One Georgia company is combatting economic woes with old-school customer service
May 2009 - Toll processor McEver Metal Processing, Acworth, Ga., has had to find ways to cut costs while still accommodating customers. For many companies, an economy that allows little margin for error has forced staff changes, production stoppages and sales lulls.
But McEver has gotten creative. Rather than overhauling its processes and workforce, the processor has devised innovative methods to get clients what they want and still manage a measure of frugality. Instead of losing business, manpower and resources, McEver is making a concerted effort to retain its current customers, in hopes that the relationships will bear fruit once the economic outlook brightens.
Give the people what they want
In January, McEver committed to its adopted mantra when it purchased a 62-inch-wide Branerslitter and a 25-ton overhead crane, per customer request. The equipment upgrade allowed the processing of larger coils, and more importantly, accommodated more orders. Having increased its coil capacity to 46,000 pounds, McEver was suddenly able to process a wider range of materials.
"Our specialty on our other equipment is surface-critical clean metal," said Vice President Scott Powers in a press release. "We never ran any uncoated steel through our machinery to keep them as clean as possible. The new slitter allows us to process some of the other products, like hot-rolled, pickled and oiled, or cold-rolled steel."
And all companies are currently boosting efforts to minimize overhead expense. That was the primary motivation for the Braner installation, but according to Powers, another factor played into the decision. Upon receiving confirmation of the purchase, one of McEver's larger, more established customers committed to extending the partnership. For that company, the addition of the 62-inch slitter meant its larger cuts would be done and there'd be no need to go elsewhere.
"Once they gave us the assurance of business, we wasted little time acquiring the machinery," said Powers. "Every day without this machine was lost revenue for us and more logistical headaches for the customer."
Reciprocal relationships
The essence of McEver's refined approach is an acknowledgment that it needs its customers as much as the customers need its services. As a processor--not a service center or distributor--maintaining existing relationships is a top priority. And, there's no better opportunity to provide reassurance than in times of privation.
"Everyone is cutting staff and hours to stay profitable," said Powers. "Our goal is to keep customers from losing even more business due to their cost-cutting measures. If a struggling OEM or service center has cut from three shifts to one but still has another half shift of work to do, we can pick up that slack for them."
Even if business in the metals industry remains sour, McEver has its client base. And whenever things do pick up, the approach the company's taken during the interim will have paid off. MM
