Business transactions have increasingly moved online, taking place between parties who are remotely located from one another. Many companies and individuals are left yearning for world-class customer service where interpersonal relationships are nurtured and customers are appreciated. This is how ANCO Steel Company still does business.
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The company was founded in 1996 by Doug Anderson who took his experience in the steel industry and applied it to the successful launch of his own venture. While the company started small, through its drive to exceed its customers’ expectations, it has grown both in size and reputation.
Today, ANCO Steel Company is a mid-sized service center that continues to grow in both size and abilities. Whether it is in its mill or its warehouse, customers get on the best quality carbon steel and non-ferrous metals fabrication. And this trusted distributor has customer service to match.
The company’s top-of-the-line products include an impressive inventory of metals including carbon steel, stainless steel, cold finish and aluminum in various shapes and sizes. It offers processing and fabrication options which include rolling, welding, shearing, laser and plasma cutting, painting, rebar fabrication and more, all at competitive prices.
Speaking with General Manager Jim Morton, you quickly get a sense of the pride and dedication that goes into serving ANCO Steel Company’s customers. Without a doubt, the company’s customer service, reliability and responsiveness have been the biggest differentiators from its competition.
“We stock deep levels of inventory, so we have more available inventory on the floor than many of our regional competitors. ANCO Steel Company is capable of delivering large orders throughout the Midwest very quickly,” explained Morton.
“ANCO Steel Company maintains elevated levels of common inventory sizes to satisfy and anticipate spikes in demand from our diverse customer base. Additionally, if a customer asks our sales team to maintain stock of an uncommon item which repeats regularly, we’ll gladly do so with a handshake and a smile,” he noted.
“We effectively manage overall inventory with advanced systems and human intelligence to generate profitable transactions as a distributor of metal goods, but we always maintain inventory to make sure that our top customers are satisfied with ANCO Steel Company.”
Whether a customer is large or small, it makes no difference. The company’s ability to address customers’ diverse needs takes a managerial balance and precise allocation of resources at its four warehouse locations in Aurora and Louisville, Illinois and Elkhart and Hammond, Indiana.
“We have the right amount of assets in the Midwest to serve our customers rapidly. We operate a fleet of trucks which is sized just right for the market that we penetrate, and we allocate our assets to take care of our customers faster than many of our competitors. And in this industry, speed is imperative,” said Morton of ANCO Steel Company’s ability to react to the changing needs of its customers.
This tactic is the reason the company grows and experiences success. Through its consistent delivery and customer-centric approach, customers keep coming back.
“We have serviced our customers unlike most of our competitors. We actually listen to the customers’ needs and wants, and we react accordingly,” Morton said.
ANCO Steel Company assists customers in various industries in the Midwest. While OEM manufacturing is the primary client industry, other customers are representative of construction, trailer manufacturers, waste industry, agriculture, steel service centers, and welding fabrication shops. Military and defense is another market with growth potential for the distributor.
“ANCO has always been able to outperform our Midwestern competition by having the right assets at the right place at the right time. We started off as a very small operation with just a few customers, and twenty-one years later, we are operating four warehouse locations and look to expand where our customers dictate that need,” Morton explained.
ANCO Steel Company believes in the relationships it has built with its customers, its suppliers and its employees.
Vital to satisfying growth in demand, while strengthening the company’s reputation, are the employees who come with a wealth of industry experience and are cross-trained to maximize output and customer satisfaction.
Its employees are ANCO Steel Company’s greatest resources. There are seventy-five dedicated, well-trained people who support operations across its four facilities, helping to drive growth each day. “We value our employees,” Morton stated. “The employees are key to our success. They work hard every day and make sure our customers are satisfied.”
In addition, “We value our relationships with our suppliers just as much as we do our customers. We have a tremendous amount of respect for those that supply us, and we feel that’s an integral part of our operation. Without our suppliers, we would not be able to service our customers at the level that we do,” said Morton.
Morton and ANCO Steel Company hope to build these relationships. The company plans to grow along with them while improving its processes and market reach since growing will also increase the number of customers that can benefit from its outstanding service and products.
ANCO Steel Company never stops identifying ways in which it can improve its capabilities and the customer experience it provides. Efforts are currently underway to overhaul and launch a new website as well as rebrand the company.
By refreshing its brand, the company hopes to better connect with its customers. The new website will be launched in the fourth-quarter of 2017 and will more effectively promote its products and services.
Looking to the future, ANCO Steel Company will continue to deliver results like it has since its inception. After all, providing customer service and quality products have enabled it to grow to be what it is today: a distributor of choice for many in the Midwest.
