Growing Our Business Strategically
Growing our business is good for Olympic Steel’s future and is good for you, too.
At Olympic Steel, we are focused on profitably growing the business. While we want to continue to win more work from our current customers, another way we’re focused on growing is through acquisition – finding businesses that complement what we do and adding them to the Olympic Steel portfolio of brands and businesses.
Zachary Siegal, our Vice President of Strategic Development, is leading the charge to strategically grow our organization. Specifically, he is working to:
- Acquire and operate companies that manufacture branded, metal-intensive products
- Add metals supply chain efficiencies to the existing operations for these businesses
- Use our existing Olympic Steel resources and grow these newly acquired businesses
The objective is to add profitability that will allow us to continue to grow and invest in the business and our employees.
Growth Through Acquisitions
Zach says, “Our goal is always to look for ways to use our existing Olympic Steel strengths – procurement, sheet metal processing, logistics and the fact that we’re a large organization – and acquire companies where we can bring those advantages to the table.” We’re building onto our end-to-end metals supply chain – from bringing in raw material to building the product that goes to the customer.
Zach explains, “We’re looking for businesses that allow us to offer more solutions for customers and do it as efficiently as possible.”
When looking for companies to acquire, we have specific criteria in mind:
- Manufacturers of a metal-intensive end products
- Companies with strong, established brands, since we continue to produce and market the product with their brand
- Well-managed companies with a good reputation in the marketplace
- Companies with values that align with our own Core Values
- Locations that are close to one of our large processing centers
Success with McCullough Industries
A great example is our recent acquisition of McCullough Industries. While we were previously a supplier of sheet metal to McCullough, and they were a successful, profitable manufacturer, now the sum is greater than the individual parts. Today, we:
- Are now the sole supplier of McCullough’s steel needs – supplying sheet by using our existing equipment (cut to length line) in Cleveland, Ohio
- Supply laser processing from our Cleveland, OH facility (using our lasers to alleviate a previous bottleneck at McCullough’s operations) and freeing up McCullough’s lasers to help grow their business
The results? Zach reports that McCullough’s sales are up, lead times have shortened, and operations are producing more product in fewer hours, gaining efficiency. He believes McCullough’s future is extremely bright.
What This Means for You
Growth is good for everyone. It offers opportunities for our employees and for the communities in which we operate. This new manufactured products segment will:
- Allow Olympic Steel to employ more people
- Provide new opportunities for career paths within the company
- Facilitate growth for our employees and the employees of the companies we acquire
For example, our very own Joe Casey is now successfully leading McCullough Industries operations as General Manager. He joined Integrity Stainless in 2012 as an Inventory Control Supervisor and has held many roles during the past seven years – including Inventory Control Supervisor, Production Planning Supervisor, Service & Scheduling Manager, Plant Manager and Purchasing Manager. His growth through all of these opportunities prepared him for the success he’s experiencing now, helping to weave together the best of McCullough and Olympic Steel.
We always say it’s an exciting time to be at Olympic Steel, and profitable growth is one of the many reasons.
