Kloeckner Metals Corp., a metal distribution company in North America, has hosted a grand opening to celebrate the move of its flat-rolled division to a 106,000 square foot facility located at 25056 S. Will Center Road in University Park, Ill. Activities during the event included tours of the facility and its capabilities, food and prize giveaways.
After spending nearly 20 years operating out of a 100-year-old building in Chicago’s south side, this expansion allows Kloeckner to bring more services and processing capabilities. New machinery includes a 72-inch slitter and a cut-to-length line with multiple cassettes to enable processing of heavy and light gauge materials. Kloeckner also rebuilt and remanufactured much of the existing equipment. The latest in precision controls and software have been added to insure close tolerance, cut-to-length and slitting work. Increased crane capacity and a variety of metal products round out the new services.
“We are excited by the opportunity that the investment in this location provides,” says Russ Delaney, Kloeckner Flat Rolled Group president. “We are positioned to serve the metals market in North America with customized supply chain solutions for Kloeckner products that include carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. We implemented a digitalization of our supply chain strategy through the use of equipment, processing capabilities, technical support resources, and a range of products.”
Tony Munno, Flat Rolled Group General manager, further explains, “This move is the first phase in a strategy to differentiate ourselves from our competition, take advantage of the steel, aluminum and stainless steel market, and bring more services to our existing and potential customers.”
The plant’s location provides ingress/egress convenience sitting along a railroad siding so material can be received directly from rail cars. Kloeckner has focused on implementing digitalization of their supply chain strategy to provide service to industrial consumers, similar to the manner in which Amazon and eBay service consumers.
The leadership team at Kloeckner is optimistic about doubling the size of this facility within the next few years. According to Munno, the company hopes to double their revenue in the next five years. “This move is the first phase in a strategy to differentiate ourselves from the competition,” he says.