Throughout 70 years, Industrias CH, S.A.B. de C.V. (ICH) has developed a key role in the industrialization process of México. ICH is a Mexican Steel company, which produces & processes steel & has had continuous growth for the past 27 years.
ICH is the largest producer of special bar quality steels (SBQ) in North America and a top producer of commercial and structural steel long products in México.
ICH was founded in 1934 with the name Herramientas, S.A., mainly dedicated to producing agriculture, hand & construction tools. At the beginning of the 60’s, as part of a vertical integration, ICH started manufacturing specialty steels, besides diversifying with metal structures, travelling cranes, and shipbuilding amongst others.
In 1991, ICH was acquired by the actual administration, whose strategy is based on a more efficient processing, product diversification, and higher added value through the purchase of steel companies in North and South America.
In 1993, ICH acquired Procarsa, S.A. de C.V. located in Ciudad Frontera, Coahuila, dedicated to the fabrication of large diameter steel pipes. During this time ICH became the largest pipe producer in México by focusing its production & sales mainly to the gasoline & construction industries.
In 1997, ICH acquired Compañía Mexicana de Perfiles y Tubos, S.A. de C.V. (PYTSA) in Ecatepec, Estado de México, mainly dedicated to the fabrication of hollow section steel tubing products used in construction, furniture, and design.
In 1999, ICH merged with Grupo Ruvi, S.A. de C.V., owner of Siderúrgica del Golfo, S.A. de C.V., (SIGOSA) a rolling plant in Matamoros, Tamaulipas dedicated to fabrication of commercial and structural steel long products with the state-of-art technology. With this new merger ICH increased its production volume to 200,000 annual tons.
In 2001, ICH acquired 82.5% of Grupo Simec, S.A. de C.V., which had steel mills & rolling facilities in Guadalajara, Jalisco, and Mexicali, Baja California, both dedicated to manufacturing commercial & structural steel long products, specialty steel bars, rebar and steel beams.
Simec S.A.B. de C.V. is currently the main subsidiary of ICH and represents 93% of total sales of the group.
In 2004, Simec acquired Grupo Sidenor assets and facilities in Apizaco, Tlaxcala, and Cholula, Puebla, dedicated to the fabrication of special bar quality steels (SBQ), commercial and structural long products, and rebar. Thanks to this acquisition, installed capacity and sales grew significantly while ICH consolidated its leadership in SBQ steels in México.
In 2005, ICH & Simec acquired Republic Engineered Products Inc. (currently Republic Steel), leader in special bar quality steels (SBQ) in USA & owner of seven facilities. In USA: Canton, Solon, Lorain, Massillon in Ohio. Lackawanna in New York, Gary on Indiana & in Canada Hamilton, Ontario.
In 2006, ICH & Simec established as the largest producer of SBQ steels in North America mainly because of the results of Republic Steel.
In 2008, Simec acquired Aceros DM, S.A. de C.V. and its subsidiaries (Grupo San) located in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Grupo San focuses mainly on producing commercial & structural steel long products and is one of the largest producers of rebar in México. With this acquisition, ICH and Simec were positioned as the second largest rebar producer in México and the largest overall steel producer in the country.
In 2011, Republic Steel through SIMEC acquired Bluff City Steel (BCS Industries) assets & facilities in USA which gave a thermic treatment to special-alloy steels. BCS Industries had facilities located in Cleveland, Ohio and Memphis, Tennessee. With this acquisition Republic Steel increased its production capacity of SBQ and gave added value to their products.
In 2012, Simec completed an investment in the San Luis Potosí facility which increased the installed capacity of billet, rebar, wire rod, and wire rod value added products to 1 million annual tons.
In 2013, ICH invested in an electric arc furnace (EAF) in Río Bravo, Tamaulipas with an installed capacity of 500,000 annual tons to provide billet to SIGOSA rolling facility in Matamoros, which was previously imported.
In 2015, Simec invested $600 million dollars in a new state-of-art steel mill & rolling facility in the state of Tlaxcala to increase the production volume of special bar quality steel products (SBQ) in Tlaxcala to 1 million annual tons and expanding its current size range to sizes previously not manufactured in Mexico. The facility started operations in June 2018. Also in 2015, Simec invested in a new facility in Brazil, becoming the first Mexican company with presence in the South American country with an installed capacity of 500,000 annual tons, producing rebar and wire rod.
In 2016, ICH invested in a new facility of tubing in Procarsa to produce spiral tubing (HSAW) of up to 100-inch diameter and 1-inch wall thickness. The facility started operations in 2018.
In 2017, Simec expanded it Aceros D.M. (San Luis Potosí) facility with a larger rolling mill, increasing its production from 480,000 to 580,000 annual tons. ICH also invested in a new facility that produces high & low carbon wire with an installed capacity of 150,000 annual tons. It started operating in May 2018.
In 2018, Simec acquired two facilities previously owned by Arcelor Mittal in Brazil; becoming the third largest supplier of long steel products in the Brazil with its three facilities and a total production capacity of 1 million annual tons.
In terms of production & total sales, ICH has become one of the largest steel companies in North and South America, increasing its production from 70,000 annual tons in 1991 to 7,200,000 in 2018. Today, ICH continues to focus its growth and efforts in becoming the absolute leader in long steel production in North America. ICH will continue seeking opportunities in order to keep growth and leadership in the American continent.
