Algoma Steel gets chummy with Tenaris parent company

When Denis Turcotte took over as president and chief executive officer of Algoma Steel Inc. in 2002, the first meeting he had with anyone outside ASI was with officials from the Techint Group of companies.

Techint is a $9-billion global giant in the steel business, comprised of more than 100 companies, one of which is Tenaris S.A., owner of the Algoma Tubes plant bought last month ftom ASI.

It turns out that Algoma Steel and Techint have much in common.

As SooToday.com reported last night, ASI has recently struck a deal with another Techint subsidiary, Exiros, to help find purchasing and operational efficiencies.

Today, Turcotte (shown above, white shirt) told reporters that Algoma Steel is hoping to significantly expand its relationship with Techint, a company widely rumoured to be a possible suitor in the mergers or asset sales that Turcotte has previously said he's interested in pursuing.

"This is not just a business contract," Turcotte said. "It's a very close working relationship."

"We're getting to know them. They're getting to know us."

The two firms have agreed to proceed "in small steps" but other collaborations are definitely in the works, he said.

SooToday.com background on Exiros