21 Jan Stahlschmidt Incorporated and Bouchard Group, L.L.C. Announce Acquisition of Esmark Technologies
PITTSBURGH and CLEVELAND, January 21, 2013 – Esmark Inc. (“Esmark”), Stahlschmidt Incorporated (“Stahlschmidt”) and Bouchard Group, L.L.C. (“Bouchard Group”) today jointly announced that they have consummated a sale and licensing agreement whereby Stahlschmidt and Bouchard Group have jointly acquired Esmark Technologies from Esmark Inc. for an undisclosed sum. The venture will be operated as a vertically integrated industrial services company, and will continue to operate under the “Esmark Technologies” brand. Stahlschmidt will own 60% of the venture and manage operations.
Esmark Technologies was originally formed to provide technical and management services and commercial support across specific market segments including the steel, manufacturing and industrial sectors. Under Stahlschmidt’s leadership, Esmark Technologies will focus on Project Development, Resource Recovery, Energy Efficiency Solutions, Structured Trade Finance and tailored Supply Chain Management solutions in the North America industrial metals, energy and manufacturing sectors.
Esmark Technologies will be based in Cleveland, Ohio, where Stahlschmidt’s North American operations have been headquartered since 1995. Esmark also has significant interests in Ohio such as its steel group subsidiary Independent Steel, a steel service center based in Cleveland, Ohio; its Esmark Aviation group subsidiary that provides contract medical flights for The Cleveland Clinic; and its newly acquired cold-rolled finishing mill based in Yorkville, Ohio and a 50 percent interest in Ohio Coatings Company’s tin plate production facility. The companies expect that the Ohio region will continue to be of significant importance as Esmark Technologies looks to expand and develop future projects, including a diversified pipe and aggregates depot and ancillary services to support the Marcellus field demand; a possible tin printing venture; and a coal transfer/blending station and/or shale gas co-generation facility on or immediately adjacent to existing Esmark facilities.
Esmark expects that the alliance will provide a new business platform to further increase profitability through ancillary activities. In making the announcement, Esmark founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James P. Bouchard stated, “Uwe and Kai Schmidt were original shareholders and co-founders in our original Esmark venture as well as investors in the current Esmark. The market needs the types of industrial solutions Esmark Technologies will offer. Esmark will continue to focus on its core businesses, especially given our recent acquisition of Ohio Cold Rolling Company and Ohio Coatings Company. However, I personally believe in the growth potential of our business with complimentary support from Esmark Technologies, and it is for this reason Bouchard Group is investing alongside Stahlschmidt in the new ventures of Esmark Technologies.”
Uwe T. Schmidt, founder, Chairman and CEO of Stahlschmidt, said, “Jim Bouchard has the unique ability to visualize and then implement large and complex transactions. The extraordinary results and returns for shareholders like Stahlschmidt are the reason why we have recently significantly increased our stake in Esmark. I believe the latest Esmark venture has the potential to create returns equal to or greater to those Jim and his team achieved previously.”
Messrs. Bouchard and Schmidt share a further common trait. Under both of their stewardship and leadership they have achieved unprecedented growth in their respective prior steel business ventures on repeated occasions, in many cases doubling or tripling the performance of the companies that engaged their services. Bouchard’s successes at Esmark and U.S. Steel are well known. Schmidt is highly regarded for his entrepreneurial achievements at Stahlschmidt and his leadership and performance while running multi-national companies for Thyssen AG and MAN AG / Ferrostaal AG.
Bouchard added that Schmidt, “is uniquely qualified to spearhead the Esmark Technologies initiative. He has served as CEO of some of the largest independent international steel trading franchises, developed billion dollar industrial projects, and helped engineer unique supply chain management and structured finance solutions for the metals, power and related industries.”
About Esmark, Inc.
Esmark is a diversified, privately-held family company with a portfolio of industrial companies with strong roots in the steel industry. Over the years, Esmark has diversified its interests and operations into a number of businesses engaged in the industrial and commodity sectors. Esmark has focused on several key industries and community endeavors, including steel services, oil and gas exploration, aviation services, real estate, business services, technology and youth development and sports management. For more information visit www.esmark.com.
About Stahlschmidt, Incorporated
Stahlschmidt, Incorporated is a privately held management services, investment and asset management company with activities dating back to its inception in Toronto, Canada in 1983. Its corporate headquarter is located in Cleveland, Ohio. Stahlschmidt has offices in Chicago; Houston; Toronto; London, England; Singapore, and in Switzerland. Stahlschmidt has its origins in the international trading of metals, minerals and energy as well as subsequent tailored supply chain management, and structured trade finance and management engagements. Today, Stahlschmidt’s investment portfolio is primarily focused on the steel, oil & gas, renewable energy, general aviation, e-commerce, and property management sectors both in the United States and abroad. For more information visit www.stahlschmidt-inc.com.
About the Bouchard Group, L.L.C.
Bouchard Group, L.L.C. was founded in 1995 with a $500 investment by James P. Bouchard and is privately owned by Carolyn and James Bouchard. The Bouchard Group has matured into a diversified VC Investment Holding Company with Industrial, Technology, Real Estate and Commodity investments. The Bouchard Group went on to successfully acquired Electro Coated Technologies and Sun Steel in Chicago in 2003. Mr. Bouchard then founded Esmark Inc. II in 2003 to focus on steel acquisitions and subsequently transferred his Bouchard Group steel assets into Esmark II.
Mr. Bouchard eventually built Esmark II into a publically traded, $3 billion revenue company before Esmark II was ultimately sold to OAO Severstal for $1.3 billion in August 2008. Mr. Bouchard, through the Bouchard Group, then repurchased the Esmark name, trademark, and intellectual property from OAO Severstal and Founded Esmark III in October of 2008 with no revenue and one employee. The Bouchard Group is Esmark’s III controlling shareholder, one of the nation’s fastest growing companies with assets in excess of $200 million, and is expected to generate over $1 billion of revenue in 2013.
Media Contact: Bill Keegan, Director of Communications, Esmark Inc., 312.927.8424 bill.keegan07@gmail.com.