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Article Excerpt
Editor's note: Four copper industry executives offered their insights on the past, present and future of the red metals market during the Copper & Brass Servicenter Association's annual meeting last month in Aventura, Fla. Featured speakers included: Robert Brookes Jr., president, E. Jordan Brookes Co., Santa Fe Springs, Calif; Joseph Walton, president and CEO, Williams Metals & Welding Alloys Inc., Wayne, Pa.; Daniel Becker, president, AJ Oster Co., Warwick, R.I.; and Frank Kevane, CEO, Copper and Brass Sales, Southfield, Mich. The panel was moderated by Metal Center News Editor-in-Chief Tim Triplett.
RECORD-HIGH METAL PRICES, consolidation among suppliers and competitors, weak demand in key markets and general concern about the economy brought a cautionary mood to last month's CBSA conference. CBSA members--both mills and service centers--clearly feel challenged by conditions in the copper market.
Offering a historical perspective, panelist Bob Brookes of E. Jordan Brookes Co. noted that today's market is a far cry from the bullish scenario of a decade ago.
"Service centers were adding processing equipment and inventory to keep up with demand. Big distributors were expanding by buying midsize companies. Personal relationships with mills and customers were the keys to distributors' success. Copper was priced around a dollar. It was a time of euphoria that was projected to never end."
Today, consolidation continues, but big distributors are swallowing little firms at bargain prices. There is a blurring of business lines between mills and distributors, and therefore a blurring of relationships. Cost-cutting demands have truncated training programs and application development. Weaker companies are no longer reinvesting in the future, but just trying to stay solvent. Everyone...
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