Steel Products

May 14 & 15 Steel 101 Workshop Open for Registration

March 12, 2019

Your college degree is not going to help you understand how the steel markets work. To do that you need to attend one of our Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshops.

Our next workshop is being held in Davenport, Iowa on May 14-15, 2019. We choose our locations because our workshops are unique in that they include a tour of a working steel mill. In May we will visit the SSAB mini-mill (electric arc furnace) located just outside of Davenport. This will be our second visit to the SSAB plate mill and we look forward to a great tour and a full workshop.

Our workshop will help you to better understand:

•   Learn how steel is made (both EAF and full integrated process)
•   Understand how various qualities are made and how they are used
•   Learn about the rolling process of both long and flat rolled products
•   What factors impact steel prices in your market
•   How does the world market affect North American supply and pricing
•   How steel is bought and sold
•   Understanding supplier/customer relationships
•   How will trade suits impact the industry
•   What resources are available online that will help you to better understand the industry

Our Instructors

These are just a few of the topics that are covered during the course of our two day conference. What makes these topics especially interesting are our instructors. We have two metallurgists on staff in Chuck McDaniels (retired Severstal NA) and Roger Walburn (currently employed by NLMK USA). The two of them are also involved in the commercial side of the steel industry.

We have a former top purchasing manager in Mario Briccetti (Metal Sales, Gibraltar Strip Steel, Nordyne) who is also an engineer. Mario writes articles for Steel Market Update and you can find some of them in the Steel Buyers Basics portion of our website. Mario is also an instructor for the SMU Sales Training workshop.

Also on the commercial side of the business is John Packard, publisher of Steel Market Update and a 31 year veteran of the flat rolled industry with mill, service center and trading company experience.

Our program is well suited for:

•   Anyone new to the industry no matter what their job function
•   Sales and purchasing professionals (new and experienced)
•   Executives changing roles or coming into the industry from outside of the industry
•   Marketing managers
•   Logistics managers
•   Operations or Quality managers/employees
•   Anyone wanting to “brush up” on their industry knowledge

What do our past attendees have to say?

“Having participated in other similar Steel courses and mill tours, I have to say this is the best and most complete one I have had the privilege of attending. All the instructors were very knowledgeable and personable. The course is geared to accommodate all levels of steel people. Nothing about the course was dull or too high level that made things difficult to understand or follow. The course was lively and flowed very well. The mill tour and staff at the mill was an excellent bonus to this course. Hats off to the SMU staff for putting this course together…well worth the time invested!” Michael J Trocchio Jr Account Manager Kloeckner Metals Corp.

“I walked away from Steel 101 with a greater knowledge of steel and the steel market. It is a great workshop for anyone that is new to the industry.” Kelly Kowalczyk, Brown-Forman, Sourcing Manager

Our Program and How to Register

You can find our complete program on our website or by clicking here. The cost is $2,000 per person with discounts for SMU member companies and those sending more than one person.

We look forward to seeing you in Davenport in May.