By Alabama Public Radio
Birmingham, AL – Birmingham steel magnate Emmet O'Neal has died. He was 82. O'Neal died Tuesday at a Birmingham hospital. The family's business, O'Neal Steel, grew under his leadership after World War Two. It now employs 2,300 people at 39 sites nationwide. The business is also expected to pass one billion dollars in sales this year. O'Neal consistently refused offers to buy the business, and it's now one of the larger family-owned companies in the United States. O'Neal's grandfather and great-grandfather were both Governors of Alabama.