May I Vol 70 I 2018
2018 Insight From the Partners As we turn the page on a new quarter, we look to our partners for insight on what we can expect and where our focus will be for the balance of the year.
Pam Heglund & David Samrick What are Mill Steel's goals and objectives for 2018? • First off, we can confirm that Mill Steel has experienced a successful first quarter and we look forward to a strong year ahead. Our goal is to continue to be a market leader while staying focused on our people-first culture and providing our customers with the highest level of service. We are so pleased with our exceptionally diverse order book and plan to execute further growth throughout all of our business lines. David noted, “We are a nimble company. Give us the rules and we will find a way to be successful as we have always proven and always will."
Joe Poot Can you comment on the state of our economy and how the recent tariffs are affecting us? • The partner team is very cognizant of commodity inflation, more specifically the price fluctuations of the commodity we buy and sell. As a distributor that owns steel, an increase in price is a good thing, at least in the short term. However, we do have some matters to watch. Primarily that the USA ensures we remain competitive on products made of steel. There’s so many moving pieces in the steel industry right now that it is difficult to predict the next six months. However, every month we have better clarity on the steel pricing trend. As David noted above, “Give us the rules and we’ll find a way to be successful.”
Marc Rabitoy What new technology are you bringing to Mill Steel? • At the end of 2017 we adopted a new electronic human resources platform, iSolved. This new technology offers associates the ability to check their paystubs online, change exemptions, update direct
deposits, etc. In 2018, we are expanding iSolved to include the capability of vacation tracking, performance reviews, and onboarding. • In 2018, we will be providing new interfaces to our business system that will be Windows-based and more user friendly. • In addition, as we continue to be a market driven company, we are in the process of developing a customer web portal that offers a sleek easy-to-use design. This will enhance our customer experience and provide them an even higher level of service. We are currently experiencing some challenges within the logistics industry. Can you comment on those and how this is affecting Mill Steel? • The new regulations combined with a continuing driver shortage have made procuring reasonably priced delivery very difficult. We are facing a 10% increase in freight costs in nearly every market and capacity has also been an issue. To counter, we continue to seek new relationships with carriers, third party logistics providers and asset based service providers. We've been an excellent partner and our logistics team has been able to add 33 new carriers since the beginning of March. They continue to do everything in their power to maximize the capacity of our longterm partners and are doing an outstanding job of managing the situation.
Carl Quenneville Can you comment on the growth in 2017? • We saw continued double-digit growth in 2017 as we have come to expect of ourselves. We are pleased to note that our growth even exceeded business activity in the key industries we serve. Our experience reminds us that we must excel in two key areas to make this happen. • First, we must capitalize on every opportunity that comes our way. The Mill Steel brand across our customer base is very strong. Our customers
INDEX 2 Partner Insight Cont'd. 2
Associate Highlight: Zach Lee
3 Hello My Name Is
4 Let's Celebrate
4
Contest Corner
-
Mother's Day
- Mother's Day Cont'd.
NORMS
& VALUES
People We believe in ourselves and trust one another. Customer Satisfaction We will do everything necessary to meet the needs of our customers. Accountability We are accountable to our customers and to eachother. Quality Work Environment We will provide a challenging work environment. Community We support our community needs. Profit We will earn a reasonable profit to assure stability and security for ourselves. Employee Empowerment We are empowered to do our jobs. Quality and Continuous Improvement We believe in continuous improvement through the use of corrective action process. Facilities We will have a clean, safe place to work. Integrity/Ethics We will be honest and fair.