It always feels good to get a good report from a new customer.  A couple days ago we had a new buyer tell us that he wishes he’d have heard about us 15 years ago! 

He also told us the he was extremely pleased with how quickly we got back to him with a price and how easy we’ve been to deal with. 

This customer came to us because they had an item that they were having a really hard time finding.  Not only was the item hard to find but they needed the material within the week.  We were able to locate this material quickly and get the material to our customer in time to help them out of their jam. 

We are currently working on our fifth order with this customer whom we just starting working with only a few short weeks ago.  This particular customer uses mainly round stainless steel bar stock.  We tend to deal in flat rolled steel coils but we were able to use our vast vendor base to find this product.  It appears that our ability to get those hard to find items and a short amount of time has helped build the foundation of a relationship with a new customer. 

We recently had a great opportunity to help a customer of ours.  We generally slit flat rolled steel, but in this case a customer had a need for something very rare, especially to us.  They needed .187” thick flat wire. But not only that, it had to be chrome vanadium flat wire.  To the layperson, flat wire and steel coils would seem very similar, but this isn’t really the case.

This is a situation where we don't have the capability of producing that here, but we do have Don Cawley (salesman/buyer). Don probably knows more about the flat roll industry than anybody in the state, and we’re often thankful to have him on our side, especially in cases such as this.  Don was able to find a vendor that was able to specially make this product for us.

As you can see on our website, our niche is narrow slit coil. But we love getting opportunities to help customers out, even when it’s a little bit out of our comfort zone.

In our ongoing efforts to streamline operations at Consolidated Metal, we are making an upgrade in the computer operating system that helps us run our business.  We are currently in the early stages of the transition to Enmark Systems, Inc.

This move is something we have wanted to do for some time now and we are very excited about the capabilities that Enmark provides.  We have been operating with a system for about 15 years that was adequate, but also required unnecessary operating time for it to do what we needed.  That system was good for us and it allowed us to provide great service to our customers.  What we gain with Enmark, however, is an ability to be more efficient in our day to day operations.

Some of the benefits of this change include having barcode shipping and inventory tags as opposed to hand-written ones.  The inventory screens are easier to use in terms of finding coils we have in stock and processing material.  We are able to eliminate steps in the shipping and receiving of material yet maintain the same level of accuracy in entering data.  I could continue, but I think the point is made.

Maybe the most exciting part of this switch is the operating time that is freed up.  That time that we will gain, once the system is up and running, can now be devoted to the continual improvement of steel slitting services at CMS.

We will keep all of you in the loop concerning this transition.  We can’t wait to see what is possible with our new found efficiency!

Hello and welcome to the new Consolidated Metal Service blog called Steel Slitting Talk. Here’s where you’ll find the latest & greatest news about Consolidated Metal Service – from cool product/service updates to interviews with CMS employees (yes, there are wildly interesting people running around here starting with me of course). We will even throw in some "metals" industry related news as well from time to time.

Along the way, we’ll do our best to make this blog a touch more interesting to read than your refrigerator’s user manual.

So bookmark this blog, email it to a friend/colleague or add our RSS feed, and let’s pump up the volume on news at Consolidated Metal Service, Inc. And of course, we’d love getting your feedback on CMS and this blog — and what you want to see discussed (and showcased) in the future.

Until next time friends…

Wes Stafford
Operations Manager
Consolidated Metal Service, Inc.

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As reported by Industry Week, the nation's steel capacity utilization is on the rise, but cost pressures on scrap and ore could create a new set of problems. They also went on to say that after just 12 short months after the onset of the recession, the steel industry is back. The demand for steel has skyrocketed both in the U.S. and worldwide, pushing steelmakers to between 70 to 75% of capacity. This is nearly two-thirds busier than at the start of 2008, when operating rates were roughly half that mark.

Despite the upturn in demand, optimism remains cautious. When CEOs from some of the largest steelmakers in the U.S. met at the 118th annual meeting of the American Iron and Steel Institute in Boca Raton, Fla., much of what was expressed was skepticism that the good times will last.

"We are seeing in some sectors a much stronger uptick," said Dan DiMicco, CEO of Nucor. "Automotive is one, and in the last quarter or so, appliances and the energy sector. We are optimistic, but we are cautiously optimistic." Read the complete article.

A recent study by Moody’s has determined that the global auto industry is on somewhat of an uptick.  The financial research company has upgraded the industry outlook from “stable” to “positive”. 

Trends in volume, demand and prices, which have recovered faster than anticipated, have led them to this conclusion.  Their optimism is somewhat tempered though, due to rising prices of raw material, mainly steel, which could result in automakers operating at a loss. 

Overall, this is very good news for Consolidated Metal Service Inc.  Given that a good amount of material that we process and distribute ultimately goes to the auto industry, any positive outlook is good for us. 

Hopefully their outlook as accurate and the auto industry, which is the backbone of the US economy, will continue to fight back.  If they are accurate in their projections, it can only be a positive for us as a company and as a country.