Business Forecast for Wisconsin

We’ve got good friends throughout the Midwest, but let us take a minute to brag a little about Wisconsin. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that a survey of 500 CEOs gave the state a huge ‘thumbs up.’ They graded the states on taxes and regulation, quality of the work force and living environment. Wisconsin made the biggest jump of any state, and one of the largest in the history of the survey, rising to 24th from 41st. While some of the changes being made here are still in debate, they see our “Open for Business” approach as a strong positive. And that’s good for everyone.

You can read the full article here

Dalco Featured in Modern Metals Magazine

We’re proud that Modern Metals Magazine has featured us again, this time for our latest addition: The Dalco Metals Stretcher Leveler.

Roller leveling is a good choice for most applications, but for manufacturers cutting with laser machines, it’s a different story. They need material that is stress free and remains flat when cut. Although roller levelers will supply an extremely flat product in most applications, they don’t eliminate the trapped internal stresses entirely. This can cause problems, especially when a laser system is running “lights out "over the weekend or at night when nobody is around.

Enter the Dalco Metals Stretcher Leveler.

"Another word for stress free is memory-free," the article quotes our President, Bill Ring. "We receive material in a master coil. It’s a circle, and we’re trying to turn it into a straight line, or taking away that coil memory." The control system on Dalco’s leveler allows the company to ensure that material is memory-free when it leaves the facility, and there’s no guesswork involved.

Call us! We can’t wait for you to see it in action. And you can see the complete Modern Metals article, “Consistent, Reliable Processing” here

What's Driving Steel Prices???

These days, we’re all facing rapid fluctuations in steel prices. But price changes are one thing. How they affect the supplier – customer relationship is another.

Because nobody has a crystal ball to accurately predict the future, we thought you’d like to hear a no-nonsense explanation from Glenn Kidd, long-time industry expert, who spoke at Fabricator Magazine’s Leadership Summit, “Metal Matters” last month. He explained how the growing demand for both steel and scrap, combined with global demands has created “an extremely volatile” market.

You can hear a brief interview with Mr. Kidd here.

Here at Dalco Metals, we constantly strive to give you the best value, and that’s one thing you can always count on.

This is a Major Recovery Indicator

In economic growth cycles, hiring usually lags behind. Growth in activity and income are needed to support new jobs. And right now, especially in Wisconsin, manufacturers are hiring. A Journal Sentinel article put it this way:

Wisconsin's status as the leading manufacturing state in the nation, as measured by the proportion of its workforce engaged in manufacturing, has translated into a faster job recovery for that portion of the economy here.

"Our manufacturing sector got hit pretty hard during this recession," said Scott Brave, senior business economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. "The interesting thing is it has also come back much more strongly as well."

You can read the full article here.

MEMORY-FREE STEEL

We have always reinvested in our business to provide our customers with continuous improvement and the latest in technology, productivity, and service.

Continuing with this tradition, we are excited to announce the addition of our new Dalco Metals Stretcher Leveler!

With new technologies in manufacturing and a greater need for ‘memory-free’ steel, we can guarantee your steel will be of the highest quality and processed precisely to your specifications. It will start flat and stay flat so that your laser and precision plasma processes are worry free. Eliminating coil memory means your equipment can run faster and more consistently because the time-consuming problems of warping or spring-back become things of the past, which means you can run ‘lights out’ with fewer interruptions and:
- Superior Reliability
 -Less Downtime
 -Competitive Cost Advantage

The DALCO Stretcher-Leveler produces ‘memory-free’ sheets up to 0.25" thick, 72” wide, with lengths up to 240”. Let us show you what we can do for you. Call us at 262-275-6175

FRESH TALENT

As the economy continues to shake off the dust and grow, a lot of manufacturers are seeing a troubling trend. New technologies in manufacturing, and a growing list of alternate career opportunities, have created a void in trained and ready talent.

Fortunately, there are solutions. Programs that recruit and train a new generation of skilled workers are cropping up all over the country. Here is Wisconsin, one of them is Second Chance Partners for Education, a Pewaukee-based nonprofit that operates eight alternative high schools, each of them HQ’d inside a manufacturing facility.

Read the whole story from BizTimes Magazine here.

CONGRATULATIONS PACKERS!!!!