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W
hen the idea for an anniversary coffee table book was introduced, my first reaction was,
“Seems kind of neat. Sure, let’s do it.”
For my part, I sifted through 30 years’ worth of material in various corners of my office, was
interviewed about my time at Reliance, and got to see many familiar faces come in to the office
for their interviews. It was quite a trip down Memory Lane. Then all the articles, pictures, and
memories were woven together into the hefty volume you are reading. Reliance has got quite a
story here, and I think it’s one we can all be proud of.
As we look back, we do hope that Bill Gimbel and the folks up there are smiling down on us.
For Bill especially, it was like a roll of the dice taking on such a group; we were young, somewhat
new to the industry, but ambitious nonetheless. Hopefully he and the others are proud and
think we have done some good things. In reading about Reliance’s first 75 years, I hope you
realize that the heart of our company is our people—not just executives and managers, but the
thousands of men and women within our Family of Companies—on warehouse floors, in offices,
and on the road across the country and around the world. They have the skills, knowledge,
experience, and drive to make Reliance a better company every day and I thank them for their
commitment and dedication.
We pause to celebrate this important milestone, and at the same time we are steadily
poised for the future. As we continue to learn and grow, I know that our family will continue to
do good things as we collectively strive towards the ambitious, ongoing, and rewarding goal of
making Reliance a company that truly stands the test of time.
David H. Hannah
Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer
FOREWORD
OUR HISTORY TELLS
THE STORY OF OUR FUTURE