In 1785, John Russel immigrated to Canada from Scotland and set up business as a merchant. His business soon became known as John Russel and Co. In 1866, Hugh Russel, John Russel's great nephew, set up a one man iron trading operation in Montreal. In 1916, the business became a legal entity known as Hugh Russel and Sons Ltd. and introduced the steel warehousing concept, which today is called A Steel Service Center. Between the years of 1941 and 1947, offices opened in Winnipeg (MB), Vancouver (BC), Saint John (NB), Windsor and Toronto (ONT). In 1960 a large new office and a flagship warehouse opened in Montreal. By 1962, the Company was no longer privately owned and began an aggressive period of growth through acquisitions. In the years 1965 through 1968, various acquisitions, including Master Mechanical Mfg. Robert Steel (Canada), HD of Hamilton (Ont), Hector Steel Industries of Calgary, Alberta, gave the Company a steel distribution network through to the west coast. By 1979, as a result of further growth through acquisition, the Company expanded into the United States. In 1984, Russelsteel was sold to Federal Industries Ltd. of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Subsequently, Federal Industries acquired Russel's then largest competitor, Drummond McCall. By 1988, Russel had become Canada's largest steel distributor. Federal Industries Ltd. divested itself of its non-metals businesses and in 1995 changed its name to Russel Metals Inc. to reflect its commitment to the metals industry as its core business. From 1997 through 2004, Russel Metals acquired several companies in the metals distribution business, including: Sunbelt Group (1997), Triumph Tubular and Supply (2000), Spartan Steel Products (2001), A.J. Forsyth (2001), Arrow Steel Processors (2002), Williams Steel (2002) and Acier Leroux (2003). In 2007, Russel Metals expanded in the United States by acquiring JMS Metal Services, Inc. and related companies (?JMS?). JMS is a full line distributor of steel and aluminum products with processing and distribution facilities in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee. On November 28, 2008, JMS acquired Norton Metals. Norton Metals began in the steel industry in 1952 and is an established major steel supplier in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Norton Metals can provide your material needs from the smallest of jobs to multi-load projects. more... See more text