A Bedford Park, Illinois-based steel company is setting up operations in Houston.

Lex Holding Co., a distributor of flat rolled steel products, opened inside a 110,000-square-foot facility at 6501 Bingle Road in northwest Houston, according to a release. The expansion is part of a bigger strategy to target the southwest market, including Mexico, the company said.

“The Lex Group is pleased to announce our newest expansion into the Houston area, one of the fastest growing areas in the U.S. with global access via the ports in the Gulf of Mexico,” Paul Douglass, COO at the Lex Group, said in the release. “We look forward to helping the local economy as well as providing our customers both old and new increased capacity without sacrificing the quality and service for which the Lex Group is known.”

Lex South, the company's southern branch in Houston, expects to produce up to 15,000 tons of flat-rolled steel per month. The products are intended to serve manufacturers in the car, appliance, office furniture, metal building, light-duty shelving and construction industries.

Lex is sharing its facility with Los Angeles-based Hannibal Industries Inc. in a joint venture, the company told the Houston Business Journal via email. Lex plans to produce products for Hannibal along with existing customers in the south and Mexico.

Hannibal has also been growing its presence in the Houston area. In January, Hannibal appointed its first executive positions in Houston. Hannibal is a pallet-rack and steel-tube manufacturer that focuses on storage solutions to the food and beverage, home improvement, warehouse distribution and other industries.