Three years ago, Bill Sopko Sr. made the biggest gamble of his business career. With the economy booming, Sopko, the owner of an automotive-parts plant in Euclid, Ohio, invested $6 million in the latest gear to manufacture a critical brake component for heavy trucks. With a new 3,000-ton stamping press, he would reduce costs from $14 per unit to $9. Recouping his investment, he knew, could take as long as 10 years. But with plenty of orders in the pipeline, Sopko figured he had made a shrewd move. What he didn't calculate was getting caught in a global steel war.
Late...
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