Final Thoughts

Newest registrations for SMU Steel Summit include: Marino Ware, Blue Bird Corp., Apex Tool Group, Republic Partners, PLS Logistics Services, Brown Brothers Harriman, JP Morgan, ArcelorMittal USA, Mueller, Inc., Platts, Ryder Systems and Westman Steel Industries. We have an exceptional group of attendees and an exciting program planned at an excellent location as we provide one of the best networking opportunities for the flat rolled and plate steel industries in North America.

I also want to remind everyone that we have an exceptional “Pre-Summit” Conference program this year beginning with trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz and Steel Manufacturing Association President Philip Bell. They will begin with an open forum answering questions on trade and trade-related tariffs/duties, etc. They are followed by two wonderful speakers who will talk about how the digitilization of the manufacturing and steel industries is coming and how your company can work with and understand how to use “Big Data.” We have the CEO of Kloeckner & Co. SE out of Germany, Gisbert Ruhl, and the CEO of Noodle.ai, Stephen Pratt, who is “an instigator, agitator and pioneer in creating world-class technology service organizations….” We hope you will arrive early into Atlanta to take advantage of the Monday afternoon program, which will be at the Georgia International Convention Center this year.

As I mentioned above, our newest workshop is called Steel 201: Introduction to Advanced High Strength & Other New Steels. This workshop will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 11-12, in Middletown, Ohio. This will be a special experience for those wanting to learn more about how steels are made and, perhaps more importantly, how steel mills work with customers to create new steels to make specific parts. We will walk through the process with AK Steel at their new Research and Innovation Center (RIC) and we will tour the AK Steel Middletown steel mill. We will have Dean Linders, Vice President of Red Bud Industries, as a new instructor discussing the difficulties in processing new steels and what equipment manufacturers have learned about working with these new products. He will join existing SMU Steel 101 metallurgists/instructors, AK Steel metallurgists and their commercial team to provide a unique experience for those attending. This workshop is suitable for those relatively new to the industry all the way through the president of your company. More details about the workshop, costs to participate and how to register can be found on our website: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/Events/Steel-201 or you are welcome to contact me directly: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com

I will be out of my office beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, July 11, through Monday, July 16. I will return to my office on Tuesday, July 17, and will be in the office for the remainder of that week before traveling to Maine during the week of July 23-27. I am speaking at the Chain Link Fence Manufacturers Institute (CLFMI) in Rockport. If any other organization would like for me to speak to them, picking a resort in Maine in the summer is a great inducement… Seriously, if you would like to invite me, or perhaps a combination of myself and one of our CRU Group analysts, please contact me at John@SteelMarketUpdate.com

I also want to remind everyone that Steel Market Update also conducts Custom Training Workshops on specific subjects of interest to companies. We have done custom workshops for Customer Service, Sales, Steel Making & Market Fundamentals and other topics. If your company has an interest, please contact me to see if the subject is something we are qualified to cover and if we can work with your company to come up with a meaningful agenda that meets your needs. Again, I can be reached at John@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Lastly, we have many renewals during the months of July, August and September (since our company started in August 2008), and I want to remind our Executive level members of our Premium level newsletter. If you would like to learn more about what is required to upgrade your membership to Premium, please send an email to: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com and we will get you the answers to your questions.

As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.

John Packard, President & CEO