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Manufacturing a new identity: to thrive in a changing steel industry, Dennen Steel has modified its position as a traditional service center with a bold foray into contract manufacturing.

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IN 1995, 30,000 COMPANIES supplied parts to the automotive industry. Ten years later, the number was down to 10,000. By 2010, experts say, there will only he 4,000. "That's indicative of what's going on in our world," says Andrew Dennen, president and CEO of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Dennen Steel Corp.

Fortunately for this family-owned West Michigan service center, the company has taken steps to ensure its future in the rapidly changing steel supply chain. While continuing to distribute steel, Dennen is betting its future not just on value-added processing, but on contract manufacturing, specifically stamping.

"We are constantly looking into the future and saying, what do we want to be when we grow up?" Andrew Dennen says. "That's a question that's been in our minds as we've seen our business change."

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Their response to the market's shifting conditions came out of extensive discussions with the company's advisory board.

"We talked about how the environment around us was changing, and we came up with a future-state business that we feel can allow us to grow--not just in terms of revenue but in importance to key customers and outside the Western Michigan marketplace," Dennen says.

Traditionally, Dennen has served primarily as a supplier of slit coil to various types of manufacturers. But throwing themselves into contract manufacturing was a logical step, in part because the company already had four large stamping presses in place.

The company actually has more presses than...

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