As 2025 approaches, the challenges you face in your industry are not going away—they’re intensifying. Whether you’re managing maintenance, repairs, manufacturing, contracting, or government projects, the hurdles you encounter daily can leave you feeling stuck. But here’s the good news: there is a better partner waiting to help you turn those struggles into successes.

From conversations with professionals like you, we’ve identified some common pain points that demand urgent attention. Let’s break them down and discuss how the right partnership can be the game-changer you’ve been looking for.

When managing a complex project, selecting the proper steel product is only part of the equation. Ensuring seamless communication, accountability, and efficiency in the procurement process is equally critical. That's why having a single point of contact with your steel vendor can be a game-changer for your operations.

Choosing the right steel materials and managing inventory can be a challenge. That’s why an onsite visit from your steel supplier’s sales representative can be much more beneficial than a quick phone call or email.

At Steel Cities Steels, we understand that submitting a quote for the first time can be overwhelming, especially when precision and timelines are crucial to your project. That's why we've developed a quoting process that's designed to make things smoother, faster, and more efficient for our clients. When you send us a quote, it's more than just a transaction; it's the beginning of a partnership. Our goal? To make you successful by delivering products and services that you need.

An efficient quote and ordering process can make all the difference in steel manufacturing and supply. Whether you're a seasoned professional or new to the industry, optimizing this crucial step can save time, reduce stress, and improve your overall business operations. Here are some key strategies to streamline your steel quote and ordering process.

What Are Cold Finished Carbon Steel Bars?

Cold-finished bars are produced through a process called cold drawing. In this method, oversized hot-rolled bars that have been cleaned to remove scale are drawn through dies at room temperature to achieve the desired size and shape.

Steel Cities Steels specializes in sourcing hard-to-find products and specific material grades. Our expertise in this area is one of the key reasons customers trust us for their sourcing needs. We offer a range of products and services, and as a service benefit, we work closely with customers to secure hard-to-find materials.

In many industries, internal capabilities can be the backbone of operational efficiency. However, overcoming the complexities of in-house limitations can present formidable challenges for many companies. From plasma cutting to saw cutting and production challenges, the struggle is real. We recognize these pain points at Steel Cities Steels, Inc., and offer custom solutions to keep projects on time and within budget.

In the steel supply industry, there's no one-size-fits-all solution. Every job is unique, presenting its own set of challenges and requirements. After years of meeting clients on-site, we've uncovered some valuable insights that have shaped our approach to customer service with no minimum charges.

Are you gearing up for a plant expansion, equipment installation, or safety enhancement project? Choosing the right steel supplier is pivotal to the success and efficiency of your project.

Focus on Supply Chain Weakness

Purchasers at industrial equipment and machinery manufacturing companies can face the same struggles: getting specific parts. They order various parts but only need help getting a select few. Steel Cities Steels can help you with this problem!

Common Questions and Answers on Steel Grating

At Steel Cities Steels, our team of sales professionals are available to answer all your questions on how to measure and order steel grating. In the third part video series of How to Measure and Order Steel Grating, Mike Anderson dives into some of the more commonly asked questions.

In an instructional video, Mike Anderson with Steel Cities Steels provides a step-by-step method for measuring grating.

To learn how steel grating can be used in your project, and the types and finishes it is available in, please see How to Measure and Order Steel Grating, part one.

Quick Guide on

How to Measure and Order Steel Grating

Are you confident on how to measure and ordering steel grating? If you have a project that requires steel grating you may have several questions: what are the finishes available, how is it sold, and what are the most popular types. In a series of short videos, Mike Anderson, VP of Sales with Steel Cities Steels, will give you instructions on how to measure and order grating for your various projects.

Do you run into difficulties when cutting plates and sheets to size?

Steel Cities can help! Many customers experience quality issues, suffer from capability limits, or are short-handed and cannot handle the production in-house.

Steel Cities Steels ships orders across the continental United States.

