Atkore divests Wisconsin facility; Lock Joint Tube takes over Tectron mechanical steel tubing line

Why Atkore divested its Tectron tube business and what it signals for its strategic roadmap

Atkore Inc. (NYSE: ATKR), a leading electrical infrastructure and mechanical products manufacturer, has officially sold its Tectron Mechanical Steel Tubing product line and related De Pere, Wisconsin manufacturing facility to Lock Joint Tube. The transaction, completed in December 2025, is part of a larger strategic reshaping by Atkore as it doubles down on its core focus areas in the electrical infrastructure segment.

The sale allows Lock Joint Tube, a subsidiary of Steel Dynamics Inc., to expand its footprint and product capabilities in the mechanical steel tubing market, while Atkore continues to streamline its business portfolio by shedding non-core assets. The move follows a series of divestitures, cost reductions, and footprint rationalizations undertaken by Atkore over the past 18 months.

According to Atkore Chief Executive Officer Bill Waltz, the Tectron divestiture aligns with the company’s intention to drive value through simplification and prioritization of high-margin growth businesses. Waltz described the transaction as a deliberate step toward narrowing Atkore’s business portfolio around the electrical infrastructure ecosystem, where demand is accelerating due to digitalization, data center expansion, and grid modernization.

What makes the Tectron line significant for Lock Joint Tube’s growth ambitions

The Tectron Mechanical Steel Tubing line has long catered to customers across the agricultural, automotive, lawn and garden, and off-road equipment sectors. Known for its versatile product formats — including round, square, rectangular, hexagonal, and oval tubes — the Tectron portfolio has offered varied wall thicknesses and shapes tailored for complex structural and industrial applications.

By acquiring the product line along with the De Pere plant, Lock Joint Tube gains immediate access to a well-established mechanical tubing brand, a functioning manufacturing footprint in the Midwest, and an experienced workforce. The acquired operations will operate under the Lock Joint Tube banner moving forward, helping the steel tubing manufacturer enhance capacity and service levels across its North American customer base.

For Lock Joint Tube, the acquisition strengthens its position in a consolidating steel tube market. As OEMs and tier suppliers seek resilient supply chains and domestic production options, the addition of Tectron helps Lock Joint Tube offer more localized and customizable solutions.

How the divestiture fits into Atkore’s longer-term portfolio realignment strategy

The decision to divest the Tectron line is not an isolated event for Atkore. It follows a deliberate, multi-quarter effort to simplify its business structure, exit non-core verticals, and focus capital and management bandwidth on strategic infrastructure segments. Earlier in 2025, Atkore completed the sale of a plastics recycling business and announced multiple facility closures and consolidations aimed at driving operational efficiency.

Atkore has consistently reiterated that its future growth engine lies in its Electrical segment — which includes electrical conduit, cable management systems, prefabricated modular components, and solar-focused infrastructure solutions. The company has also pointed to emerging growth vectors in grid resilience, utility power delivery, and telecom and data center buildouts, where its product lines directly intersect with next-generation infrastructure spending.

The Tectron divestiture reduces Atkore’s exposure to cyclical mechanical-tubing markets, which face margin pressure from commodity pricing volatility, automotive demand fluctuations, and competitive imports. While this reduces revenue diversity, it enhances margin stability and positions the company to benefit from secular infrastructure tailwinds.

What investors can expect as Atkore reinvests capital into its high-margin electrical business

For the fiscal year ended September 2025, Atkore reported total revenue of approximately USD 2.9 billion, supported by a global workforce of around 5,400 employees. Although the Tectron product line was not individually broken out in earnings reports, it formed part of the broader Mechanical Products and Solutions (MP&S) segment, which Atkore has steadily de-emphasized in investor commentary.

The company has not disclosed the financial terms of the Lock Joint Tube transaction. However, based on the company’s recent strategic updates, analysts expect the capital freed up from such divestitures to be reinvested in expanding its capacity, enhancing supply chain agility, and possibly pursuing bolt-on acquisitions in the electrical infrastructure space.

Investor sentiment on Atkore has remained relatively constructive, with a general consensus that the divestiture supports longer-term valuation expansion by aligning business focus with secular demand trends. However, there are risks to watch — particularly the growing dependency on the infrastructure construction cycle, public-utility capital expenditure, and data center expansion pace.

