Second City Metals is a national steel distributor that sells 60-inch coil for rectangular duct and slit coil for spiral-duct manufacturers in galvanized, galvannealed, perforated, stainless, aluminum, aluminized, and polyvinyl-coated coils and sheets. In addition, the company sells spiral tube formers and all replacement parts for spiral tube formers.

Second City Metals sells mainly to the HVAC industry. Despite the segment’s struggles, Second City Metals said it continues to add new customers with aggressive and persistent marketing.

"Just this year we’ve added several customers that we’ve been in contact with for over seven (or) eight years," said company President Joe Landry. "Of course having competitive prices does help."

To save customers money, Second City Metals added a Midwest mill a year ago, which eliminated excess freight. As a midsize company in a very competitive industry, Second City Metals has been able to survive the ups and downs over the past 13 years.

Second City Metals said it believes that even in a soft market like today, it’s important to have a strong relationship with your suppliers.

"We’ve always looked at our vendors as an integral component of being successful," Landry said. "Of course you have to have customers to survive but having a strong relationship with your vendors is crucial. We’ve almost been loyal to a fault with our vendors but we have a loyal customer base so we want to practice what we preach."

Those without a strong relationship with their steel supplier will pay for it, Landry said, adding that he likes Second City Metals’ position going forward. In essence, Second City Metals is managing their customers’ inventory by purchasing more when steel prices are expected to increase and buying less when prices are expected to drop.

"Even though I feel relationships drive business, pricing ultimately seems to be the deciding factor for most sheet metal shops," he said.

Reprinted from Snips September 2013

August 1, 2010

Chicago-based Second City Metals recently celebrated 10 years in business.

The national steel distributor sells 60-inch coil for rectangular duct and slit coil for spiral duct manufacturers in galvanized, galvannealed, perforated, stainless, aluminum, aluminized and polyvinyl-coated coils and sheets.

Second City Metals was established 10 years ago as a galvanized steel supplier for spiral manufacturers. It soon became a one-stop shop for spiral manufacturers by supplying all metal manufactured on a spiral machine.

After becoming a premier steel supplier for prime steel to spiral manufacturers, the company added 60-inch coil six years ago to those customers who manufacture rectangular duct with coil lines.

“Once we made a name for ourselves as a prime steel supplier it was a natural progression to supply 60-inch coil in addition to slit coil because a lot of our customers have both spiral tube formers and coil lines,” said President Joe Landry.

“Both our five-year plan and now 10-year plan has paid off because we target a specific market and walk before we run.”

Second City Metals recently announced that they are supplying a full line of stamped fittings including elbows, saddle taps, bell mouth takeoffs, reducers, end caps and couplings.

“Being market specific allows us to grow our relationship with our current customers by supplying them with more of their HVAC needs,” Landry said. “SCM customers know that once we decide on supplying a product that they will always receive the best quality at a competitive price delivered quickly.”

“Reprinted from August Snips magazine”

Chicago-based Second City Metals recently celebrated nine years in business.

The national steel distributor sells 60-inch coil for rectangular duct and slit coil for spiral duct manufacturers in galvanized, galvannealed, perforated, stainless, aluminum, aluminized, and polyvinyl-coated coils and sheets.

“We understand that market conditions change and sometimes the market favors the steel distributors and other times the manufacturer (or) sheet metal shop is in the driver seat,” said President Joe Landry.

“A good of example of this was during the volatility of 2008 and 2009. Unlike most of our competitors, Second City Metals has been able to react quickly to a change in steel prices,” Landry said. “We were able to protect our customers when prices increased and take advantage of the opportunities when prices decreased. Either way, our customers benefited.

“We know our strengths and sell to a very specific market: customers with coil lines —rectangular duct — and customers with tube formers — spiral manufacturing. We don’t try to supply everything to everyone. We just try to be the best at what we do, which is supply coil to the HVAC industry.

"Growth is difficult to come by these days,” he added. “Although happy customers promote growth and Second City Metals has increased revenue in each of the nine years we’ve been in business. That’s a compliment to our strong customer base, which keeps us growing one customer at a time.”

The national steel distributor sells 60-inch coil for rectangular duct and slit coil for spiral duct manufacturers in galvanized, galvannealed, perforated, stainless, aluminum, aluminized, and polyvinyl-coated coils and sheets.

“Second City Metals has experienced double-digit growth every year since we’ve been in business. We have been consistent in executing our business plan of supplying prime steel to the HVAC market. In return we have been rewarded by being one of the premier steel distributors for the HVAC industry,” said Joe Landry, company president.

“The current market conditions have been very difficult for everyone because of limited supplies and increased pricing,” Landry added. “However, none of our customers have experienced a drop-off in service or quality. Because once we begin selling a customer they stay with us for the long term since they experience no delay in shipments or availability issues. Customers don’t leave us; they typically just rely on us to supply them with more of
their steel requirements.”

According to Landry, the combination of supplying rectangular customers with 60-inch coil and spiral manufacturers with slit coil has helped Second City Metals become the “one-stop” shop for the HVAC industry. HVAC companies with both a coil line and tube former can be handled by only one supplier — Second City Metals — which saves the HVAC company time and money.

“I had one customer recently tell me when he hears the name Second City Metals he thinks of a company that he knows he’ll receive prime quality on material that will arrive quickly and he won't have to worry about a thing,” said Landry.

The national steel distributor sells 60-inch coil for rectangular duct and slit coil for spiral duct manufacturers in galvanized, "Galvannealed", perforated, stainless, aluminum, aluminized, and polyvinyl-coated coils and sheets.

"Second City Metals was established 7 years ago by selling all products to spiral manufacturers," said Joe Landry, company president. "In addition, we just finished our third year of supplying 60-inch coil. Now 60-inch coil is the majority of our business. The combination of the two products has increased our business substantially over the last three years. Sales have increased over 60 percent in this year alone."

"By earning the trust of our customers over the years to provide a quality product at a competitive price, we've been able to position ourselves well in this competitive market," Landry said.

Reprinted from July 2007 Snips, a BNP publication

CHICAGO— Second City Metals is celebrating six years of business this year.

The national steel distributor sells 60-inch coil for rectangular duct and slit coil for spiral duct manufacturers in galvanized, "galvannealed", perforated, stainless, aluminum, aluminized, and polyvinyl-coated coils and sheets

"We established ourselves by supplying slit coil to spiral duct manufacturers six years ago," said Joe Landry,company president. "We now supply both 60-inch coil and slit coil on a consistent business to both spiral and rectangular manufacturers. HVAC is our main business and we're committed to make a name for ourselves by not substituting quality, price or delivery. That says a lot in today's volatile steel climate.”

Reprinted from August 2006 Snips, a BNP publication

CHICAGO - National steel distributor Second City Metals recently celebrated five years in business. The company sells 60-inch coil for rectangular duct and galvanized, "galvannealed", perforated, polyvinyl-coated coils and sheets, aluminum and aluminum-added steel to spiral-duct manufacturers.

"Our early success is attributed to the quality and service that we've been providing over the years," said Joe Landry, company president." In addition, by adding 60-inch coil our longterm goal of becoming a complete steel distributor for rectangular and spiral customers is being realized. Lastly, running a business with integrity means a lot to our loyal customer base."

Reprinted from August 2005 SNIPS, a BNP publication