Cutting Edge - Jan 12Industry Week`s Best Plants Winner
Transcription
Cutting Edge - Jan 12Industry Week`s Best Plants Winner
www.kleinsteel.com First Quarter 2012 • Vol. 4, Issue1 Mission Klein Steel strives to be the premier supplier of metals by providing solutions to meet our partners’ needs. We attract and engage the best teammates, suppliers, and customers while embracing innovation and continuous process improvement. Look inside on pages 2 and 5 for details of Klein Steel’s 2012 – 2014 Strategic Plan PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ROCHESTER, NY PERMIT NO. 708 Klein Steel Receives IndustryWeek Best Plants Award Klein Steel is the winner of the 21st annual IndustryWeek Best Plants award, a national honor for manufacturing excellence and an “unwavering pursuit of continued improvement.” Announced in mid-January 2012, this prestigious award seeks to recognize North American manufacturers with documented exceptional leadership, quality, continuous improvement, customer service and competitiveness. IndustryWeek’s competition is dedicated to recognizing the success stories in manufacturing. “The IndustryWeek selection process was very detailed and specific,” said John Batiste, president and CEO, Klein Steel Service Inc.,“and we are honored to be named a winner for this prestigious award. It’s a testimony to the hard work our team here at Klein Steel has completed over the past few years, and it is especially gratifying to be the first metal service center to make the list in the competition’s history. We also appreciate that this award is all about the partnerships we have forged with our suppliers and customers.” As one of just 10 award winners throughout North America, Klein Steel is the only winner from New York State and the first metals service center to be named a winner in the 21 year history of the annual award. Other 2011 award finalists included: Lockheed Martin Corporation’s missiles and fire control operation, Texas facility; John Deere’s Horicon, Wisconsin facility; La-Z-Boy Chair Company, Tennessee; Boeing Philadelphia; Toyota Industrial Equipment Mfg. Inc., Columbus, Indiana, among others. The annual competition for North American manufacturers recognizes world-class companies that are on the leading edge of the work to increase competitiveness, set the standard in customer satisfaction, and create stimulating and rewarding work environments with a commitment to continuous improvement and team member empowerment. It also encourages other manufacturers to emulate the success of finalists and award winners by adopting world-class practices, technologies, and improvement strategies. Todd Zyra, Chief Operating Officer at Klein Steel, notes that the award criteria cover over three years of results concerning safety, accuracy, quality, on time delivery, productivity, and more. “We started working with a deliberate focus on continuous improvement several years ago and every member of the Klein Steel team has contributed to this win,” explains Todd. “All the hard work has paid off in the form of greater efficiency, better quality, and improved customer satisfaction. We have worked very hard to grow stronger for the success of ourselves, our suppliers, and our customers.” Klein Steel will accept the award at IndustryWeek’s annual Best Plants conference scheduled for April 23 -25 in Indianapolis, Indiana. President’s Message We launch into 2012 with great momentum and a common destiny. That destiny is codified in our Strategic Plan for 2012-2014. This plan gives great focus as we collectively and deliberately grow the business. Our plan includes clearly defined mission, intent, values, and culture. It further defines performance commitments and goals, guiding philosophies, and Key Result Areas (KRA) to focus our work. Within each KRA, are specific strategies and action plans to direct the work of cross-functional teams designed to take Klein Steel to higher levels. We all have skin in the game. Our company mission (who, what, and how) and intent (purpose and end-state) are fundamental to success and we all embrace these concepts. Our values define who we are, at work and within our families and communities. We understand the importance of “doing the right thing when no one is looking.” Our culture centers on our number one imperative of safety, our core values, the importance of initiative and learning from our mistakes, profit sharing based on results, and the team-member centric organization that we are working to build. We have a shared destiny, we believe in decentralization and empowerment, and we embrace a culture of performance with high expectations, recognition, and reward for results. Our special culture sets us apart from our competition. This edition of The Cutting Edge is dedicated to the future and the implementation of our Strategic Plan. Last year’s momentum is significant with Klein Steel recognition in