1997 marked the year that ACME Steel Company became a leader in steelmaking technology. With the successful startup and operation of its new Minigrated Steel^TM production facility, ACME has been elevated to the position of an advanced, high-tech, thin-slab casting and rolling steel producer. The new Minigrated Mill combines the high quality liquid steel produced via the traditional blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace technology with the lower cost mini-mill thin-slab casting and rolling technology. ACME Steel is the first and still the only steel company to employ this new technology to manufacture special higher-chemistry products.

ACME Steel Company's customers represent a wide range of industries including automotive, agricultural, industrial, fastener, pipe and tube, processor, and tool manufacturing. ACME focuses on the needs of it's customers -- By the end of 1997, caster grade development improved so that 99% of the steel grades ordered by ACME's customers had been successfully cast and rolled. Customer response to the quality of Minigrated^TM Steel coils has been enthusiastic. Improvements in thickness control, uniform mechanical properties, shape and flatness and the ability to produce larger, wider coils and thinner gauges has expanded ACME Steel's customer base. ACME Steel has implemented a new business information system to enhance the quality and speed of customer service. By focusing on customer needs, ACME Steel expects to achieve its goal of consistently exceeding customer's expectations.

ACME Metals, Inc., the parent company. Other sister companies are involved in the fabrication of steel. ACME Packaging Corporation of Riverdale, IL, a leading fabricator of steel strapping, also manufactures plastic strapping and strapping products for the packaging and shipping industries. Alpha Tube Corporation of Walbridge, OH is a leading producer of high quality welded carbon steel.