Indiana 100: Interlock Industries' diversity keeps it going strong

Diversity remains a hallmark at Interlock Industries Inc., a privately held corporation based in Sellersburg, a town near the Ohio River. The holding company includes four very different organizations, but all are tied together through the company's mission: diversification through acquisition.

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"Size certainly gives you a greater degree of leverage with suppliers," said Interlock President Jeffrey Mackin. "But at the same time, it challenges you to remain customer-driven and focused, and not get distracted."

The company has been focused on customers since 1983, when a group of four businessmen bought Metal Sales Manufacturing Corp., an international manufacturer of custom roofing and siding products. Interlock Industries was formed with the goal of diversifying through acquisitions.

Companies in the Interlock group also include Ohio Valley Aluminum Co., an aluminum-castings operation serving the Midwest and Southeast. Acquired by Interlock in 1985, Ohio Valley (operating as Altec) runs extrusion plants in Connersville and Jeffersonville, as well as an aluminum-castings operation in Shelbyville, Ky.

Interlock also owns Louisville Transportation Co., which operates ambulance, taxi and limousine service in the Louisville area, in southern Indiana and throughout Kentucky. Service areas include Floyd and Clark counties in Indiana, and Louisville and the surrounding communities of Owensboro and Hopkinsville in Kentucky. The company operates Yellow Cab of Louisville and recently expanded the taxi business with the purchase of United Transportation, the largest taxi service in Lexington, Ky.

Mackin sees plenty of potential in all the businesses, and Interlock plans to keep expanding.

"We'll continue to grow all these businesses, via either green-field [development] or acquisition," he said. "We're looking at things all the time."

Metal Sales, for example, began operations in its 17th manufacturing facility, in Michigan, in early 2002 and just opened its 18th plant, in Minnesota. Metal Sales also has grown through acquisitions in recent years. Purchases have included the assets of National Steel Corp.'s Granite City Building Products in 2001 and Alta Industries' Custom Panel Industries in Fontana, Calif., in 2000. Custom Panel provided Metal Sales with an entree into southern California. Another California purchase, Western Metal Building Products, led to business in California, Nevada and southern Oregon.

Mackin sees a strong outlook for Metal Sales. "We're the dominant

player in most markets we're in," he said. The company is also

expanding into residential roofing and taking some market share away

from shingles. A new product, metal shake shingles, also offers

considerable potential. The shingle industry is a big one, Mackin

pointed out. "There's lots of room for growth."

Engineering News Record, which covers all aspects of the construction industry, reported an across-the-board price erosion in structural- steel products in the second half of last year. ENR quoted Fort Wayne-based Steel Dynamics Inc.'s Jim Wroble, marketing manager for SDI's structural and rail divisions. "There has been so much going on in the pricing of structurals in the last six months that it is hard to quantify with a single number, except to say that the trend has generally been down," Wroble said.

But that is the beauty of diversification. Interlock Industries' varied product base allows it to ride out the inevitable bumps in the road. "Overall, the outlook is strong even if some industries are soft," Mackin said.