national, state, and local competition, including the winner of 2011 IndustryWeek Best Plants in North America, a Best Place to Work in Western New York for the 3rd consecutive year, 2011 Rochester Business Ethics Award finalist, and a Raffles safety loss ratio of only .02 percent. These results define a high performing team with enormous potential. Together, there is nothing outside our reach. We truly “get it”. All the best for 2012! John Farewell Advisory Board Provides Guidance Senior managers at Klein Steel consult periodically with a group of outstanding business leaders who give input and guidance for the company to achieve its mission. Since 2008, four board members serve Klein Steel through their professional feedback and expertise from their respective industries. Klein Steel’s advisory board members are Sue Hartman, Robert Johns, Bruce Merrifield and Gerry Wenzke. The Cutting Edge recently asked each board member: Dear Team Members, By the time you read this I will be settling into our new home in Florida. Don’t be jealous…(Okay, maybe a little jealous) be happy that we can retire with good health. I will stay connected to Klein Steel and Buffalo Armory in the years ahead. You have been my friends and my family— sharing great joys, and helping each other through the sorrows, as a family does. Many have expressed to me how much our relationship has meant, and I can sincerely say that it has been in both directions. You’re a great team and I will miss our daily interactions. Before I leave, allow me these few words of wisdom: 1. You can’t retire unless you can afford to retire. Whatever you are putting into your 401(k) plan, invest more. Forget about the market ups and downs and continue to save. You get old one day at a time—and no one sees it coming. 2. Be passionate about your job. You don’t have to be the best in the world, but you owe it to yourself to be the best you can be. 3. Be a giver: give friendship, give assistance, give of yourself. It will come back to you in spades, and if it doesn’t come back, then it doesn’t matter. 4. Don’t forget that the roots of Klein Steel are in entrepreneurship. Finding better ways to do things is what we do. Being good isn’t sufficient. Remember, “Good is the enemy of great.” Thank you for your kindness over the years. I will remember each of you! What is the most important aspect you’ve learned about Klein Steel in your role as a board member? “Klein Steel, like many other companies, has invested in best-inclass equipment, facilities, processes and systems. These are all important to the company’s continued success. But what really differentiates Klein in the marketplace is the strength of its culture and the commitment of its people. Klein’s culture supports investment in its people— giving associates the knowledge, tools and opportunities to grow both personally and professionally plus ensuring that associates have a safe and healthyenvironment in which to work.” Sue Hartman, President The Hartman Group Evergreen, Colorado www.thehartmangroup.com Working with Fortune 500 companies, both as a manager and consultant, Sue has been a catalyst for both operational and strategic change. Through the Hartman Group, companies have defined their future direction in an integrated framework for success. “The most impressive thing about Klein Steel Service is the depth of the Klein Steel team and the exceptional focus Klein has on those things that contribute to the success of the company. Klein’s dedication to the development of the team has resulted in nothing short of an exceptional company run by an exceptional team –at all levels. We’ve seen examples where great teams out-perform others that, on paper, have nothing but “super stars.” Klein routinely out performs its competitors because it works as a unified team - unified as to purpose, direction and strategy. It comes full circle as to the quality of both the individual team members at Klein and their combined outcomes being greater than any single part. Klein’s focus on the continuous improvement of team members and the team as a whole will serve it well now and into the future.” Robert (Bob) W. Johns Romar Consulting, LLC [email protected] Bob is a former senior executive of Nucor Steel. “With the excellent use of Waypoint Analytics, Klein has done a much more precise targeting of what customers it can serve best to maximize the difference between “value the customer perceives they are receiving” and “Klein Steel’s cost-to-serve its customers”—the difference is high, sustainable net profits. Better net profits, in turn, get reinvested in the business to support more sales and margin growth from which all stakeholders can receive more job security, pride, growth and compensation. Klein is on the way to selling a lot more volume on a lot more profitable basis to fewer customers. Instead of selling a little bit of steel to all types and sizes of customers, Klein is