Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN — Steelite, an international supplier in the hospitality industry that is relocating its headquarters downtown, has received a $3.5 million grant in Pennsylvania to expand its warehouse capability there.

The money will be used to purchase a 55,000-square-foot pre-engineered steel building and to develop its site in Neshannock Township. It also will be spent on related building operation systems, such as electrical, plumbing and heating and cooling.

Steelite’s facility in Neshannock was built in 2007. An addition was made in 2019.

The company announced in June it plans to move its executive headquarters and 75 or so employees to the Taft Technology Center downtown from New Castle, Pa. The move centralizes the company’s local operations; Steelite already has its largest showroom and experience center at the downtown Commerce Building, 201 E. Commerce St., just a few blocks away.

It opened in 2017.

The company supplies and manufactures tabletop, buffet and lighting solutions to the global hospitality industry, from hotels to restaurants to convention centers to cruise ships to stadiums.

Earlier this month, Steelite announced it acquired Walco Stainless, an independent division of the Utica Cutlery Company. Walco supplies high-end flatware, steak knives, holloware and buffet products to the U.S. hospitality market.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“This acquisition makes Steelite the largest flatware supplier to the North American hospitality industry, and our robust global infrastructure provides the ideal platform to take the Walco brand and further grow internationally,” John Miles, president and CEO, said.

Steelite International is owned by Arbor Investments, a specialized private equity firm that focuses exclusively on acquiring premier companies in food, beverage and related industries.

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