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Sko-Die E-Newsletter – November 2020
2020 has certainly been a year of change on so many fronts. We all continue to grapple with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as we evolve to meet the ever-changing landscape of our world. Many domestic and global events have touched and shaped our experience in 2020, however, Sko-Die remains committed to our pre COVID-19 mission of delivering best in class products and service to valued customers. As we have been sharing in previous Sko-Die newsletters, we continue to invest in our business towards expanding and improving our capability to meet the evolving needs of the market. We remain bullish on domestic manufacturing and are continuing to improve our ability to capitalize on that trend. Our facility expansion is in the home stretch and we are continuing to invest in the resources required to drive our forward-looking plan. We look forward to sharing additional details with you in our next edition but are pleased to share a preview in the pictures below. We wish you all a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday. Thank you for your continued support. Patrick Steininger
Industry News (Michael McGuire)It is difficult to engage in any discussion these days without all roads ultimately leading back to the topic of the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation, both domestically and globally, has certainly reshaped how we are forced to operate our businesses and our lives. In 8 short months, we have evolved dramatically as to our basic business practices and how we maintain our commitments to our customers and to our stakeholders. Teams and Zoom meetings have replaced most So, while the COVID effect cannot be minimized, it is important to keep in mind the non-pandemic developments related to our overall manufacturing sector. For those of us linked to the Steel industry, the last 12 months have been a very dynamic period. In our December 2019 edition, we discussed the acquisition of AK Steel by Cleveland Cliffs. This marked a significant merging of a traditionally upstream raw material provider with a major domestic steel producer focused on and closely connected to the ultimate consumers of steel products. This was particularly poignant for those of us engaged in the electrical steel sector, as AK Steel had become the sole domestic producer of certain electrical steel products. That event has not affected AK Steel’s ability and commitment to serving the domestic electrical steel market, and likely makes them a stronger provider to the electrical steel sector going forward. On the heels of that development we are seeing another major acquisition in the works for Cleveland Cliffs wherein they are seeking to purchase Arcelor-Mittal Steel. If successful, this would make the combined holdings of Cleveland Cliffs the single largest producer of steel in the USA. To say that the M&A activity on the domestic steel industry has been dynamic since the most recent “turn of the century” is a bit of an understatement. By the end of 2021, we could see the top 5 domestic steel producers account for >95% of the market. And by the time this issue is received, we will have navigated our way through another national election cycle. The results will most certainly influence our overall manufacturing sector. And while the airwaves are dominated by an array of topics tied to the elections, the resurgence of our domestic manufacturing economy over the past 4 years seems to be pushed in the background. That has been a very positive development for our economy, and we encourage everyone recognize that a robust manufacturing economy is the tide that raises all boats. Sko-Die continues to invest in our business with an eye towards a vibrant manufacturing emphasis in our overall domestic economic agenda. As we will share in our end of year edition of our newsletter next month, we are wrapping up our latest physical plant expansion and continuing to add equipment and resources to support our commitment to our customers. We are proud to begin our 74th year in operation as a manufacturer. We remain ever thankful to our customers and to our suppliers that continue to favor us with the support that we need to improve and expand our business with you. We wish everyone the best of health as we navigate through the current circumstances and continue our path toward more normal business conditions in the years to come.At Sko-Die we remain -
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For any questions or inquiries, please contact: Michael McGuire, Director of Sales, 800-486-4756 X120, michael.mcguire@skodie.com |
Sko-Die Inc.| 8050 Austin Ave. - Morton Grove, IL 60053
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