For Immediate Release

November 14, 2006

Contact: Cindy Fauth  

312.673.5730

Association of Steel Distributors Announces
2006 Steel Man of the Year Award winner:
Steven Bergman, President and CEO of Premier Steel Inc.

CHICAGO — The Association of Steel Distributors (ASD) announced that Steven Bergman, President and CEO of Premier Steel, Inc., will receive the industry’s highest honor – the 2006 Honorary Steel Man of the Year award. He will be honored at a black-tie reception and dinner on Tuesday, March 20, 2007, at the La Costa Resort and Spa , coinciding with the association’s Annual Convention.

“It is truly a pleasure to present the 2006 Steel Man of the Year award to Steve Bergman,” said Dominic Vitucci Jr., of Vitco Steel Supply Corp., and current president of ASD. “He served under my father’s leadership and continues to be instrumental in assisting ASD into the future through my presidency. I look forward to seeing many of our friends in the steel industry in La Costa to help us celebrate this achievement for Steve and his family.”

This ASD tradition, an industry distinction, honors one individual who embodies leadership, dedication, service and excellence in the steel industry. Steven Bergman is a truly deserving candidate for this distinction.

“Receiving this award and being selected among so many of the industry’s most recognized individuals is quite an honor,” Bergman said. “It is the culmination of many years of dedication and contributions I have made to this industry. That has truly been my pleasure, as it is a privilege, and I am thrilled to accept this award.”

“Steve’s unwavering commitment to the Association of Steel Distributors is seen by his service on the Board and as President,” said Claudia Buckalew of Security Steel Processing Company. “He enthusiastically promotes the benefits of the organization and gives generously of his time and expertise to making ASD a positive and progressive organization that benefits its members on many levels. He is professional and is aggressive in his pursuit of providing leadership.”

Bergman has been a “steel man” since he entered the workforce in 1974. He began his career at Associated Metals & Minerals in New York City, at the time was one of the largest steel trading organizations in the world. He then spent the next 15 years overseeing trading operations on the East Coast of the U.S., becoming a vice-president and gaining valuable experience importing steel from the world's major producers of steel from Europe and the Far East.

In 1989, along with two partners, Bergman formed Satramet, a Greenwich, Conn.-based steel trading company. Satramet’s major achievement was becoing the first importer of Russian steel into the U.S. after the fall of the Soviet Union.

In 1992, Bergman founded Premier Steel Inc., with the concept of becoming a niche steel distributor based upon value adding Hot Rolled Steel Coils. At the same time, the U.S. Steel industry was transforming from integrated to mini mills utilizing "thin slab" technology, revolutionizing the way Steel Coils are made today. In association with Ferrous Metal Processing located in Cleveland, Ohio, who is a long standing ASD member, both pioneered and developed the equipment to convert Hot Rolled coils into bars. Thus Premier Steel's concept was born.

Premier Steel Inc. has refined and expanded their bar program to include Pickeled and Oiled bars from 1/8" thick thru 1/2" in widths starting at 3" and wider. In addition to the bar business in Cleveland, where they stock more than 7,000 tons of finished product and Coil, they also distribute HR and HRP&O Strip manufactured in association with Security Steel in Detroit, Michigan. With their added range, Premier Steel Inc. can market from 14 ga. thru 5/16 starting in widths of 1/2" to 8".

Bergman has been a member and attended ASD’s regional meetings and Annual Convention since 1985.

“In those early years ASD was instrumental in offering exceptional networking and educational opportunities that was unique in the steel industry,” Bergman said. “Life-long friendships were made in an atmosphere reminiscent of a family reunion.”

Bergman joined the ASD Board of Directors in 1991, and was nominated as president in 2004 and served a one-year term.

“As a member of the ASD Board of Directors, I had the pleasure to work with some of the great industry leaders of the past two decades. I continue to work after my presidency on the ASD Board to hopefully mentor the young members of our steel organization,” Bergman added.

Steven has been married to his lovely wife, Roberta, for 32 years. “Roberta for 32 years has been my soul mate and inspiration to succeed. We have two children – Lisa, a school teacher in Boston, and Justin, who joined Premier Steel three years ago after graduating college,” Bergman said. Justin has also joined the ASD Young Executive committee, inspired by current president Dominic Vitucci, Jr., as a way to get the next generation of steel executives involved instituting a platform for them to contribute towards the future of the ASD.

“That is my ultimate goal. I am committed to the value and goals of ASD and to guide it into the next generation,” Bergman said.

About the Association of Steel Distributors:

Headquartered in Chicago, the Association of Steel Distributors is a non-profit organization, providing the steel distribution industry a forum for ideas exchange and market information. Members have access to the most current industry developments and legislative issues. Regional and national meetings give members numerous opportunities to learn and network in this competitive environment. For more information, please visit www.steeldistributors.org or call ASD Headquarters at 312.644.6610.

###