Industrial Metal Supply Careers

A Comprehensive Look at Industrial Metal Supply Careers

When designing a career path, it can be difficult to parse through all the many factors of that choice. Jobs applicants must consider personal interest levels, available job benefits, and performance of the specific industry. With these considerations in mind, industrial metal supply careers have much to offer.Industrial Metal Supply Careers

What Are Industrial Metal Supply Careers?

Supply careers in the metal industry have two facets: working with metal and working in the supply chain industry. Both aspects play a key role in finding the right career path, and should be examined carefully by prospective employees.

Metal Careers

The use of metal is ubiquitous in all industrial processes and beyond. We rely on it in creating manufacturing tools, marketable products, and other equipment. Industrial metals usually include (but are not limited to) such staples as copper, aluminum, iron (and its carbon alloy steel), zinc, nickel, and tin, and metal careers often center around processing these raw metals, shaping them into commercial or industrial products, and distributing such finished products to the populous. 

There are metal careers available which specialize in every step of the production process. Those who enjoy working with their hands and using heavy-duty machinery and tools should consider these metal career options:

  • Fabricator 
  • Laborer
  • Craftsman
  • Furnace operator
  • Finisher
  • Assembler
  • Casting manager

There are also options for those who prefer more white collar work but still enjoy working with metal and having the job security of a manufacturing material that is never going away. The industry also provides jobs in customer service or sales prospects. Management, including supply chain management, is rife with opportunities.Industrial Metal Supply Careers

Industrial Metal Supply Chain Careers

The supply chain industry is on the rise. Because the manufacturing process and the subsequent distribution process are so nuanced, a chain of command in the supply chain is essential. Perhaps the most glorified career in supply chain management is the supply chain manager. That individual’s job description includes things like coordinating, organizing, and managing the logistics of the production and distribution processes of a company’s services or products. From start to finish, supply chain managers oversee a product’s entire life cycle.

Where Do Supply Chain Managers Work?

Because their work is so integral to both production and distribution, supply chain manager positions can be found at any major company. They are also available in more of a specialist capacity, working for third-party companies or transportation companies that offer their expertise in supply chain management. In addition to Norfolk Iron & Metal Co, companies like Amazon, Procter & Gamble, Apple, General Electric, Intel, and the United States Air Force lead the way in employing supply chain managers.

What Careers Are in Supply Chain Management?

As with metal careers in general, industrial metal supply careers have a little something for everyone. For those who enjoy the finesse of fabrication, operations positions are available. Analyst positions exist for all manner of expertise, including business, logistics, operations, research, and procurement. Management is needed for every level of the supply chain, including procurement, operations, logistics, purchasing, and distribution. Consulting positions are also available.Industrial Metal Supply Careers

Why a Career in Supply Chain?

Working in supply chain has an abundance of benefits. The industry is among those with the most rapid growth, so job prospects are good as labor is in demand. In fact, The Bureau of Labor Statistics cites supply chain jobs as growing at twice the rate of other jobs in the United States and other industry-relevant countries. That kind of job security is not likely to dwindle any time soon.

This is no wonder considering the crucial nature of the work supply chain management does. A supply chain manager oversees every phase of a product’s life cycle, beginning with planning and acquisition and continuing through distribution and delivery. The work supply chain managers do makes everyone else’s roles possible. Being so integral to the process makes the work they do fulfilling.

The field is also full of variety. Those with industrial metal supply careers get to work with every aspect of production, meaning that the possibility that every day holds something different is high. On the other hand, specialization is also available if prospective employees prefer to be hyper-focused.

Benefits are promising, including salaries at $60,000 for entry-level positions and median salaries closer to $82,000 or $90,000. The industry is also very resilient: according to BLS records, 95% of supply chain employees kept their jobs despite the uncertainty and shortages associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. A quarter of that force even received promotions, indicating that the opportunities for career growth are vast.Industrial Metal Supply Careers

Industrial Metal Supply Careers with Cd’A Metals

Part of Norfolk Iron & Metal Group, Cd’A Metals is a frontrunner in the metal supply industry. Cd’A Metals is at the top of their game to provide non-ferrous and carbon flat-rolled products, now with improved resources.

Being a part of the Norfolk Iron and Metal Group allows for a greater number of available industrial metal supply careers to support the company’s output. There is something for everyone looking to build a career in supply chain management or industrial metal supply in general. Those looking for a secure choice in their personal careers would do well to include Norfolk in their considerations.

Norfolk Iron & Metal to Name New Parent Organization

NORFOLK, NE, June 2, 2021 — Norfolk Iron & Metal, Co. (“Norfolk Iron”), a full-line steel service center, has announced the creation of NIM Group, a new parent identity for each of its brands:  Norfolk Iron and Metal, Metalwest, and Cd’A Metals.

In December 2018, Norfolk Iron acquired Metalwest, a leading processor and distributor of carbon and non-ferrous flat-rolled metal products with eight locations across the U.S.

Norfolk Iron expanded again in December 2020, with the acquisition of Cd’A Metals, a full-line service center and supplier with three locations serving the inland Northwest.

The creation of the new parent identity provides a structure that will support continued growth of existing geographies as well as future acquisitions.

“We are excited to have an identity that encompasses our family of companies, current and future,” said Arnie Robinson, NIM Group president and COO. “With NIM Group providing many of the corporate functions for our operating brands, our commercial teams can focus on expanding our product and geographic reach in support of future growth.”

Norfolk Iron & Metal Closes Acquisition of Cd’A Metals

Norfolk Iron & Metal, Co. (“NIM”), a full-line steel service center, and The Coeur d’Alenes Company (Cd’A Metals), a full-line metal service center in the Inland Northwest, jointly announced today that NIM completed the acquisition of Cd’A Metals on December 31, 2020.

The acquisition complements NIM’s market coverage, adding three new locations in the Northwest, and further expanding NIM’s product lines and processing capabilities.  The NIM family of companies now has sixteen locations stretching from New Jersey to Washington with daily deliveries to customers in thirty states.

“We are pleased to welcome the Cd’A Metals team to the NIM family,” Arnie Robinson, President and COO of NIM, said. “We are very excited to follow the 2018 addition of Metalwest with this acquisition. Cd’A Metals is a great fit to continue our growth and investment in the Western United States.”

Heritage Capital Group served as financial advisor, and Witherspoon Kelley provided legal services, to Cd’A Metals.  Abrahams Kaslow & Cassman LLP is acting as legal counsel to NIM.

About Cd’A Metals

Cd’A Metals is a full-line metal service center and supplier, headquartered in Spokane, Washington. With three locations across the Inland Northwest, the company provides bar and structural steel, plate and sheet products, as well as ornamental iron. Founded in 1884, Cd’A Metals has offered over a century of processing expertise to the metals industry and is a member of the Metal Service Center Institute (MSCI) and the North American Steel Alliance. For more information, visit www.cdametals.com.

About Norfolk Iron & Metal Norfolk Iron & Metal, Co. (NIM) is a full-line steel service center headquartered in Norfolk, Nebraska. It is one of the nation’s largest and most technologically advanced steel providers. In 2018, NIM acquired Metalwest, a leading processor and distributor of non-ferrous and carbon flat rolled metal products. With 13 locations across the U.S., NIM’s warehouses are stocked with more than 3,000 items including carbon steel beams, angles, channels, flat-roll sheet and coil, plate, and tubing. NIM has been a family-run business since 1908 and is a member of MSCI. For more information, visit www.norfolkiron.com.