From The Editor

If you haven’t received the July issue of Metal Center News by now, it will be arriving any day. When you open this month’s issue, we have a small request.

One of the nice aspects of working in the trade publication space such as Metal Center News is the sense of a common objective.

Metal Supermarkets has once again launched its Metal My Way contest. This year’s version is the ninth annual event, but one with a valuable new category.

When the words “All Star” are mentioned, many think of the mid-season baseball game in the U.S. Yet, the term also applies to the workplace, according to Danny Kerr, managing partner and founder of Breakthrough Academy, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. In a recent webinar he discussed how to create a team of All-Star employees. BTA is a contracting, training and development, and coaching company.

Again and again this year, some version of the following statement is uttered to me by a member of the metals supply chain. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my (fill in with large number) years working in the steel industry,”

North American manufacturers have learned a vital lesson from the COVID pandemic: supply chains matter.

I was darting around some service center websites last week, as I do from time to time, when I came across some truly disheartening news: the passing of Mill Steel’s former president and CEO David Samrick.

The March announcement by President Joe Biden of a new $2.3 trillion infrastructure program was the fulfillment of a long-awaited, multi-administration dream of the metals supply chain.

The higher education spending boom is likely over, another victim of the coronavirus. That was just one of the conclusions drawn by two experts in the construction trade who spoke during a weekly webinar series.

In the May issue of Metal Center News, we will reveal the full results of the Top Brands survey. Here’s a little taste of the very top to wet your whistle.