Over the last few years, Steel Cities has seen quite an increase in shipping longer distances across the US to many states.

Mike Anderson, VP of Sales, will share with you why existing and new clients came to us when they were in a different state.

Steel Cities Steels offers top-of-the-line service with contractors.

Lori Harvey with Steel Cities Steels is an outside sales representative helping contractors, fabricators, and manufacturers with steel for jobs and projects. She mainly works with project managers, superintendents, general foremen, engineers, and purchasers. Contractors often need materials such as plate, sheet, flat, angle, channel, beams, and grating, mainly in carbon, stainless, and aluminum.

Meet Ally Bachmann, Sales Representative with Steel Cities Steels

Ally Bachmann mainly focuses on servicing those in maintenance departments, but she also helps other markets like manufacturing, fabricators, and machine shops. She works directly with maintenance managers, maintenance supervisors, maintenance planners, maintenance techs, operations managers, engineers, production managers and purchasers.

Meet Dylan Schwader, Sales Representative with Steel Cities Steels

Dylan primarily focuses on servicing those in the equipment repair market, but also covers fabrication and equipment manufacturing. Typically, he works with those in service, parts, fleet maintenance, welding, and those responsible for purchasing steel materials.

What are stock programs?

Do you need help managing your inventory? Many clients share that they struggle with inventory issues during an onsite visit or conversation. There are different ways to help alleviate these common problems with stock programs. In this article, you will learn about a few programs that your supplier should be able to help you with to avoid inventory issues.

What happens when you lack the stock you need for your projects?

There can be several reasons for shortages, but most commonly, the grounds are due to supply-chain issues or the lack of actively checking inventory on the racks. Frequent frustration can arise when you realize you need more stock for your projects, which can negatively impact production.

Steel Cities will cut to size

Steel Cities offers a variety of saw-cutting services. Often, we provide saw-cutting services to help customers stay on track with their projects due to labor issues, customers are out in the field and can not cut material properly, or they need us to supply the product in intervals as the project unfolds. To learn more about the popular steel products we cut, read the blog and watch the short video!

Why would you need your steel order cut to size?

There are many reasons why customers need their steel order cut to size. Some of the top challenges we hear from customers are that they don’t have the capability on-site, are short-handed due to the labor shortage, and are overwhelmed by their backlog.

In all three of these situations, a good steel supplier should be able to assist you with your cutting needs to keep your projects on track and pick up the slack when you are short-handed.

What is Hot Rolled A36 Steel Channel?

Steel channel is a hot rolled product mainly used in structural applications, construction, general fabrication, industrial maintenance, equipment repairs and manufacturing. It comes in a wide variety and range of sizes and thicknesses. The shape of this product offers a great amount of structural strength, rigidity, reinforcement, and support. Channels are one of the most commonly used types of structural steel because of its light weight and strength.

Lori Harvey, Outside Sales Representative, on being voted as Outstanding Vendor Representative by ASA Chicago! She will be awarded at the Our Stars are Shining banquet on May 18th!

Mike Anderson, VP of Sales, describes in this short video the process the sales team at Steel Cities Steels takes during the discovery meeting with a potential new client.

If you are looking for a new steel supplier, you can also use this guideline. Finding the right supplier is essential to your business and projects. They should be asking the right questions to make sure they understand your needs and pain points.

Finding the right structural steel supplier will require you to ask some questions. For example, what are the main types of construction projects they focus on, and what is their area of expertise? Answering these questions will help you find a supplier that's the right fit for you.

Finding the right construction steel supplier is essential, as an engineer, buyer, or project manager.

We all know the importance of keeping projects on time and moving toward the finished product. But with supply chain issues, this can be a monumental task when suppliers need to deliver on a specific product that is limited in availability.

Purdue University MEP and Mike Anderson, VP of Sales, have collaborated through a program designated to assist manufacturers in Indiana.

You will learn more about the standard types, sizes, and grades in this quick guide to steel plates, and the importance of selecting a quality supplier.