4609 70th Avenue E
Fife, WA, 98424
United States
Pending Approval
Service Steel Aerospace (SSA) has built its reputation on a simple but powerful promise: “We Make Hard Metals Easy.” As one of the world’s largest distributors of aerospace‑quality steel and titanium, SSA occupies a critical position in the global supply chain for advanced manufacturing. From its headquarters in Fife, Washington, the company stocks a vast selection of specialty metals that support not only the aerospace industry but also a growing list of other high‑performance sectors, including defense, space, oil and gas, racing, medical, firearms, and recreation. By combining deep inventory, in‑house processing, and an uncompromising commitment to quality, SSA helps customers around the world meet the most demanding engineering challenges.
Founded in 1976 in Tacoma, Washington, Service Steel Aerospace was established as a specialty metals distributor for the aerospace industry. The company quickly outgrew its original footprint, expanding into Southern California in 1982 and opening a facility in Akron, Ohio, in 1988 to be closer to both customers and mills. A series of ownership changes—first to Underhill Investments in 1989 and then to Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. in 1997—provided the capital and strategic vision for sustained expansion. Today SSA operates as part of Reliance, a Fortune 500 company that is the largest metal service center in North America, giving SSA unparalleled logistical and financial backing.
Organic growth and targeted acquisitions have steadily broadened SSA’s product portfolio. The 1999 purchase of United Alloys Aircraft Metals brought expertise in high‑grade nickel and titanium products and opened doors to the oil tool, medical implant, prosthetics, auto‑racing, and land‑based turbine markets. In 2008, the acquisition of Dynamic Metals International added maraging steels to the product line. These moves transformed SSA from a regional supplier into a full‑spectrum specialty metals house.
Physical expansion has kept pace with market demand. Today SSA owns five facilities across the United States totaling more than 500,000 square feet. Key milestones include:
Every SSA location is certified to AS9100 and ISO 9001 standards, and the company’s quality system is approved by leading manufacturers such as Boeing, Northrop‑Grumman, Lockheed‑Martin, Goodrich, Baker Hughes, Halliburton, and Bombardier.
SSA’s inventory is engineered for the extremes of aerospace, defense, and other critical applications. The company supplies a broad range of forms—rods, flat bars, armor plates, blocks, plates, sheets, and extrusions. Its material portfolio includes:
These materials find their way into commercial aircraft, satellites, military vehicles, surgical implants, racing engines, and countless other high‑reliability components. SSA’s product pages on its website provide detailed specifications for individual alloys, including heat‑treatment cycles, forging ranges, and machinability guidance.
What truly sets Service Steel Aerospace apart is its ability to deliver material that is ready for immediate use. The company offers an extensive menu of value‑added processing services that reduce lead times and supply‑chain complexity for its customers. These capabilities include:
These services are documented on the company’s website in conjunction with specific materials. For example, its Ti‑6Al‑4V ELI product page notes that “SSA also offers value added processing such as heat treating, trepanning, water jet cutting, sonic inspection and mechanical testing”. Third‑party business profiles consistently list forging, custom in‑house cutting, heat treating, ultrasonic testing, trepanning, turning, and grinding as core processing capabilities.
SSA’s commitment to quality is embodied in its policy to “review and measure our processes and continually improve quality and customer satisfaction”. By combining a massive inventory, strategically located facilities, and robust in‑house processing, Service Steel Aerospace transforms hard metals into ready‑to‑use solutions for the most demanding industries on earth.