LB Metals, LLC, a company formed to complete the purchase of bankrupt LB Steel, LLC, has completed the purchase of the company, saving more than 200 manufacturing jobs in Illinois. LB Steel filed a voluntary petition for chapter 11 business reorganization in October, 2015 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, following an adverse ruling in a decade-long legal dispute.
LB Metals, LLC was created and funded by Big Shoulders Capital, in Northbrook, Illinois. David Muslin and Todd DiBenedetto are the Principals of the new organization. The LB Steel management team is being retained as employees of the new company. “This was a profitably operating company before the bankruptcy filing and we are excited to announce that it is business as usual and LB will continue to serve customers just as they have for many, many years,” said Muslin.
“Big Shoulders Capital LLC continues its tradition of investing in, and supporting the restructuring of manufacturing companies throughout many different industries,” said DiBenedetto. “Our passion and confidence for American manufacturing is stronger than ever and we are excited about the future for companies like LB.”
LB Steel's 450,000-square-foot facility in Harvey, Illinois has more than 40 state-of-the-art CNC machining centers, a fabrication facility and a burn shop. Employing more than 200 workers in Illinois, it is one of the largest processors of strip mill plate in North America, and forges metal parts for a variety of industries, including construction, railroads and utilities. “We’re looking forward to not only saving, but growing, this business as manufacturing in North America continues to expand,” said DiBenedetto. “We have talented and skilled team members who serve an extremely important part of the manufacturing economy.”
The company’s services include leveling and flattening, painting, welding, oxy-fuel burning and plasma cutting, forming, collaborative engineering, counterweights, plate, and burning and laser cutting. It processes strip mill plates. The company also produces and supplies steel counterweights, elevator weights, elevator test carts, test weights, stage weights, scaffold weights, and frame weight components. It serves construction, mining, and agricultural equipment sectors; and counterweight, railway and locomotive, power generation, oil and gas, pressure vessel/fracking, marine and off shore equipment, infrastructure/bridge, heavy industrial fabrication, wind energy, crane manufacturing, steel mill fabrication, machine shop, pulverizer/shredder, and street/sewer cleaning equipment sectors.
Big Shoulders Capital funds businesses with debt and equity investments across a variety of manufacturing and construction industries in the U.S. The company has a passion for helping companies in transition, turnaround, and restructuring, offering creative financing solutions that help businesses get back on their feet. Big Shoulders Capital is a trusted partner for workout bankers, restructuring and turnaround consultants, debt placement brokers, attorneys, bankruptcy advisors, factors, and lenders that want to exit a credit.