNT) of Houston. The company, which is a distributor of nickel alloy, titanium alloy, and stainless steel in the form of both long and flat products, now operates as Aerodyne Alloys.
Consistent with Kirkman O'Neal's dedication to quality, O'Neal is an ISO 9001:2000 registered company, which signifies that O'Neal's operations meet the stringent world model for quality established by international standards.
O'Neal is proud to remain a family-owned company today - with an extended family of dedicated employees providing the finest in quality and customer service. Indeed, our focus is on our customers rather than on Wall Street, which we believe is tantamount to maintaining our position as an industry leader. We invite our customers to grow with us as we meet the challenges of the future.