Five Questions

Gibbs

Five Questions provides an opportunity for SMI associate members to tell the spring industry about their company and the products and services they offer. In this edition, we talk with Bill Torres, president of Gibbs.

1|Can you tell us about Gibbs and the products it offers to spring manufacturers? We are fortunate to be a supplier of both wire and strip through our seven North American locations. This helps us supply a full range of products to spring manufacturers. We carry carbon, stainless, nickel, titanium and cobalt alloys in both products. With our recent acquisition by Combined Metals of Chicago, we are expanding our ability to carry a number of specialty grades of wire from our sister company, Elgiloy, and we are working closely with their other facilities on additional strip items. This acquisition expands our access to an in-house metallurgist. We are very interested in working with springmakers to develop new products for them.

2|What are the latest trends in the wire and strip markets that are impacting spring manufacturers? We think the next five to 10 years are going to be very interesting for the spring manufacturer’s supply base. For example, if there is an administration change in Washington, there is a strong possibility we will we see the Section 232 tariffs eliminated. If this happens, we are likely to see a renewed focus on the U.S. by foreign suppliers. That could have a major impact on pricing.

We think that there is going to be continued consolidation in the supply chain. This could happen at the mill level and the distributor level.

As mentioned above, we think there is going to be a continuing trend for more advanced materials. Springmakers and their customers have been at the forefront of pushing the envelope on materials. They want tighter tolerances, lighter gauges and improved properties. For example, we have seen more customers asking for highly engineered strip solutions. We think that trend will continue. 3|What type of services do you offer? As a service center, it is important that we can do the following: Same day shipments, small orders, S&C orders, slitting, edging, oscillating, toll processing, blanking and polishing (through our sister company), cut to length, in-line laser welding, stocking programs, special orders, 24 hour customer portal, in-house lab and a staff metallurgist.

4|What impact has COVID-19 had on your business and the customers you serve? With a diversified customer base, we have been fortunate to weather the pandemic and remain profitable. I am also very proud of the team at Gibbs. They have been very flexible during this period and have never lost their focus on creating what author Ken Blanchard calls “raving fans” in our customer base.

One of the biggest challenges for service centers during any downturn is with inventory. It is a big balancing act. Our two vice presidents of purchasing, John Mintun and Paul Naples, do a great job for us. We also appreciate the guidance we’ve received from customers. I do think you will continue to see inventory levels improve throughout the supply base.

5|Can you tell us about a recent challenge that you were able to solve for a customer? A large new strip customer came to us with a problem regarding their strip package. They asked us to think about it, but they said they realized it was a difficult problem. Approximately two weeks later, our vice president of manufacturing, Pat Graham, presented them with the solution. That helped add a new raving fan. n

Gibbs P.O. Box 520 Southington, CT 06489 billt@gibbswire.com www.gibbswire.com

Bill Torres