doing an ever better job of selling all of the steel to fewer and bigger customers who really appreciate the targeted, fine-tuned service value that the Klein team is producing.” Bruce Merrifield Merrifield Consulting Boston, Massachusetts www.merrifield.com Bruce worked more than 30 years in the world of independent distribution +channels, meeting thousands of distributors through his trade association work (such as MSCI). As a distribution chain owner and professional speaker, Bruce has a comprehensive sense of the elements of a successful high-performance company. “I think the most important aspect I’ve learned is the depth of the Discipline of Aligned Execution, which is ingrained into the Klein culture. There is an unwavering commitment to execute plans that are appropriately aligned with organizational goals. This is enhanced by an understanding amongst team members of the importance of helping each other get it done. This combination of commitment and mutual respon-sibility runs deep in the Klein culture and it is a significant competitive advantage.” Gerry Wenzke Distinctive Strategies LLC Rochester, New York and Naples, Florida [email protected] Gerry is the former CEO of Hatch Leonard Naples Inc. Klein Steel to Achieve Nuclear Quality Assurance Your friend, Dave Previously Chief Financial Officer, David Feinstein retired in December after over 11 years of service with Klein Steel. Quality Corner with Jim Sloan For 2012, Klein Steel announces a commitment to establish and implement additional processes and procedures above our current Certified Klein Steel and become ASME NQA-1 compliant. We’ve scheduled the implementation process within the first quarter of this year and the entire process should take approximately six months to complete. Nuclear Quality Assurance, NQA-1, is a specialized field dealing with a higher level of quality and product assurance. It’s a system of checks and double-checks to ensure the products purchased by our customers meets all the purchased and mandated requirements. This accreditation is a step above ISO with the addition of several mandatory procedures and enhancements to our existing procedures. The NQA-1 compliance will pave the way for selling other power sources such as wind and solar. NQA-1 will take a large effort and focus on the way we work and conduct our business. A strong dedication to document control, supplier focus, customer requirements and product traceability is the largest measure of the NQA1 compliance. Once the gap has been bridged and compliance has been verified, continual auditing of our systems will be required to ensure continuity of processes. Overall, this accreditation will enhance our company and improve our current business practices. Once complete, NQA-1 will increase Klein Steel’s business and take the company to a higher level of Quality assurance. This allows us to expand into new areas of technology, new customer bases and new territories. The capacity of Nuclear Quality has been and will continue as an area of growth as we face the need for additional energy resources. Jim Sloan is Klein Steel’s Quality and Engineering Manager. 3 Winter Increases Home Heating Fire Risks With cooler weather here, the risk of structure fires is up because home heating is a leading cause of fires during the months of December, January and February— second only to cooking related fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Over 5,000 heating equipment-related residential fires are reported yearly resulting in injury, death and millions of dollars in damages. Space heaters are the most common type of heat source as the leading cause of fire and fire deaths. The NFPA reports that two out of every three home heating fires— and, three of every four fire related deaths— were caused by space heating equipment such as portable electric heaters, portable kerosene heaters, wood stove, fireplaces and fireplaces with inserts, along with single room gas heaters. A handy rule of thumb: Just remember the “safety zone” recommended by the NFPA. That is, no combustible material, children or pets should be within the three foot “Safety Zone” around space heaters, candles, and light bulbs, and even cook stoves. Another common cause of home fires comes from a lack of regular cleaning and preventa- tive maintenance, especially for wood burning devices such as fireplaces and inserts for chimneys. NFPA recommends annual inspection of the chimney and cleaning. Blow Out the Candle With today’s emphasis on candles and other mood lighting techniques, candle safety is a priority, especially around small children and pets. Candles should be placed out of reach of both children and pets. Use burn proof footers or plates, even if they are already inside a decorative lantern or other luminary housing. When a candle burns dangerously low, discard it. The “safety zone” rule of thumb doesn’t always apply when using candles. Make