What the market reaction and institutional flows indicate about near-term sentiment

Shares of Atkore Inc. (NYSE: ATKR) have shown modest volatility over the past month, with a slight rebound following the strategic update and confirmation of the Lock Joint Tube transaction. As of the latest close before the announcement, the stock had declined by approximately 3 percent over the five-day trading window, but analysts have suggested this was driven more by sector rotation than deal-specific concerns.

Institutional investors tracking Atkore’s rebalancing strategy have largely expressed support for the exit from the mechanical steel tubing business. Fund flows indicate a mild uptick in holdings among infrastructure-focused ETFs and long-only funds that prioritize capital discipline and operating-margin expansion over revenue scale.

That said, hedge fund interest has been mixed, with some pointing to reduced diversification and increased cyclicality as downside risks in a potentially softening construction market. With the U.S. economy showing signs of deceleration in nonresidential fixed investment, analysts are split on whether Atkore’s concentrated exposure to electrical-infrastructure spending will prove defensive or vulnerable.

What analysts will watch in the quarters ahead following this divestiture

Going forward, analysts covering Atkore will likely pay close attention to a few key indicators. First, the company’s ability to reinvest the divestiture proceeds into margin-accretive segments such as solar power, prefabricated electrical systems, and specialty conduit lines. Second, any signs of further divestitures in other legacy segments, including industrial tubing or lower-margin manufacturing units.

Also of interest will be Atkore’s M&A appetite. After a string of bolt-on deals between 2020 and 2023, the company has slowed its acquisition pace, preferring internal optimization. The divestiture of Tectron could signal renewed deal-making capacity if management identifies complementary assets in the electrification or utility hardware markets.

On the operations front, investors will also evaluate how well Atkore executes on its manufacturing consolidation strategy without compromising customer delivery or service levels. CEO Bill Waltz has framed the transformation as a simplification play, but execution will be closely scrutinized in an environment of persistent labor and logistics constraints.

What this means for Lock Joint Tube’s long-term position in the steel tubing market

For Lock Joint Tube, the acquisition of the Tectron product line and De Pere facility comes at a time of opportunity and consolidation in the North American mechanical tubing market. With rising emphasis on domestic production, supply security, and design-to-order capabilities, mechanical tubing suppliers are under pressure to scale up, regionalize operations, and offer greater shape and gauge customization.

The addition of Tectron enhances Lock Joint Tube’s credibility with OEMs in the agricultural and construction equipment markets, as well as with distributors seeking a broader product portfolio. It also gives Lock Joint Tube an operational beachhead in Wisconsin, which offers proximity to automotive and industrial supply chains across the Midwest.

Over the long term, this acquisition may serve as a foundation for further expansion or innovation, especially in advanced steel-tube applications used in electrified transport, machinery, or structural framing.

What are the key takeaways from Atkore’s sale of the Tectron tube business to Lock Joint Tube?

• Atkore Inc. (NYSE: ATKR) has divested its Tectron Mechanical Steel Tubing product line and De Pere, Wisconsin facility to Lock Joint Tube as part of its strategic portfolio simplification.

• The transaction allows Atkore to sharpen its focus on the high-margin electrical infrastructure market, reducing exposure to cyclical mechanical tubing sectors.

• Lock Joint Tube, a subsidiary of Steel Dynamics, gains a fully operational manufacturing plant and a well-established tubing product line serving automotive, agriculture, and off-road equipment markets.

• The divestiture follows other strategic actions by Atkore in 2025, including the sale of a plastic recycling business and multiple facility consolidations.

• Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but analysts view the move as margin-accretive and consistent with Atkore’s infrastructure-centric growth roadmap.

• Investor sentiment has remained largely positive, with institutional flows indicating support for Atkore’s concentrated portfolio strategy despite potential risks tied to demand cyclicality.

• Analysts will monitor how Atkore redeploys capital, whether further divestitures are announced, and how well it executes its operational simplification plan.

• For Lock Joint Tube, the acquisition boosts regional capacity, product customization capabilities, and customer reach in a consolidating U.S. steel tubing market.

• The move reflects broader sector dynamics, where supply chain localization and infrastructure investments are reshaping manufacturing portfolios.

• This deal underscores Atkore’s pivot away from legacy mechanical products and toward growth segments aligned with electrification, data center infrastructure, and power distribution.