Hot Rolled Futures: Paper Stuffin’

SMU contributor Bryan Tice is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in risk management and strategic advisory. In this role, he and the firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. Prior to Metal Edge Partners, Bryan held a variety of commercial leadership roles involving purchasing, sales and risk management for Feralloy Corporation, Cargill Steel Service Centers and Plateplus Inc. You can learn more about Metal Edge @ www.metaledgepartners.com. Bryan can be reached at Bryan@metaledgepartners.com for queries/comments/questions.

Nearly 28 years ago when I started my career in the steel business, much of the steel processing equipment lacked the technological advances seen in today’s modern processing lines. During my first several months of employment as a sales trainee in Detroit, I worked on the production floor learning the business from a “hands on” perspective. Back then it was common on slitting lines to stuff paper or cardboard in the outer mults of processed slit coil to compensate for the center to edge thickness variation and to ensure a tight wrap. I must admit, it was a little unnerving inserting small shims of cardboard by hand at the recoiler of a slitter running a few hundred feet per minute. Fortunately, technology and safety standards have evolved.