sure that candles are not allowed to burn in unoccupied rooms. If you leave the room, even for a short time, blow out the candle! Don Barber is Klein Steel’s Safety Manager. School #52 Pencil Partnership – Preparing the Next Generation Through the Pencil Partnership, Klein Steel supports the Frank Fowler Dow School #52 in the Rochester City School District. This K- 6 elementary school has approximately 300 students and is located in a pleasant neighborhood near Irondequoit. The Pencil Partnership allows Klein Steel to give back to our community by having a positive impact on the students at this school. One way that Klein Steel helps School #52 is through volunteer tutors for the summer reading program. Many team members and their family and friends have volunteered to help with this fun summer activity which helps the students retain and improve their reading skills. We also provide “judges” for the school’s annual talent show, sponsor a mitten and hat collection for the past two winters (with more than 200 hats and mittens donated!) and participate in Principal for a Day as well as taking part in other activities. This year several math students will tour Klein Steel and we are supporting the school’s Club activities. Klein Steel has set up easy ways to help School #52. At the Vanguard location, look for a box labeled Box Tops for Education (near the front copier) and another called Soup Labels. Each little box top or label can be redeemed by the school for cash, which is useful for special projects and activities. You’ll find these special labels on many products from Campbell’s Soup to printer paper to cereals. Even one label is a big help! Compliance Manager Debbie Kurvach coordinates Klein Steel’s support at School #52. The Pencil Partnership Program builds and supports customized relationships between business leaders and principals, providing a flexible, yet structured, way for members of the business community to contribute and leverage their unique expertise and resources to help meet school needs. PENCIL means “Public Education Needs Civic Involvement for Learning.” For more information, visit www.pencil.org 4 Retail Division Growing in 2012 In 2012, Klein Steel Direct is on track to grow both revenues and profits in each current KSD location, Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse, as well as open a new store in Albany as part of Klein Steel’s expansion. Although we face strong competition in the current steel markets, our advantage is offering the widest selection of prime and surplus metals, along with multi-processing and delivery capabilities that meet almost any customer requirement. Our direct customers can expect continued expansion within Klein Steel’s product offerings. For example, customers will see the addition of the new Forney welding and safety accessories line at all KSD locations. The company will increase advertising efforts through direct mail, social media and Internet communications to create broader awareness of the business and attract more walk-in visitors to specific stores. Our objective is to increase the numbers of repeat customers by providing the products and high service level they desire. Bob Valeri is the General Manager for Klein Steel Direct. A Healthy You for 2012 and Beyond It’s that time of year again— the time when almost everyone makes resolutions to improve themselves (physically, financially, and/or emotionally). Or, it’s that time to undo some of the overindulgence from the holiday season! Klein Steel’s wellness efforts will continue as we move toward consumer driven healthcare in 2013. The Company began this journey in 2010 with the introduction of a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), which offered lower weekly premiums, while still maintaining access to insurance. This year, Health Saving Accounts (HSA) were packaged with the HDHP as another vehicle for setting pre-tax money aside to cover medical expenses both now and in the future. Additionally, all Excellus plans that are offered have the Healthy Rewards® component, which puts cash back in your pocket for doing healthy stuff that fits into you day. These offerings are ways to reduce health care costs and give us some control over our expenses. However, we have more power over this by the daily choices we make and the lifestyle we live. This year’s wellness efforts will give us opportunities to seek knowledge, understand our health picture more clearly, and give us the ability to make healthier choices. Klein Steel is working with our benefits broker, insurance carriers and service providers to create a strategic wellness plan for 2012 and beyond. Look forward to opportunities this year to complete a health risk appraisal (HRA), participate in health screenings, attend seminars on health and fitness topics, and of course, sign up for Healthy Rewards® to get cash back by being active. Happy New Year...the time