Acesco Puerto Rico celebrated its 25th anniversary on the island with a November 4 event at the El Mirador hall of the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel in the Convention District of San Juan, where the steel manufacturer announced new investments to strengthen local manufacturing. General manager Carlos Rodríguez Lopera said staying 25 years in Puerto Rico has meant reinvesting and adapting operations to market needs.
The operation began in the late 1990s, when local investors combined Bayamón Steel and Platt Metal at the Luchetti industrial area in Bayamón, starting with two pipe mills producing corrugated sheets and galvanized plates. A 2001 alliance with Grupo Acesco, followed by equipment for Track & Studs and the acquisition of Matcorp, expanded production of metal profiles and roofing.
Its current products include Rooftek, Purlins, Metaldeck and pipe, plus wire mesh, stainless steel and CL Ward air-conditioning duct products. Over the last three years the company expanded its profiles’ perforation capacity for solar projects, adding two cyclone mesh machines, a continuous corrugation line, an extra Track & Studs machine and a new storage warehouse.
It also installed 588 solar panels with 270 kilowatts of direct-current capacity at the Bayamón plant, which the company says covers the plant’s operational needs. Acesco is considering fabricating components for the Hatillo solar project using US-melted and cast steel formed in Puerto Rico.