The economy’s impact on steel manufacturing

Q. How has the accelerated contraction of the U.S. greenhouse industry impacted the use of your company’s products in greenhouse construction?
A. We remain a leading supplier of tubular products with decades of service life to the industry. Our success in the greenhouse industry hinges on the success of our structures partners. We have seen some sharp declines as projects push out, get put on hold or get shelved completely. The economics for growers presents a challenge that we all are facing. However, as the industry evolves, Allied is positioned to evolve and continue to be an integral part to the greenhouse structures community.

Q. How have foreign steel imports impacted Allied’s sales to the greenhouse industry?
A. Foreign steel tube imports are playing less of a role in recent quarters due to ITC rulings on instituted import tariffs. Major factors the steel indstury is facing are the lack of volume and capacity issues by steel mills. The automotive industry has a major impact on steel mill capacity and production. Consolidation over recent years has given more credence to price-to-volume controls, as we have seen significant upswings and downturns in steel pricing.

Q. Gatorshield is over 30 years old. Has Allied introduced new products for geenhouse use?
A. Allied Tube was built on creative, technologically advanced production processes. Gatorshield is a prime example, and still a core product in our portfolio. Recently, we rolled out a new product branded as Flo-Form. We have essentially taken the coatings expertise of inline galvanizing and applied it to open shape profiles. Flo-Form angles and channels are fully capable as structural support components in greenhouse structures and complementary to our Gatorshield tube products.

For more: Allied Tube & Conduit (Mechanical Group), (800) 882-5543; www.alliedtube.com.