for a new and better you! Rob Sihto is Klein Steel’s Human Resources Manager. Mary Accorso Directs Staff Services Describe your role at Klein Steel and how it impacts team members. In my position, I have the opportunity to meet almost everyone in the company because Staff Services provides their necessary business tools. Staff Services is responsible for uniforms and boots for warehouse team members when they join the company; we coordinate cell phones and office furnishings; we’re responsible for Department of Transportation (DOT) compliance with our driver’s files and fleet, and handle the coordination of company cars. Another aspect of Staff Services is maintaining the building and grounds to include signage and repair and maintenance contracts. Security also falls in my realm, as does back-up for Jim Fantauzzo as MRO buyer— and, anything else that doesn’t seem to have a home! What do you like best about your work? I love the diversity of my work and the opportunity to get to know people and vendors on a different level because of frequent contact with them. Provide a few facts about Staff Services that Klein Steel team members may not realize. Staff Services aims to get things done before they need to be done. It’s not enough at Klein Steel to remain the status quo. Staff Services tries to exemplify that high quality of service. Many things happen behind the scenes—whether it’s cleaning related, touch-up painting, decorating, getting a new vending company on board, evaluating different coffee or choosing new signs or different mulch or simply making sure the products we use are environmentally safe. Many avenues intersect with the Staff Services Department. What do you like to do for fun and relaxation? Being Italian, I love to eat good food and drink good wine. I also enjoy power walking, reading a good book (when I take the time to slow down), shopping, and spending time with my family and friends. My new church is great too and helps give me perspective and much needed peace. Strategic Initiatives Keep Company Direction in Focus Picture yourself on the bridge of a large, commercial ship departing port to go out to sea without a planned destination or a set course. How could everyone possibly survive? Think about the many life-threatening dangers and risks involved in managing equipment and cargo, navigating unpredictable weather, staying on course and providing provisions for the crew. Obviously, the ship wouldn’t disembark without a specific plan. Running the business at Klein Steel is no different. Since 1974, Klein Steel has grown at a steady rate and needs a detailed plan of action to manage the risks and take the company to the next level. Knowing this direction allows the team to focus resources on the desired outcome. Our company has spent considerable time and effort to carefully craft that direction with the development of the 2012 –2014 Strategic Plan. What you will read in this issue gives an understanding of the direction of Klein Steel over the next three years. The plan must be clearly understood in order to move forward as a team. As we guide our ship through very challenging seas, our strategic plan must be adjusted and tweaked to match the changing conditions. Therefore, our team has created a Strategic Plan process that can be adjusted quarterly, keeping the intent of the next three years in clear focus. A living guide, such as our strategic plan, is one of the keys to maximize opportunities as conditions change. We are all in this adventure together. The best companies know where they are going and why. Klein Steel is now among the “best” managed companies with a focus on mission and intent to achieve its goals. Al Mangiamele is Klein Steel’s Vice President of Strategic Initiatives. Buffalo Facility Transitions to Star Armor Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. —Henry Ford Over the next 12 months, Klein Steel will transition to service the Buffalo region from Rochester in order to reduce the company’s cost-to-serve and focus on the successful launch of Star Armor. During this change, we will simultaneously launch the Buffalo Armory, which will be ready to produce the new product, Star Armor, in early 2012, while transitioning the Klein Steel Buffalo base business to Rochester. Brent Nicholson joined the Klein Steel team last July as the new general manager of Buffalo Armory. “The new Buffalo facility will be producing specific materials for the Department of Defense agencies and customers,” notes Brent. “This is our main goal, but there are additional exciting opportunities vying for our time.” The company’s high-performing base sales team located in Buffalo will continue to provide excellent sales and customer service to the Buffalo market. A Klein Steel Direct store in Buffalo, co-located with Buffalo Armory, will continue to offer individuals and customers a direct outlet for their metal requirements. In