Court grants extension to prospective Hamilton Specialty Bar buyer

The union representing workers at Hamilton Specialty Bar, currently in receivership, is optimistic it will have a buyer for the plant by March 26.

A prospective buyer and United Steelworkers representatives for the Sherman Avenue North plant were granted an extension to that date in a Toronto court on Wednesday to finalize the bid to buy HSB.

“The chances are very good,” said United Steelworkers Local 4752 president Mickey Mercanti after the court ruling. “We are in talks with a potential buyer.”

Mercanti said he’s optimistic prospective buyer KAL Advisory Partners LLC will have its financing in place and its decision made by the 26th.

As long as KAL is able to get back the Specialty Bar’s customer base, “we’re very optimistic we’ll be opening soon.”

In court documents, KAL officials say that if all goes well and all conditions are satisfied, they expect to close the deal to take over Hamilton Specialty Bar by April 1 and to start production by April 15.

HSB has been making steel or steel products since it was founded in 1910.

In 1984, it was sold and renamed Slater Steel, and in 2004, Slater was sold and renamed Hamilton Specialty Bar.

According to court documents, HSB is now a major Canadian company that melts its own steel and manufactures specialty bar products using carbon and alloy steels. Its products have many diverse uses, including in the automotive, heavy truck, mining, and forging sectors.

HSB’s abrupt receivership on Jan. 8 was a shock to its workers and pensioners. It employed about 200 workers — 170 of them unionized, and supported 450 pensioners.

KAL Advisory Partners LLC, based in New York City, is a new investor group led by a former steel company executive with strong relationships with the USW, Hamilton and Ontario, according to a company letter in the court documents.

Mercanti said the main man at KAL with steel experience is Keshav Lall.

There are 40 people working at the plant, according to Mercanti.