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Sko-Die E-Newsletter - March 2014
The dedication of Sko-Die's employees is instrumental to the success of the company and to our ability to serve our customers. In this edition of the Sko-Die e-newsletter we will introduce you to Sko-Die's Office Manager, Elaine Sack. You'll also learn how Sko-Die is supporting education and careers in manufacturing through Jeff Curtin's (Sko-Die's Customer Service Manager) involvement in the TMA (Technology & Manufacturing Association) Manufacturing Education and Careers Committee (MECC). Reshoring continues to be a hot topic in the manufacturing sector, and we will provide some insight in this month's "Industry News" section. We'll also provide an update regarding the electrical steel trade cases that were filed against select global producers of electrical steel. In addition, all of us at Sko-Die would like to welcome Kyle Steininger to the team as Sales Associate. Kyle is a graduate of Bradley University and has spent the last three years working at an IT consulting firm. Kyle represents the fourth generation of the Steininger family working in the business. Thank You, Patrick Steininger
Industry NewsReshoring of Domestic Manufacturing – The topic of Reshoring continues to find its way into broad based discussions as to the overall domestic manufacturing sector. As manufacturing companies that had previously made decisions to move manufacturing out of the USA are waking up to the fact that not all of the “savings” that drove these decisions were actually realized, some are re-assessing those decisions. This is certainly a positive development and one that we trust will continue to gain momentum in the coming years. Moving manufacturing back onshore is certainly not a quick process and not one that will likely see a concentrated expansion of the overall manufacturing sector in the near term. These discussions do however spur optimism as to the possibilities to see a steady expansion of our domestic manufacturing sector and the embracing of the fact that we are indeed a Manufacturing Economy. For 67 years, Sko-Die has been a strong advocate of a strong and expanding manufacturing economy. Our customers enjoy the benefits of high quality, high value manufacturing produced locally and delivered nationwide and abroad. We continue to support initiatives that promote and support domestic manufacturing and are confident that any Reshoring efforts will have a positive effect on our overall economy.
Electrical Steel Trade Cases proceed - The cases that were filed against select Global producers of Electrical Steel continue to make their way through the review and decision process. As previously discussed, the last benchmark event that occurred was that the ITC provided a preliminary injury ruling that allowed the case against six Non Oriented Electrical Steel (NOES) producers to continue. The US Commerce Department is now in the process of determining any antidumping margins that will be levied on imports from these producing Mills. As reported in the March 21st edition of American Metal Market, “AK Steel is pleased that the U.S. Commerce Department has preliminarily determined that China’s non-oriented electrical steel industry has benefitted from massive subsidies, and that the Commerce Department has imposed preliminary duties on NOES from China. AMM further reports that “The Commerce Department’s preliminary determination in the anti-dumping duty investigation is due May 15th. Final determinations in both the anti-dumping and subsidy cases are due by July 30th.” The net effect of this process, which began back in the fall of 2013, is that the producers of NOES products from the named countries have scaled back or ceased their exports of these products into the US, pending final duty decisions. Sko-Die continues to manage our supply base to ensure the consistent supply of all grades of Electrical Steel to our customers. Though these trade cases will certainly affect the landscape of which specific mill products will be readily available, our relationships and sourcing strategy serve to ensure that these actions will not have a detrimental effect on our ability to continue to support all our of customers’ needs.
Meet Sko-Die's Office ManagerElaine Sack, Sko-Die’s Office Manager, has always been impressed that the attitude throughout the Sko-Die organization is that customer satisfaction is the number one priority. That attitude has also driven her throughout her career whether she was dealing with benefit questions from an internal customer or billing questions from an external customer. Elaine began her career in the retail marketing industry where she focused on learning the areas of accounts receivable, accounts payable and customer service. In 1995, after a maternity break, Elaine, while working with a temporary employment service, took an office assistant assignment at Sko-Die. After 3 months, Dick Steininger, then the President of Sko-Die, recognized Elaine’s talents and offered her a permanent job as an office clerk. In this position she was able to use and expand on her retail experience which led to her promotion in 2000 to Office Manager. Elaine’s numerous responsibilities include payroll, 401K, insurance, financial and Human Resources. For payroll she keeps track of employee time, holidays, vacation and most importantly makes sure everyone gets their check on time. The employee benefit areas of 401K and insurance involve keeping up-to-date on all rules and policies and making sure the employee education is thorough. For finance and accounting she handles accounts receivable, accounts payable, expenses, inventories and reporting. For Human Resources Elaine is the “go to” for all current and new employees when it involves Sko-Die’s policies and procedures. To keep up on the new laws and changes for any aspect of her job Elaine continually attends training classes. The classes have been in accounting, finance, personnel management and insurance. She is also a member of a local association peer group that discusses policies and procedures that drive the corporate environment. Elaine enjoys her job and working with all of Sko-Die’s employees and customers. She follows the precedent of former President Dick Steininger and the actions of current President Patrick Steininger to treat people fairly and always be available to address concerns and help solve problems. She stresses that the constant training of personnel and the modernization of equipment and facilities has always kept Sko-Die successful through any economic period. On the personal side, Elaine has been married to George for 37 years. She was born and raised in Chicago and continues to live there today. For relaxation she enjoys motorcycling, boating, fishing and bicycling. Her favorite hobby is gardening when the Chicago weather allows. She has one son who also works at Sko-Die in the Accounting Department.
Sko-Die Supports Education and Careers in ManufacturingJeff Curtin, Sko-Die’s Customer Service Manager, believes that his career started with the mentoring, training and education he received during and after high school. To help give that opportunity to others starting their career or interested in a manufacturing position, Jeff became a member of the TMA’s “Manufacturing Education & Careers Committee (MECC).” The TMA (Technology & Manufacturing Association) is an organization that was founded in 1925 by 8 small manufacturing companies. It has grown into a 1,000 member not-for-profit organization of precision manufacturing and supplier companies. The focus of TMA is training, careers, benefits, advocacy and networking. The MECC was formed to assist the association with the development and administration of training and education classes that meet the needs of member companies. It also works to promote the manufacturing sector as a viable career option and to help recruit students and market the benefit of a manufacturing education. Jeff was asked to join the MECC 16 years ago at a request of Dick Steininger (Sko-Die past President) who at the time was President of the Association. He accepted because he wanted to help mentor, educate and train new students for a career in manufacturing. He attends bi-monthly meetings at TMA headquarters and their technical center. He participates in special events such as judging a machining competition on April 17Th. He will work as much as needed to address the shortage of skilled machinists and tool makers and to help keep manufacturing in the U.S. If college is not on the radar, “Junior High and High School students must see the positive aspects and the many different avenues of a career in manufacturing.” For more information check out this link to the TMA marketing material; “Advanced Manufacturing Career Highway” and “Careers in Advanced Manufacturing”
For any questions concerning your account please contact: Jeff Curtin, Customer Service Manager, 800-486-4756 X112, jeff.curtin@skodie.com OR Michael McGuire, Director – Business Development, 800-486-4756 X120, michael.mcguire@skodie.com |
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Sko-Die Inc.| 8050 Austin Ave. - Morton Grove, IL 60053
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