Springfield Steel now Falcon with local group

by Karen E. Culp

SBJ Staff

For one local businessman, steel is a strong way to make a living.

Terry Heinz left his position as president of Huntco Steel, a publicly traded steel company, and after several months purchased three divisions of a Kansas City-based, family-owned company.

Richards & Conover, or Rich-Con, had a Springfield presence with Springfield Steel Supply at 2610 N. Eastgate.

Heinz calls his new venture Falcon Steel. Though two of the divisions will be in Kansas City, the company's headquarters will be in Springfield, he said.

An investment group led by Heinz completed the purchase of the three Rich-Con properties Aug. 24. Two of the properties are in Kansas City, while one is the 2610 N. Eastgate center in Springfield.

The Springfield division of Falcon Steel is a 35,000-square-foot steel supply and service center that employs 20. Heinz said he plans to upgrade the facility's equipment and possibly add employees in coming months.

"We deliver to the local manufacturers a complete range of carbon steel," Heinz said.

One opportunity Heinz sees for growth in Springfield is in supplying steel to home builders.

"I hope to incorporate that operation into the Springfield operation. There's a significant opportunity here to do that because of the building we have seen and are seeing in this market," Heinz said.

Rich-Con had owned the steel companies since 1857, making the business the oldest in Kansas City, Heinz said. One division of the company, its main steel service center in Kansas City, remains in the possession of the family, but it is now being liquidated, and the family is leaving the business, he added.

The other two divisions of the newly formed Falcon Steel are Falcon Faeth Supply, a steel service center in Kansas City that also serves the home builder market. Falcon Rolling, also in Kansas City, rolls sections of steel to architectural specifications, taking structural shapes up to 40 feet wide and applying pressure to shape them into curves.

Heinz, who is a 24-year veteran of the steel industry, said he plans constant upgrades for all of Falcon's divisions.

"I'll look to ways we can constantly improve our equipment and service level. There are many ways we can use new technology to grow and improve," Heinz said. The steel industry has changed dramatically during the past 15 years, Heinz said, with the advent of Nucor Steel's concept for reusing steel.

"Now steel is the most recycled material in the world," Heinz said.

Consolidation among large steel suppliers has left the market "wide open" for start-up businesses, Heinz said.

"There's always going to be consolidation, but right now, there's really no dominant player