Los Angeles-based Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. is continuing its torrid acquisition pace with the purchase of Yarde Metals Inc.
The Southington, Conn. metal service center processes and distributes stainless-steel and aluminum-plate products and did about $385 million in business last year. The acquisition is the latest of more than 30 companies Reliance has added to its roster in the last 10 years. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition comes on the heels of increasing demand for domestically produced steel. Reliance is one of the largest domestic steel distributors in North America, while Yarde’s strong presence on the East Coast and its diverse product offering are in line with Reliance’s acquisition strategy.
Boeing Sets C-17 Deadline
The Boeing Co. has told the government it needs a firm commitment for orders of its C-17 military cargo jet by August or it will have to begin the long process of shutting down the jet’s production program.
The Long Beach facility, which has been open and producing the cargo jets for nearly 20 years, provides more than 12,000 full-time jobs and creates almost $4 billion a year in business for the state. There are also 350 suppliers and other firms that service the plant.
Last week’s announcement marks Boeing’s most public and specific move yet in its ongoing efforts to keep operating the program, which the Department of Defense is seeking to shutter. The facility produces 15 of the $220-million jets annually.
Property Values Climb
Assessed property values in Los Angeles County have jumped 11 percent over the last year to a record $950 billion, led by sales of single-family homes, County Assessor Rick Auerbach announced last week.
Sales of properties requiring reassessment under Proposition 13 mostly single-family homes added $65 billion in assessed property values to the county roll, one of the largest gains ever. Each property that changed ownership resulted in an average increase of $332,000 in assessed value, compared to $262,000 last year.
Auerbach said low interest rates and a short supply of low- to medium-priced housing were key factors driving the demand for single-family homes. Another factor was the automatic 2 percent increase in assessed value for all properties that did not change ownership; that added $16 billion to the roll. New construction added $7 billion to the assessment roll, up from $6 billion last year.
Auerbach said that the slowdown in the housing market has shown up in the number of changes of ownership recorded at his office this year: 504,300 changes in ownership compared with 521,700 in 2005.
The growth in assessed values over the last 12 months was greatest in the Antelope Valley cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, with increases of 29 percent and 21 percent, respectively. The city of Los Angeles remained the highest valued municipality, with a total assessed value of $349 billion, up 11 percent from 2005. Long Beach was second at $39 billion, up 13 percent from 2005. The smallest gain of 2.8 percent was recorded in Carson.
NASA Gives Money
In a move that could end up benefiting Southern California’s aerospace industry, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin announced a plan to provide financial incentive to companies to develop privately owned space vehicles.
The Houston-based space agency announced a competition in which winning companies will get a share of $500 million in seed money to help develop the vehicles. The plan is to have NASA lease the equipment on a per-trip basis for sending cargo and possible personnel to the International Space Station.
The arrangement is unprecedented in the 50-year history of the space agency, which traditionally oversees the development and construction of its own space vehicles.
IT Chief to Retire
Thera Bradshaw, general manager of the Los Angeles City Information Technology Agency, has resigned her position and plans to retire.
The resignation comes at a time when a bill (AB 2987) in the state capitol threatens to curtail the control cities exert over cable TV franchises. Currently the City of Los Angeles has 14 franchise deals supervised by its information technology agency.
Bradshaw has been cited by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for her work on expanding wireless Internet, or “Wi-Fi,” service in Los Angeles and for live video teleconferencing at City Council meetings.
