The Ugitech Steel Mill Factory Incident: An Update
In terms of supply and demand, the accident could not have happened at a worse time, since the supply of steel barstock was already significantly constrained.
It was already difficult for most companies to locate popular diameters in popular grades such as 303, 304, 316, 416 and 630.
Advance Planning Minimizes impact on Customers
Due to excellent raw materials planning and ample warehouse space, Certifed Grinding ordered raw materials from Swiss Steel (Ugitech’s parent company) months in advance. Therefore, Swiss Steel was able to honor most of Certified’s open orders that were due in the second and third quarters of 2022.
Since Certified Grinding has a fantastic working relationship with Swiss Steel, the company was also able to purchase several lots of material from Swiss Steel’s general inventory.
Other Actions by Certified Grinding
With record demand for materials, the management team at Certified Grinding realized that more actions were required to support both existing and new customers.
- Orders were immediately placed with other mills and distributors, insuring the availability of raw material for customers in the fourth quarter.
- Certified also scoured its extensive supplier network to identify new sources of its fastest-moving materials and placed orders for extra inventory for the second and third quarters.
- The company also sought out new suppliers to accredit and purchased additional inventory from them.
- Certified increased its inventory to triple its normal value to ensure a steady supply of raw materials for its customers.
Despite all of the challenges of locating raw materials during this period, Certified Grinding has maintained an average on-time delivery rate of 95 % from commitment date.
Finally, Some Good News from Swiss Steel:
The good news in the aftermath of the incident in Savoy is that the Ugitech mill is returning to operation. Swiss Steel is now accepting orders for late December and late January delivery. We have already placed our first blanket orders to ensure a continued supply of raw materials for our customer base going into 2023.
If you are having trouble locating barstock in grades such as 303, 304, 316, 416, and 630, contact Certified Grinding or submit a Materials Quote to see what we have to offer.
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