Drake-Willias Steel Inc.

Regarding the competition, Fitton believes that Drake-Williams has an advantage because it focuses on the needs of its customers. “As a company, we take a lot of pride in our overall customer service,” he states. “We do that by building value through the quality products we provide. Also, we’re competitively priced because we have the resources and the partnerships with other industry companies. “You have two main avenues to get your raw materials – either by buying it directly from the mill or buying it through a service center or warehouse company,” Fitton continues. “We’ve made it a point, depending on the size and type of project and its schedule, to get material from the mill. But with the way pricing has been, lately, you can get competitive pricing from warehouses. Also, the main downside of getting material direct from the mill is the lead time. While you might get the material you want, with less waste and scrap, if the project schedule doesn’t accommodate that, you might have to wait too long. That’s when you might want to go to a warehouse. So, we’ve built strong relationships with some warehouses in the general vicinity that allow us to have the flexibility to get materials quickly. At the end of the day, when we look at a project, we’re looking at the schedule and which vendor partner can help us support that desired construction schedule and, secondly, which vendor can help us be the most competitive with pricing. And that can change from project to project.” One of the challenges for Drake-Williams, as it is for many manufacturers, is finding skilled workers. “In the 15 years I’ve been here, it’s really been a challenge that we’ve had to try and overcome,” Fitton admits. “And there was a period of time when people weren’t promoting the trades as an attractive career path for youth. Luckily for us, here in the Midwest, we’ve seen a transition from that and now the local community colleges are promoting their trade programs and encouraging kids to develop those types of skills. We’re seeing more of the younger