Liberty Steel, part of the global GFG Alliance, recently purchased Johnstown Wire Technologies (JWT) in Johnstown.
JWT is North America’s largest producer of electro-galvanized and aluminized wire and the third largest producer of CHQ wire.
Liberty, which entered the U.S. market in 2017, purchased JWT from private investment firm Aterian Investment Partners. The purchase gives the company the ability to manufacture high-value carbon and alloy wire products for multiple end markets.
More than half of JWT’s products service the transportation market. It also sells to the consumer, infrastructure, and utility sectors.
“This is another very significant step towards our ambitious U.S. goals,” Grant Quasha, CIO for GFG in North America said. “JWT is a profitable business with a skilled workforce and tremendous pedigree in the industry, so we look forward to welcoming it into the GFG USA family and helping it build an even stronger future.”
The acquisition is part of Liberty’s goal to increase demand for steel products that are used for electrical power lines and for support cables and guard rails for bridges.
The acquisition also allows Liberty to become a market leader in the American wire rod sector and to capitalize on vehicle production growth in the United States.