addition, our Buffalo facility will maintain the necessary depot operations required to support the base business. To ensure success, we have created a cross-functional team to guarantee that we safely complete this critical project with no accidents. The team is also working hard to synchronize the timelines of consolidating the base business and standing up Buffalo Armory to protect team member jobs and conserve resources. Most importantly, this shift needs to be seamless and transparent to our customers. Therefore, we will take every measure possible to continue the focus on Klein Steel’s imperatives of safety, accuracy, quality, on-time delivery, and productivity. Todd Zyra is Klein Steel’s Chief Operating Officer. The Cutting Edge is a quarterly publication of Klein Steel Service Inc., designed to bring company news to its employees and families. Managing Editor Deborah Mangiamele Contributors Mary Accorso, Don Barber, Ken Carpentier, Mary Castaldo, Pat DiLaura, David Feinstein, Debbie Kurvach, Pauline Malone, Al Mangiamele, Rob Sihto, Jim Sloan, Todd Zyra Newsletter Team Pat DiLaura, Debbie Kurvach, Blair Ragan, Joe Rodibaugh, Jim Sloan, Dolores Starks, Wende Weber Graphic Designer Yasmin Jung We welcome employee comments and submission ideas. Please contact [email protected] Klein Steel Service Inc., 105 Vanguard Parkway, Rochester, New York 14606 585-328-4000 2 Materials Management Key to Success Materials Management is a key component of Klein Steel’s success. Although this process is led by the procurement department, strong results come from the cross-functional teams that give us critical input. Working with many job shops, material forecasts are often difficult to obtain. With that in mind, focus on material planning, drop minimization and control, back ordered items, customer owned material flow, aging material, branch transfers, and lowering quality defects are all areas to keep in focus. Each category has opportunities to control and improve internal cost. Inventory turns and positive cash flow are essential to a healthy service center. Improved steady cash flow is obtained by continuous improvement, including decreasing man hours and eliminating paperwork. Information Technology impacts every process and improvement that Klein Steel incorporates into our standard operating procedures (SOPs). The Material Management KRA includes bar coding, inventory control team development, NQA-1 processes, and the making of kits for customers. Each area requires a cross-functional team to be successful. Teams include Procurement, Operations, Quality, Sales and Finance departments. Product analysis utilizing Waypoint Analytics assists procurement with internal forecasts and pricing strategies highlight costs to handle each category of material. Being a full line service center, Klein Steel handles plate, bar grating, structural products, mini mill, stainless, aluminum and many others. With the diverse selection of items we need to understand each category’s cost structure. From receiving, storing, processing, loading, shipping and billing each step has an internal cost that we can improve upon. Another area of concentration is the company’s Maintenance Repair and Operations (MRO) purchases. As Klein Steel continues to add new processing capabilities, our costs for MRO can quickly grow. We must internally focus on our costs for these areas. Procurement works side-byside with the Quality, Engineering and Operations departments to select vendors and test different products to improve processing lead times. Pauline Malone is Klein Steel’s Vice President of Procurement. Budget Reflects Roadmap Klein Steel’s management team worked together during November and early December to create a budget for next year. This is our annual process. Business as usual, you might ask? Not quite. The 2012 budget is different from prior years’ budgets in three important ways, including: the linkages to our Strategic Plan, the components of the budget, and the process that has been established to manage the budget during 2012. With our Strategic Plan established as a roadmap for the next three years, the management team reviewed its major components and projects in establishing the assumptions that underlie the 2012 budget. A very deliberate exercise took place to determine which components were concrete enough to reflect in the budget. The resulting 2012 budget is appropriately connected to the Strategic Plan. For 2012, the budget will again reflect our base and direct businesses. In the base budget, however, rather than reflecting location-based information, the budget has been established in a departmental manner. There are certain expenses in the budget, such as travel expenses and team member training, that all departments incur. In the past, our budget has reflected one line item for those expenses for the whole company, which created difficulty in holding those expenses to budgeted