Steel Warehouse, a family-owned steel solutions provider and service center with 18 facilities in North America and internationally, is pleased to announce Doug Rathburn has joined the company as Business Unit Manager for its newest facility in Hickory, North Carolina, which opened in 2025 and is expected to employ 58 people.
In this role, Rathburn will lead the continued build-out of the Hickory operation over the next year which will include the launch of a full-scale cut-to-length line facility, capable of processing material thicknesses from 0.047” to 0.75” and a shot blast building for preparing steel plates. The Hickory location currently offers 20k fiber laser cutting, press brake services and Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory management. These capabilities position the Hickory facility to deliver precision-processed steel with short lead times to manufacturers across the region.
“Doug’s experience leading supply chain for agricultural, construction and transportation equipment OEMs is directly aligned with the customers we serve in North Carolina,” said Matt Black, Southern Region Vice President and General Manager for Steel Warehouse. “His leadership will be a strong asset as we continue to expand our Hickory facility and support growth in the region.”
Rathburn brings nearly 30 years of supply chain, manufacturing, and operations experience. He most recently served as Director of Supply Chain for a leading specialty vehicle manufacturer, where he led procurement and operations for a $700M+ division, and previously spent 17 years managing global supply chains across agricultural, construction and turf care equipment divisions at a major Fortune 100 equipment manufacturer.
He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, along with bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and economics and a master’s degree in systems engineering from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
