Wheatland Tube Co.'s owner said Friday it completed the purchase of Sawhill Tubular Division from AK Steel Holdings Corp. As a result of the sale, Wheatland Tube edges out Werner Co. as Mercer County's largest industrial employer.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This is the largest industrial deal involving two local players since shortly after World War II, when Henry Roemer bought the Carnegie Works in Farrell from Carnegie Steel Co. That company eventually became Sharon Steel Corp.

Friday's deal creates a powerhouse in the American pipe and tube industry for Wheatland Tube's owner, John Maneely Co.

"We salute the owners of the John Maneely Co.: O'Donnell, Dooner and Boylan families for their continued commitment to the community,'' said Bill Kerins, vice president of operations for Wheatland Tube. "We look at this as a positive development for the community that will enable the new company to compete and survive in today's economic environment.''

Kerins will be responsible for running all four Wheatland Tube plants.

"We are excited at the opportunity to expand our product lines, increase our production capacity and provide a full complement of products to our customers,'' said Peter S. Dooner, president and chief operating officer of Maneely. "As a 125-year-old family-owned pipe and tube producer, our success comes primarily from the efforts of our hard-working and dedicated employees.''

Sawhill will now become part of Wheatland Tube with all the plants run as one company.

"This will enable us to increase our capacity, take advantage of production efficiencies and add more security and stability into the future, rather than separate companies on a stand-alone basis,'' Kerins said.

In the deal, Maneely bought all three Sawhill plants -- in Sharon, Wheatland and Warren, Ohio. Sawhill employs about 750, with about 425 in Sharon, 125 in Wheatland and about 200 in Warren. Earlier this week, AK Steel laid off 26 office employees.

Still, with Wheatland Tube employing 620 at its Wheatland plant, the combined company employs 1,170 in Mercer County. Werner Co. said it employs 1,150 at its Sugar Grove Township operation. Overall, Werner Co. is the larger with more than 2,700 employees nationwide, compared to Maneely's 2,175. Maneely's other plants are in Chicago and Little Rock, Ark.

Wheatland Tube is looking to make major improvements at the Sawhill plants, Kerins said.

"And while we're certainly adopting our own management style and culture into this new company, we also intend on blending the best of all the facilities together,'' he added. "We're looking forward to working with all the former Sawhill employees -- both salary and hourly -- who have been very cooperative and enthusiastic during this due-diligence process.''

He also thanked Penn-Northwest Development Corp., Mercer County's lead economic development agency, and the nonprofit Shenango Valley Industrial Development Corp. for their help.

Maneely had been seeking to buy Sawhill for some time.

In 1998, Collingswood, N.J.-based Maneely said it wanted to buy Sawhill from its former owner Armco Inc. But after a year of squabbling over details, particularly environmental issues such as future liability costs, the deal collapsed when AK Steel bought Armco in May 1999.

Last fall, talks renewed between Maneely and AK Steel over the sale of Sawhill. In December Maneely said it signed a letter of intent to buy the division and since has toiled to finalize the deal.

An AK Steel spokesman wasn't available for comment Friday afternoon. Previously, the company said it was selling Sawhill because it didn't fit into its long-range market strategy. AK Steel's core business is steel production.

Sawhill produces products similar to those made at Wheatland Tube. Sawhill produces cold-drawn pipe products comparable to those made at Sharon Tube Co. -- the other local pipe and tube producer.

Sawhill's Warren plant produces electric-welded pipes, which Wheatland Tube also makes at its Chicago plant. However, the Warren plant also makes large diameter-line pipe, which Wheatland Tube buys from another producer.

Product lines of Sawhill's include continuous weld, electric-resistance weld, seamless and mechanical tube and pipe products up to 6 inches in diameter. Its products have a variety of applications in construction, manufacturing, fire suppression and conveyor systems.

As a result of the sale, Wheatland Tube and Sharon Tube are the nation's last continuous-weld pipe producers. Continuous weld is a process in which the entire body of the pipe is hot when it is made. An electric-weld pipe is produced by a method in which the pipe is cold except at the welding point.

Wheatland Tube operates as a division of Maneely, which is a tightly held company, controlled by the O'Donnell, Dooner and Boylan families. Maneely was founded in 1877 as an iron pipe distributor. The company is a leading domestic producer of welded steel pipe, tubing and fittings used in a number of applications such as plumbing, heating, industry, fire sprinklers and the oil and gas industries.

Based in Middletown, Ohio, AK Steel employs 11,500 with plants scattered in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

Sawhill was initially called Mercer Tube Co. and got its new name from Donald Sawhill, a tough executive who was brought in to run the operation during the 1930s. Sawhill was a major shareholder in the tightly held company. He died in 1955.