8 09, 2024

When a Steel Distributor Does More Than Distribute Steel

2024-10-29T18:19:23+00:00September 8th, 2024|News Blog, NMC Media|

Steel distributor drive the evolution of the American steel industry, a key force behind the nation’s industrial growth and innovation. By the early 20th century, the U.S. led global steel production, fueled by rich iron ore deposits, coal veins, and strategic water routes. As the industry progressed, steel distributors and service centers took on vital roles, ensuring a steady supply of high-quality products.

Whether you are an OEM looking for steel and aluminum solutions or a stakeholder in the metal industry, this blog will enhance your understanding and showcase the multifaceted capabilities of leading steel service providers.

Steel Distributor: The Foundation of the Supply Chain

As essential pillars of North America’s industrial landscape, steel distributors drive growth and sustainability. By linking steel mills with end-users, they ensure a steady flow of steel products, which in turn fuels industrial development and strengthens economic progress.

These distributors serve a diverse array of industries, including construction, automotive, agriculture, and manufacturing. Their products are vital for structural engineering, machinery production, and infrastructure development, making them indispensable to the success of these sectors.

The Benefits of a North American Steel Distributor

Efficient supply chain management

By streamlining the flow of steel products to diverse industries, steel distributors enhance supply chain efficiency. They act as a crucial link between steel mills and end-users, making the supply chain more responsive and effective.

Wide range of products

A steel distributor provides a broad selection of steel products designed to meet the specific needs of various industries. This variety helps businesses find the exact materials required for their applications, boosting efficiency and ensuring they have the right steel for every job.

Local accessibility

Strategically located steel distributors across various regions make it easier for businesses to access steel materials promptly. This local presence helps reduce transportation costs and delays, ensuring timely delivery.

Quality assurance

Reputable steel distributors uphold rigorous quality control standards, ensuring the steel they supply meets the required specifications. This quality assurance is critical for industries that demand high-quality steel for their operations, guaranteeing reliability and performance.

While steel distributors are foundational to the supply chain, steel service centers elevate the process by offering critical value-added services.

Beyond Distribution: The Steel Service Center Advantage A steel service center is a critical intermediary between producers, distributors, and end consumers. These centers offer enhanced steel services such as steel cutting, slitting, and shaping steel products according to precise customer specifications, essential in steel supply chain management.

By providing tailored solutions, steel service centers ensure businesses receive the materials needed for their projects, optimizing efficiency and minimizing waste. They strongly emphasize precision and customization, utilizing advanced machinery and techniques to perform coil parting, slitting, and cut-to-length operations. This capability allows for customizing steel sizes and shapes catering to diverse project requirements.

The benefits of utilizing a steel service center are significant:

24 06, 2019

10 Fun Facts You Didn’t Know About American Steel and the Steel Industry

2019-09-12T18:25:28+00:00June 24th, 2019|News Blog|

Clark Kent shedding his businessman persona he pulls his business suit away from his chest, exposing the powerful man of steel - Superman’s signature “S” logo

Looking up at the giant lattice-shell steel art structure known as the “Geodesic Dome” outside Montreal environmental museum “The Biosphere” on a clear blue skied day.

After achieving the mass production of steel, American steel industrialists pushed steelmaking to greater innovative levels. By the year 1920, 60 million tons of American steel were circulating around the world annually, making the United States the biggest global player in the steel service industry. Steel processing became a bulwark of the economy, engraving itself into the nation’s identity.

Today, National Material Company carries on the metal service and steel processing tradition. With the following 10 little-known facts, we salute those who paved the way by transforming the world through metal work.

  1. The Man of Steel could have been the Man of Tungsten.

But that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, now does it? According to Thaddeus Howze — author, editor, podcaster,  and self-proclaimed answer-man on all things comics –Superman got the name Man of Steel because steel was the most common of the strong metals: Steel, Titanium, Tungsten and Inconel. (It may also have something to do with the fact that “Man of Steel” is much snappier than its clunky counterparts.)

Superman was created to symbolize the extraordinary capacity of the everyday man. Thus, steel won out as metal of choice because of the household name it had made for itself, thanks to the wide proliferation of the steel industry at the time.

“Superman was a ‘man of steel’ stronger than anything you could imagine, and yet something as close as the building you were standing in or the car you desired and one day hope to own […] Steel was everywhere and steel was the king of industrial metals during this period [1940]. Steel wasn’t just the metal of tomorrow; it was also the metal of yesterday. Places in the world that had developed steel before modern industries had long-lasting cultures and it was the development of steel which made the industrial age what it was.”( Source: Quora)

2. Showers, Star Wars memes, and steel.

The month of May is well-known for its rain showers. And Star Wars enthusiasts rejoice on May the Fourth Be with You. And let’s not forget – steel.

Yes, that’s right. In the 1960s, as the nation infused steel into its structure and character, Lyndon Johnson saw it fit to raise a pedestal for steel in the pantheon of American achievement.  Therefore, he designated May as a national month for celebrating the steel industry.

“Steel is the core of industrial America. It has helped to make American productivity and technology the wonder of the world. This vital product which we produce in unmatched abundance is basic to our economy and essential to our security. It supports our buildings, spans our rivers, arms our fighting men. It […]

20 06, 2019

NMC Partner Taber Extrusions Offers Friction Stir Welding

2020-04-01T21:25:09+00:00June 20th, 2019|News Blog|

Black and white closeup image of the tip of a friction stir-welder, which resembles the tip of a drill, with Taber Extrusions’ official inverted gold triangle logo and the words, “Introducing Friction Stir-Welding.”

