Already one of the largest U.S. manufacturers of steel rack west of the Mississippi, Hannibal Industries is set to become a truly national company by opening a new manufacturing facility in Houston later this year.

While Hannibal has been shipping its racks across the country to serve its Eastern U.S. customers, the high freight costs associated with transporting a large steel product were proving to be a limiting factor. "It was just time for us [to expand]," says Steve Rogers, vice president of the company. "Houston is a great location for us. Texas is the second-largest rack market in the United States after California, and the city's location in the eastern part of the state allows us to reach the entire Southeast."

Hannibal was also attracted to the city's port and business-friendly culture.

In recent years, California-based Hannibal Industries has made a name for itself manufacturing tubular racks that can withstand seismic events that shake the West Coast of the United States. But the company is not letting that specialization limit it to being a regional manufacturer. In fact, according to Rogers, the TubeRack system represents only about15 percent of the company's sales. Hannibal's "bread and butter," he says, remains standard welded structural rack, rolled-form rack, and cantilevered rack.