October 2018 - Based in Quakertown, Penn Stainless Products has quietly but assuredly grown into a proportionally well-stocked supplier to a diverse customer base. It doesn’t hurt that the company has increased its physical footprint with greenfield sites where appropriate.
One of those sites is located in Jackson Center, Pennsylvania, which offers next-day delivery throughout the western length of the state and across the border into eastern Ohio and parts of Western Virginia. That 35,000-square-foot location opened two years ago, but has since installed equipment that meets the processing requirements of local steel buyers.
The latest tool is a Koike Aronson Versagraph Millennium 6300 plasma cutting system. In business for 100 years, Koike Aronson supplies cutting machines, welding positioning equipment, portable cutting and welding machines, and gas apparatuses to the metals supply chain, including service centers.
Founded in 1979, Penn Stainless processes sheet, plate, bar, structural sections, pipe and tubular products. Specialty products include high-temperature, corrosion resistant, duplex and PH stainless steels. Services include coil processing, plate and sheet shearing, plasma cutting, plate laser cutting, waterjet cutting, sawing and Amada production bar cutting.
The Koike Aronson Versagraph Millennium 6300 employs Hypertherm HPR800XD HyPerformance plasma technology for a clean, consistent cut on material that is up to 2.5 inches thick.
Access point
Jason Martineau, regional general manager for Jackson Center, has been in the metals industry for 20 years. He started off as an inside sales associate at Penn, was promoted to national sales manager, and then became GM of the new facility.
He describes the branch as being located 5 miles from the intersection of Routes 79 and 80. “This access allows us to send a transfer truck from Quakertown to Jackson Center to support inventory and processing capabilities that we don’t have. That link is a vital part of our supply chain.”
In addition, “We are able to serve important manufacturing markets like Pittsburgh, Erie, Meadville, Buffalo; then west of us—Canton, Akron, Cleveland. It’s all about logistics in the supply chain so you can deliver on time,” Martineau says.
“Quakertown is so well established,” he says, with five waterjet cutting machines, two plate lasers, and more. “We are close enough to leverage that processing capability but we support different markets in this area.
“We have grown the business fairly well—we opened hundreds of new accounts in Jackson Center. We are on target as a result of these regional investments,” as well as the fact that manufacturing sectors across Ohio and Pennsylvania are “fairly robust.”
Clean, consistent cuts
The Koike Aronson Versagraph Millennium 6300 employs Hypertherm HPR800XD HyPerformance plasma technology for a clean, consistent cut on material that is up to 2.5 inches thick. It features an extra-wide cutting envelope of 10 feet wide by 40 feet long.
Capabilities include fine-feature cuts, a quick disconnect torch, and a significantly reduced bevel angle of 1 to 3 degrees for narrow cleft.
“Having the plasma table in this branch means we can react to specific demands. Some of our competitors do not have that local capability,” Martineau says. “The quality on that machine is phenomenal. Our customers are happy with what they are getting.”
The branch also operates two Amada bar saws and two chop saws, for a total of four bar processing centers, plus a plate shear and a sheet shear.
“Right now, we are running one shift and have six people in the shop. We have three drivers and we manage our own truck fleet—we have complete control over that. We have been fortunate in that regard,” Martineau says, considering the difficulty of finding outside carriers in rural areas. The branch also has three outside salespeople.
Bright prospects
Future business opportunities for the Jackson Center site seem optimal.
“To a certain extent, we are positioned close to the shale boom in Ohio and Pennsylvania,” Martineau says. He cites a petrochemical cracking plant in Ohio that may be approved in the next few weeks. “The Shell [ethylene] cracker plant in Beaver County [Pennsylvania] should be making product by 2020 or 2021.”
Today, he says, “We are very diverse with product so we touch several markets: pharmaceutical, power generation, petrochemical, even some automotive-related work.” And with its product diversity, “We do well covering the full shopping list for customers.”
Penn Stainless expects to continue growing at a “fairly aggressive pace, It’s about supporting customers and doing what you say you’re going to do. We still have some excess capacity. And there is room for additional processing equipment down the road, maybe a waterjet or plate saw.”
Jobs are coming, too. “We expect to hire more people next year. We see a very bright future.”
The tariffs on steel products have not been a big obstacle for the company, says Martineau.
“We primarily buy domestic material. For a while, the tariff was difficult, but businesses adjust once they know what the ground rules are. Uncertainty creates speculation. There was more of an impact on wider plate products. But that has settled down, even since June.” MM
