When it comes to creating new jobs, Thursday’s announcement that Macsteel Service Centers USA will build a plant in Tucson wasn’t earth-shaking, but the move puts Tucson on a map it hasn’t been on in the past.

Macsteel announced it is building a $10 million facility in the Century Park Research Center on South Kolb Road and Interstate 10 to process and distribute steel and non-ferrous metals for its customers located near here, including two of its biggest, Chamberlain Garage Doors and Otis Elevator Co., both of which have manufacturing operations in Nogales, Sonora.

Michael Hoffman, president and CEO of Macsteel, said in the announcement the company selected Tucson because “it’s a strategically located hub” for the company’s growing business in the southwestern U.S. and Mexico.

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The company says it anticipates hiring up to 25 or 35 employees in coming years as it builds its operations.

But Joe Snell, president and CEO of Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities Inc., is quick to note the number of jobs isn’t so much the point. He said this is a multi-billion dollar international manufacturer” and its decision to locate here “underscores the importance of the global manufacturer presence we are pursuing.”

The $10 million capital investment the company is making here is impressive in itself, Snell said.

Alan Levin is owner and developer of the 264-acre Century Park Research Center, which is within a designated Foreign Trade Zone and along the Union Pacific railroad line. Levin’s company is building a new 73,400-square facility for Macsteel, which should be complete late this year.

Macsteel was founded in 1949 by Dave Samson as Pan Africa Staalhandel selling fencing and related products. After son Eric Samson took over in 1962, the company moved into steel stockholding that has mushroomed into a multinational processor, service center and steel trader headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. Eric Samson is still a co-chairman of the company.

The firm’s growth in the United States stems from the acquisition in 1983 of Ferro Union, a large steel warehousing and processing operation in California, and in 1985 of Associated Metals and Minerals Corp., a worldwide trading organization with offices in the major steel source and supply markets. Since then Macsteel has continued to grow within the U.S., both through expansions of existing facilities and by acquisitions. Its U.S. corporate headquarters are in Newport Beach, Calif.

The company has 32 other plants across the U.S. The Tucson plant will be the only one located between California and Texas but it also has a plant in Monterrey, Nuevo León, in Mexico.

Worldwide, Macsteel has about 8,500 employees, 1,500 of which are at U.S. plants.

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