Sixty Years Strong

Steel & Tube, the leading supplier of steel products and services in
New Zealand, celebrated 60 years of business on 9 December, 2013. 

“Sixty years in business is a remarkable achievement and stands as testament to the loyalty of our customers, fortitude of our people, and endurance of the organisation as a whole,” says Dave Taylor, Chief Executive of Steel & Tube.

Our long journey to this point began on 9 December 1953 when three independent steel merchandisers merged their interests and formed a new company named Steel & Tube. 

Over the years that followed, the fledging company built on the foundations of its predecessors and forged an identity and reputation all its own.

With the boom of the early 1980s, Steel & Tube ascended rapidly as the company reached into new manufacturing markets spanning motor vehicles, paint, bicycles, and heavy machinery. 

Then, as the global economy faltered in the late 1980s, the company refocused on its core business – steel distribution and metal manufacturing. The strategy proved to be a striking success and by the early 1990s, Steel & Tube had risen to become one of New Zealand’s leading industrial businesses, a position it has not relinquished to this day.

The modern era brought its share of difficulties however.

“The global financial crisis has been an enormous challenge for many businesses and Steel & Tube is no exception,” says Mr Taylor. “We chose to meet that challenge head on, and for some time now, we have been fundamentally improving and reinvigorating the business to respond to new technologies, shifting customer expectations and a continuously changing environment,” he says.

“Sixty years is a long time and we’re thrilled to have reached such a significant milestone, but the work we're doing today is laying new, stronger foundations that will see the business through the next 60 years and beyond.”

Click here to read about our history in more detail.