April, 2026- Service centers do a lot, of course. They turn raw coils, bars, rods, tubes, beams and plates into something manageable for their customers to use in countless ways. Over the past 10 to 15 years, service centers have also entered the realm of fabrication, parts and components production, and manufacturing kits and subassemblies. They are not competing with customers such as fabrication shops and OEMs but collaborating with them to make the development of a near-finished product more efficient and seamless.
Brian Seeley, president of Ryerson Advanced Processing, says his company focuses on complex metal parts and assemblies—particularly those that require multiple steps, tight coordination and repeatability at scale. “While producing simple, single-process components is a service we provide and part of our business, the team specializes in programs that involve cutting, forming, welding, machining, finishing and assembly.
“At its core, the business takes metal parts from concept through full production, managing every step along the way. That includes optimizing how the part is made, where it is made and how it is delivered—ensuring consistency from the first article through scaled production,” Seeley says.
PROCESSING DEPTH
“We offer this same level of processing depth for long products, plate and sheet in both ferrous and nonferrous metals. The combination of deep processing capabilities coupled with a very talented team—including operators, engineers, estimators, sales and support teams—generate many options for our customers,” he explains.
Ryerson Advanced Processing serves a wide range of industries, but the common thread isn’t the market—it’s the level of complexity. Customers typically operate in environments where supply chains are fragmented, parts are multi-step and production needs to scale reliably, Seeley says.
That includes sectors like data centers and AI infrastructure, industrial equipment, transportation and rail, and semiconductor manufacturing. In each case, manufacturers face pressure around material availability, cost variability and production coordination. “Ryerson steps in to simplify that complexity and deliver a more predictable outcome,” he says.
SUPPORT SYSTEM
The company supports both program and transactional customers. “Many customers depend on us as an integral part of their manufacturing and assembly operations. In some cases, we are digitally connected to their demand signals, which feed directly into our system.”
Kloeckner Manufacturing Services runs a large factory in Iowa that performs heavy fabrication, welding, assembly, painting and complex finishing processes.
Ryerson’s processing capabilities “include soft tooling assets such as laser and plasma that require only a CNC program to run, making us efficient for short runs.” On the other side of the spectrum, says Seeley, “we offer hard tooling applications such as stamping, which lends itself to high-volume runs for program applications. Every material shape we offer has supporting processes.”
To support tubing products, for example, “we invested in tube lasers, tube benders, machining, welding, painting and many additional downstream processes. We offer a similar strategy for plate, sheet and bar.
“When we expand our processing capabilities, we look at adjacent processes. We identify what we are great at and expand from there,” he notes.
Ryerson has “focused equally on technology to support our fabrication network. Our business relies both on internal processing capabilities and a large network of approved fabrication partners,” says Seeley. “We digitally mapped our entire processing network, which is searchable by process, quality performance, geography and combinations of processes.” With this tool, Ryerson can “create supply chains on very short notice for customers who experience either a surge in demand or a disruption in supply.”
O’Neal Manufacturing Services’ largest enduse markets include railcars, locomotives and railroad crossing equipment.
Ryerson has “focused equally on technology to support our fabrication network. Our business relies both on internal processing capabilities and a large network of approved fabrication partners,” says Seeley. “We digitally mapped our entire processing network, which is searchable by process, quality performance, geography and combinations of processes.” With this tool, Ryerson can “create supply chains on very short notice for customers who experience either a surge in demand or a disruption in supply.”
FOUNDATION
Ryerson’s service center business represents “a significant advantage” for Advanced Processing, says Seeley. That foundation— particularly its access to more than 70,000 ready-to-ship metal products—“provides a level of material reliability that most contract manufacturers don’t have.”
That integration reduces risk around availability, cost volatility and specification consistency. “It also shortens lead times and simplifies procurement, since material sourcing and manufacturing are aligned within the same system. The result is a more stable, predictable supply chain—one that connects raw material directly to finished part production without the typical disconnect between suppliers and fabricators.
“We believe the combination of on-hand inventory, digitally connected processing capabilities, quality processes and tools, and well-trained staff provides a great deal of value to our customers,” Seeley says.
What sets Ryerson Advanced Processing apart, he says, is its role as a fully integrated manufacturing network designed to handle complexity at scale.
“Programs are engineered from the outset—matching material, process, capacity and geography to the needs of each part. Execution is coordinated across a national footprint, with quality systems and accountability built into every step,” he explains.
