Business View Magazine
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base – aluminum, steel, electrical, oil, and gas. “The
automotive and chemical fields are also good,” says
Stultz. “We try to stay diversified; if the oil market goes
down, we watch those orders decline and hopefully
other sectors will stay strong. The electrical industry
has been steady for 15 years and probably will stay
strong for another 15 years.”
Brewer notes, “We are also diverse in our capabili-
ties of creating customized products. We’ve been ap-
proached by many domestic and international distrib-
utors to develop custom-built speciality apparel, so we
are flexible when markets demand. Our daily focus is
to convert raw speciality materials into finished per-
sonal protective equipment and apparel. Our creative
manufacturing ability has been our long established
strength that has sustained our customer relation-
ships throughout the years.”
“Industries are evolving, especially in metals,” says
Stultz. “Foreign conglomerates buy U.S. aluminum
and steel manufacturers – bringing in new technology
which requires a change in safety garments. These
companies prefer to use materials from Europe. That
adds a whole new level to manufacturing, but many do-
mestic apparel companies don’t want to get involved
with importing and stocking materials. When a foreign
company buys a local aluminum mill, those people still
like to buy American garments, so we bring in what’s
necessary to supply them.”
Distributors buy products from Steel Grip and resell
them to the end users. With such a technically complex
product line, they rely on the company’s sales team to
answer questions, often asking them to call the cus-
tomer directly. Stultz acknowledges, “It’s daunting
when someone asks, ‘Hey, what do I wear for molten
