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Master Distribution Q&A with Mike Stanwood
Multalloy sets itself apart with exotic alloy offering
BY MARY JO MARTIN Editorial director
A
s demand for the specialty alloy pipe, fitting and flange products continues to grow,
so has master distributor Multalloy. In 1991 Mike Stanwood, as part of the Jemison Group, founded the con- cept of Multalloy, which now serves distributor customers in the pulp and paper, power generation, food, phar- maceutical, chemical refining and petrochemical markets through seven stocking locations and sales offices around the U.S. Most distributors do not stock spe- cialty alloys and do not have enough
wrong decision you could end up with stock no one will buy... Vendors rely on master
“In the high stainless and nickel alloy business, if you make the
distributors such as Multalloy to provide quality feedback on the products they produce...”
volume to justify going to a mill to get into the specialty alloy business. Many of these alloys require special specifications and testing — which makes many of them tedious to pur- chase, much less stock. Each branch is responsible for an
area of the country and will utilize management for purchasing and co- ordinating inquiries across the Mul- talloy divisions for distributor customers. Currently, Multalloy has over 200 employees and carries 15 different alloys in pipe, fittings, flanges and some select valves. Mul- talloy, being an original special alloy master distributor model, believes that few other businesses are able to stock as many specialized alloys in as many sizes across such a wide foot- print. Because many of the distribu- tors who buy from Multalloy deal with large refining operations like Exxon, Dow and Shell, Multalloy stocks product lines that meet the Ap- proved Manufacturer Lists (AML) of these major “End Users.” Stanwood, a 36-year industrial
PVF veteran, continues to serve as president of the company. He is ably assisted by Rebecca Sanders, Multal- loy Central region manager; Jim Rid- ing, Multalloy Western region manager; Greg Ogburn, Eastern re- gion manager; and Jeff Legrand, Group regional manager, who all share divisional responsibilities. Stanwood recently provided The
ances of industrial PVF market, they continuously learn new aspects of this specialized industry themselves. Most of the employees start in the warehouse learning the products by stocking and pulling orders. They then move on to inside sales and cross train in purchasing to maximize the efficiency of the operation. This process can take three to four years,
•THE WHOLESALER® — JUNE 2011
Wholesaler editorial director Mary Jo Martin some keen insight into the company’s operations. *********
MJM:How important is it for your employees to be able to offer techni- cal assistance to your customers? Stanwood: Our employees pro-
vide technical assistance in the exotic alloy grades by first knowing the gen- eral characteristics (alloy make up), and the specifications (ASME, ANSI, etc.) to which the individual product was manufactured. The nature of the alloys Multalloy
carries will generally be applied to a high pressure, high temperature or corrosive flow within a system that has a specific design and specific bill of materials designated by the end user engineers/metallurgist. So most of the technical hurdles are alleviated by the time of order. However, stocking the correct alloys and products takes sig- nificant purchasing knowledge on the front end. That is where inside sales and purchasing, communicating with each other and a deep knowledge of the manufacturing specifications, help the customer base procure the right material the first time. While Multalloy has no formal
Multalloy’s Houston pipeyard is stocked with product that is part of more than 15 different alloys from hundreds of vendors, most of which are pre-qualified. and listed on the major refining companies’ AMLs.
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training programs in place, we in- stead heavily rely on our seasoned veteran employees and their deep in- dustry experience. These employees not only train new hires in the nu-
but it ensures an ever-evolving organ- ization. MJM: How important are rela- tionships with your suppliers? Stanwood: In some cases, vendor
relationships go back to the begin- ning of Multalloy. In others, they go even further, as many of our purchas- ing personnel worked with the same vendors before Multalloy was started. Multalloy vendors are important part- ners as they rely on a true master dis- tributor to help steady a volatile market. Purchasing for Multalloy in- volves reviewing a countless number of variables, which must all be con- sidered before making the purchase. In the high stainless and nickel
alloy business, if you make the wrong decision you could end up with stock no one will buy — and a significant portion of operating capital tied up for a long period of time. Conversely, vendors want to maximize through- put of finished products and manu- facturing an oddball size, quantity or alloy destroys their efficiencies. Ven- dors rely on master distributors such as Multalloy to provide quality feed- back on the products they produce in exotic alloys especially because of the short runs and low production rates associated with them. MJM: How do you evaluate po-
tential new suppliers and what is the process you go through when adding (Turn to Extensive... page 24.)
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