O'Neal Steel Inc. has purchased the assets of Chicago-based Leeco Steel Products Inc. for an undisclosed price.

Leeco, based in Darien, Ill., processes and distributes specialized plate such as carbon steel, alloy, high-strength, extra-high-strength, abrasion-resistant and weathering steel. Leeco also operates a service center in Manitowoc, Wisc., and serves customers throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.

O'Neal chairman Craft O'Neal and president Bill Jones said Leeco's specialized product mix is a strategic addition to O'Neal's broader catalog,

"The ability to supply and process even more types of high-strength steel and alloy plate will enable O'Neal to serve new and existing accounts in more ways than ever before," they said in a joint press release.

The newly acquired company will do business as Leeco Steel LLC. Like O'Neal's other subsidiaries Metalwest and Aerodyne Alloys, Leeco will operate as a stand-alone company led by current president Bob Pepoff and his management team. Aerodyne was acquired last fall.

Founded in 1921, O'Neal Steel has its headquarters in Birmingham and more than 40 locations throughout the country.