levels. In other words, when everyone is in charge, no one is in charge. Team Members Remain Central Focus of Company Additionally, there are certain expenses that only one department is responsible for managing (for instance, equipment maintenance, managed by Operations). In those cases, the budget of these items is reflected in the budget of the responsible department. With the budget established as the financial roadmap to accompany our strategic roadmap, achievement of the budget will only be possible if we are flexible and nimble in response to our ever-changing environment. Each month, in connection with our review of the Strategic Plan, the management team will review not only our recent performance against the budget, but will also make proactive decisions about spending levels over the next three months. Nothing is written in stone simply because it is in the budget. Rather, the budget is our best plan for 2012 according to the view we have today. We will modify that plan, as needed, as our view changes. As we look back at a very successful 2011, and forward to another successful year in 2012, we think that the processes we’ve established for creating and managing the budget will truly help us to be “Stronger. For your success.” Laurie Leo is Klein Steel’s Chief Financial Officer. We’re off to a great start in 2012. As in recent years, the company will continue to focus time, talents and resources on positioning Klein Steel as a team membercentric employer of choice. What exactly does that mean? In 2012, it means continuing to emphasize wellness and education, as we begin our transition to consumer driven healthcare in 2013. It means continuing to share the profits with all eligible team members through our new profit sharing program, as well as providing the necessary benchmarking and pay systems to ensure that we are compensating team members commensurate with their level of contribution and in line with the external job market. It also means expanding our Klein Steel University (KSU) offerings, to include both internal and external course offerings. It also means expanding our efforts in the area of career development, such as using career development data captured in Performance Appraisals for talent planning, Team Member Profiles and PeopleTrak HRIS search capabilities to identify internal talent for open positions. In addition, continuing to implement bi-annual talent planning and the job awareness program to move our qualified talent into open positions. We will continue to ask you, our team members, how we are doing along the way. Finally, Klein Steel will continue to find new and more efficient ways to deliver our services, just as we have done in the recruiting arena by eliminating costly job board subscriptions (saving over $26,000 annually) and by negotiating “preferred vendor” rates with carefully selected search firms (saving over $40,000 annually). Similarly, we have achieved considerable cost savings by rebidding insurance rates with different carriers and by working to improve the health of our team members through a variety of wellness initiatives. Yes, 2012 promises to be another great year for Klein Steel! I want to thank you, our valued team members, for making Klein Steel— Stronger. For Your Success. Patrick DiLaura is Klein Steel’s Chief Talent Officer. Pricing Accuracy Key to Successful 2012 Pricing and determining market opportunities are critical result areas in 2012. As we study pricing, market trends, customer’s needs and customer uses, we analyze this information and accurately price Klein Steel products in accordance to this valuable information. Klein Steel’s concept for pricing in support of our strategic plan will incorporate the following steps: Segment Klein Steel customer purchasing habits. The purpose of this effort is to ensure like or similar customer buying habits are tracked and adequate pricing matrices are incorporated. This will benefit our customers by making sure they are getting the appropriate price for the way they buy and use our products and services. Organize customers by buying power. Buying power is an indicator of customer potential and is important information to track. By organizing customers in different groups based on buying power, we are able to leverage anticipated volume. This allows our procurement department to buy more strategically and in turn helps to make us more competitive – and in turn our customers win too with better and more accurate pricing. Itemize the products by class. Using this strategy we will organize the company’s products by product class and allows us to monitor pricing by each individual manufacturer. We will then be able to offer “spot sales” on particular lines, by taking advantage of targeted manufacturing pricing – again benefitting our customers with more accurate and market sensitive pricing. Identify the sensitivity of the product classes. Product price