National Material partner Taber Extrusions of Russellville, AR. and Gulfport, MS. have announced the addition of Friction Stir-Welding capabilities to their existing portfolio, which currently includes aluminum extrusions, fabrication, billet casting, and micro-extrusions.

The addition of in-house FSW capabilities positions Taber as a vertically integrated supplier of FSW panels and assemblies previously unseen in North America. This new technology allows for finished product applications in military, bridge building, railroad refrigerated containers, and more – and brings with it the technological capacities to develop new products.

Eric Angermeier, President of Taber Extrusions, says:

Besides the additional jobs and revenue this expansion will bring to our central Arkansas community, we are very much looking forward to Taber’s new horizons into technology and product development. The welder will be housed in a new 60,000 square foot expansion to our current Russellville facility. This equipment further promotes our strategy of moving Taber toward being a solutions-oriented company offering highly engineered products.

This Friction Stir-Welder, with the latest technology, is purposely built for the long, wide extrusions being produced on our current extrusion presses. This process gives us the added benefit of vertical integration allowing us to not only better serve our existing customers, but gives us the opportunity to develop new markets and products.

Sometimes described as more of a forging process than actual welding, Friction Stir-Welding is a solid-state joining technique used to combine metals not easily fused with traditional welding. Ideal for metals such as aluminum, copper and other metal alloys, FSW is commonly used in the aerospace, rail, automotive, shipbuilding, transportation and marine industries. Friction Stir-Welding makes possible high-quality welds with minimal distortion. It is also a process that can be easily automated, making it an ideal solution for industrial use.

Individuals at Taber’s groundbreaking ceremony, sporting white hardhats and posing with shovels on a sunny day at the Taber Extrusions Russellville, Arkansas facility.

Taber Extrusions recently hosted a ground-breaking ceremony which included State Representative Steve Womack amongst other state and local leaders.

Congressman Steve Womack described how he sees Taber’s role from a national perspective, “The expansion of an existing company such as Taber Extrusions means a lot more than the location of a new company. It means that Taber is in the right place and has what it needs to succeed. Taber plays an important role in the defense of our nation with products that are an asset to our defense capabilities.”

Taber historically provides for many industries, including aerospace, shipbuilding, infrastructure, automotive, as well as military and defense.

Taber is already known for their wide range of capabilities, both broad and unique, and Mayor of Russellville Richard Harris thanked Taber for choosing Russellville as their location, “The fact that you chose to expand and add new technology here is the highest compliment […]

9 12, 2018

National Material Partner Taber Extrusions Shaping the Future of Aluminum Extrusions

2018-12-30T21:58:45+00:00December 9th, 2018|News Blog, NMC Media|

National Material L.P. and its metal service centers have a long history of quality and service dating back to 1964. Since its founding, N.M.L.P. has grown to over 30 business units and is now one of the largest suppliers of steel in America. The National Material group of industrial businesses consists of the Steel Group, Stainless and Alloys Group, Raw Material Trading Group, Aluminum Group, and Related Operations. Today, we tip our hat to Taber Extrusions, as we recognize this aluminum extrusion company for their expanded capabilities and flawless teamwork.

Taber Extrusions, located in Russellville, Arkansas is a highly regarded full-service provider of aluminum extrusions to a wide variety of industries including aerospace, transportation, defense, and thermal management. Taber has completed the relocation and start-up of the recently acquired micro-extrusion press lines. ISO 9001 and AS9100 certified, Taber’s present and future customers can expect to see increased supply opportunities with the expanded set of extrusion solutions, programs, and services.

“It’s about having all the different capabilities we can to meet the extrusion end users growing needs,” states Jason Weber, Taber Extrusions Vice President of Sales and Marketing, in a recent article by Light Metal Age Magazine. “One of the taglines we use is ‘Shaping Endless Possibilities.’ With the extensive variety of extruded shapes Taber produces—from micro-extrusions to wide profiles and everything in between—Taber embodies that message.”

Taber Extrusion’s Gulfport casthouse in background with artistic overlay showing various sized billets.

This couldn’t be more true as Taber also announces the planned addition of 7” billet molds to Taber’s existing extrusion billet casting facility in Gulfport, MS. Taber’s addition of the 7” molds further enhances Taber’s existing offering of extruded aluminum billet products to Taber’s newly refurbished Gulfport Casthouse. 7” extrusion log will be available for delivery beginning in January 2019.

The addition of the 7” molds complements the existing 8”, 9”, 11”, 16”, and 20” diameter molds. The various diameters of extrusion billet will be available in 6063 and 6061 alloy chemistries as well as specialized chemistries upon request. “Taber is excited to offer extrusion logs to our fellow extruders,” adds Weber. The Gulfport Casthouse is uniquely situated with port access as well as easy access to industrial scrap. These input factors coupled with the recently refurbished casting equipment with the LARS® in-line degassing and purification system supplies billet chemistries and consistencies which rival those of larger billet producers.

If you have any questions please visit taberextrusions.com or contact one of Taber’s Regional Sales Managers.

Follow Taber Extrusions
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/taberextrusions/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/taberextrusions/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/taberextrusions

Looking for a partner as strong as you are?

Founded in 1964, National Material Company L.P. offers 50+ years of leadership in supplying, processing and servicing the metal manufacturing needs of diverse industries. With processing facilities and service centers in the U.S. and Mexico, NMC is strategically located to deliver its substantial capabilities.

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