Stan Rabin, CEO of CMC from 1979–2006
and chairman of the board from 1999–2008
CMC also got into trading, initially to
control supply and price of raw materials,
but eventually as a business unto itself.
“We had markets that smaller dealers
could not access,” said Rabin. “Logically
[and logistically] that grew from scrap
into iron ore, copper and aluminum. In
our integration we always kept internal
pricing at market levels. It was my view
that we did not want to subsidize our businesses one over the other. Each had to be
profitable on its own.”
Clearly that was the case, because in
1970, CMC grew to be listed on the Fortune
500. Throughout the 1980s, the company
continued vertical integration and growth,
adding to its operations in recycling, manufacturing, fabrication and trading. CMC
also expanded its downstream presence
with the addition of construction-related
operations.
To further increase its manufacturing
base and expand its geographic presence,
CMC acquired Owen Steel in 1994. The
largest acquisition to date, the Owen deal
also gave CMC a total of six rebar fabrication shops, five structural fabrication
shops and two joist plants. Those operations are spread across South Carolina,
North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and
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32 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Fall 2015 | www.MoAF.org
Joe Alvarado, president & CEO of CMC
from 2011–present and chairman
of the board from 2013–present
Virginia. Beyond the manufacturing sites,
CMC operates a construction supply company and three scrap-processing facilities.
The chair of Owen Steel, Dorothy Owen,
took her share of the payment entirely in
CMC stock, making her the company’s