sensitivity can be broken down into several categories, from most critical core items to least critical non-core items. This helps keep our focus on the items – and pricing – that our customers find most important. Analyze the market price for each item. Klein Steel’s goal is to take a market price analysis and make sure that we stay in balance with what is happening with the market. Our customers know that metal products have price fluctuations due to market changes, yet they do not always have time to track the market. We are committed to providing our customers with the most accurate pricing, taking into account what is currently happening in the market and also future projections. Proper, accurate pricing is a process of updating and analyzing the appropriate data. It is continuous process improvement – helping us to be Stronger. For Your Success. Ken Carpentier is Klein Steel’s Vice President of Sales. 5 c b a e y t r a P y a d i l o H 1 1 0 2 d g members Klein Steel team the festivities and guests enjoy the Diplomat:h of Casino Night at j i ter Wanamaker, d Loraine Cook c. Pe an n Ro b. Mark nin Cro d. John Batiste and a. Bill and Maureen and Colleen Fischer Amy n, g. ga n Ra Cro ir ve Bla , Da d tny Alex Novo Sullivan f. Emily an Tim d Lewis y an s em bb Jer Ho d ldson i. Eboni an Reynolds e. Mike Nicholas on and David Dona ps th wi om m Th ell Pim arr dd To h.D Jones ather and Case and guest j. He l.Sharon and Jack with Joe Klein, Joe and Mary Accorso ne pia Le y Am k. no gri n. Br yan Pecora lle ran Pe a ch ny Co y To and Tracy Fisher, and Jud r, be We nson and e nd Joh We an Sparling m. tie Lana p. Ry Carl Quartley and Ka Donaldson o. eth ino nd zab Pe Eli f r. Jef ne d an orek and Kim Cra ecz Wi ark sta Te q.M a e dre dg Melody Do rpentier and An pson s. Eric John Ca er u. Bob sh Mo tie Ka d an and Monica Thom ian Rodibaugh with Br t. Stephanie and Joe g rzo He ne Latragna and An f g k p l o m n q s Klein Steel In the News r November / December 2011 issue of Forward magazine, the official publication of the Metal Service Center Institute, featured Klein Steel along with several Metal Service Centers who are tapping into the power of social media to promote their business, communicate with customers and other business partners, and keep team members informed. First Quarter 2012 Anniversaries Congratulations to all Klein Steel team members who have served the company for five or more years this quarter! January Robert Jones Michael Berg John Yeager Quyen Dinh John Suter Andy Yu Michele Hoy 1/20/1987 1/6/1992 1/28/1998 1/18/1999 1/1/2005 1/24/2005 1/15/2007 February Mary Anna Mills Richard Argus Sergey Shuvalov Danielle Adams Dolores Starks John Jakubowski John Sparling Henry Hammond Brad Cooper 2/3/1992 2/20/1995 2/27/2000 2/28/2000 2/3/2003 2/21/2005 2/21/2005 2/6/2006 2/19/2007 March Mikhail Sidorishin David Donaldson Terrence McElligott Jeffery Bowen 3/10/1993 3/1/2004 3/7/2005 3/2/2006 to find qualified employees, such as the Veterans Outreach Center, RochesterWorks and the Warrior Salute program. September 2011— Klein Steel received media attention throughout the Upstate region, when IndustryWeek magazine announced that Klein Steel is a finalist for the Best Plants competition. Albany’s WYNT Channel 13 included the news during its nightly television program. Renee Remillard, KSD-Syracuse, celebrated her marriage to Michael Dawalga on the coast of Maine on September 24, 2011. Renee, Michael and their son Jacob are pictured here. Thomas (TJ) and Jessi Turner welcomed Kayla Renee Turner on November 20, 2011. Welcome New Team Members As Klein Steel continues its growth, we extend a warm greeting to the newest employees of our team! Name Hire Date Location Position David Milillo Peter Wanamaker Geoffrey Grambo Amy Lepiane Brian Mosher Amy Jones Nick Muscarella Stacy DiPasquale Bob Valeri James Mitchell Pat Penkszyk Andrew Castner Mark Mossow 9/12/2011 Vanguard 9/26/2011 Vanguard 9/26/2011 Rochester 10/3/2011 Vanguard 10/10/2011 Vanguard 10/10/2011 Vanguard 10/10/2011 Vanguard 10/24/2011 Vanguard 10/24/2011 Vanguard 10/24/2011 Vanguard 10/24/2011 Vanguard 11/14/2011 Vanguard 11/14/2011 Vanguard Stacy Nick 6 October 7, 2011 issue of the Rochester Business Journal (RBJ) featured Joe Klein in conjunction with Joe’s induction into the Rochester Business Hall of Fame. October 28, 2011 RBJ interviewed Pat DiLaura along with other area leaders addressing the issues of hiring talent during a challenging economy. The article highlighted Klein Steel as a company hiring despite the economic downturn spotlighting the less-traditional sources utilized Team Member Milestones u t Saw Operator Haas Operator KSD Counter Sales Front Reception Credit Manager David Call Center Rep Finisher Packager Operations Supervisor KSD General Manager Burn Table Operator Kasto Operator Saw Operator Burn Table Operator Amy L. Bob Peter Brian Pat James Andrew Geoffrey Amy J. Mark