“For customers, that means fewer handoffs, faster launches and more consistent results. It’s contract manufacturing built around solving complexity—powered by the scale, reliability and expertise of Ryerson.”
‘SEVERAL STEPS FURTHER’
“We go several steps further than a traditional service center. We make a little bit of everything, but our biggest aim is the more processing, the better,” says Michael Richey, director of sales and marketing for O’Neal Manufacturing Services (OMS), based in Birmingham, Alabama.
“We want parts going to as many workstations as possible: laser cutting, oxy-fuel and plasma cutting, machining, forming welding, beveling, flattening. We make more subassemblies and weldments than singular parts,” he continues.
Ryerson manages complex parts and assemblies, particularly those needing multiple steps, tight coordination and repeatability at scale.
OMS’s largest end-use markets include construction equipment; railcars, locomotives and railroad crossing equipment; aerial work platforms; and components for systems installed at data centers, such as heat exchangers and power generation equipment.
The company runs 10 facilities. “Each is customized to our anchor accounts, some of which have been with us for decades,” Richey says.
Throughout those facilities, OMS operates 40 lasers (mostly fiber), material handling and automation systems, 14 robotic welding stations, 46 press brakes, and 42 machining centers. The company performs steel fabrication, which ranges from laser cutting, forming, punching, milling, drilling and tapping to laser welding and tube processing.
“We start at 28 gauge and fabricate plates up to 5 inches thick, and can produce weldments weighing up to 20 tons,” Richey says.
OMS has a collaborative relationship with its sister company, O’Neal Steel. “In one location, our buildings are located side by side. OMS works with the O’Neal Steel order processing system to get real-time pricing. We support that relationship with our own customers.”
TRUE PARTNER
The number of parts or units that OMS produces per job varies widely. “Typically, the bigger the part, weldment or chassis, the number of units will be fewer but the process is longer,” Richey says. For example, “we build one chassis that takes an entire month, and we make four units per year. Other parts may be hundreds of units per day. It depends on the process. Generally, the smaller the part, the more units.”
Some of the jobs O’Neal Manufacturing takes on are under contracts, which often are renewed. Others are repeat business, the same part made periodically, but not under a contract.
“We are a true partner with our customers,” Richey says. The shops frequently deliver subassemblies that directly enter the customer’s assembly line, such as a combine. “We may even stock subassemblies to deliver the next day. The scope of work is as diverse as our customer base.”
EMPLOYEE KNOW-HOW
OMS trains employees on certain parts and subassemblies “so they know the specifications and tolerances of these parts. We have job travelers within our ERP system that have all the drawings, the tolerances and critical measurements. As the part moves through the shop, the traveler moves with it. Employees know what to look for to make a quality part,” according to Richey.
The company employs 1,050 people and is looking to hire 50 more. “We have people with many years of experience in operations, quality and material handling, and we have certified welders. A lot of certifications are customer driven, and they will have their own welding specification. We will go get whichever ones we need. Generally, our standard is AWS D1.1,” Richey says.
The strength of OMS is its employees and their skills, Richey says. “We bring in raw material and make a part. It takes craft to be able to do that, and those skills drive our business.”
VALUE ADDED
In January, Kloeckner Metals Corp. started up manufacturing operations at the former Bauer Built Manufacturing site in Paton, Iowa, and renamed the business Kloeckner Manufacturing Services. This operation extends Kloeckner’s ability to serve agricultural and industrial customers with heavy fabrication and higher value-added solutions.
Ryerson Advanced Processing cuts, forms and machines both ferrous and nonferrous metals.
The 300,000-square-foot Paton facility enhances Kloeckner’s ability to deliver heavy fabrication, welding, assembly and complex finishing solutions for agricultural and industrial customers. The factory also gives Kloeckner its first in-house industrial painting capability, which means it can create painted subassemblies as part of fully integrated, end-to-end manufacturing solutions for OEM customers.
John Ganem, CEO of Kloeckner Metals, says that by bringing heavy fabrication and inhouse painting together under one roof, “we’re creating a more integrated manufacturing solution that simplifies supply chains and supports agricultural and industrial customers with high-quality fabricated solutions.”
The company offers in-house engineering and fixturing capabilities that support custom designs, modifications to existing prints and the manufacture of products from preexisting prints.
TEAM BUILDING
“Manufacturing has changed. What was once a world of arm’s-length relationships between customer and supplier has evolved into closer strategic partnerships where we become an integral part of the customers supply chain,” says Brian Seeley at Ryerson Advanced Processing. “Simultaneous lift is a great experience.”
