Alliance Steel, LLC Celebrates One Year In New Location

On May 15, 2020, amidst a global pandemic, Alliance Steel LLC, a flat-rolled supply, and coil processing leader, made its official move from Bedford Park, IL, to Gary, Indiana.

Alliance Steel’s headquarters and processing plant occupies 300,000 square feet of steel sales, state-of-the-art processing, and distribution space, strategically located by major highways, mills, and ports.

Celebrating their first anniversary in Gary, Indiana, President and CEO Andrew Gross talks about teamwork, continuous improvements, and future goals.

When asked, “How are you feeling one year into the relocation”? Gross replied, “They say one of the most stressful times in life is having to move! Well, multiply that by 10, and I think that would be the equivalent of moving a large company. I cannot explain how proud I am of the entire Alliance Steel team to have accomplished this massive move and now, one year later, running like a well-oiled machine. I continue to be excited about where Alliance Steel is headed with our foot solidly on the gas pedal! It is part of our philosophy to keep moving forward”.

Alliance Steel believes that you need a supply–chain partner you can rely on in the often - unpredictable world of manufacturing. Their philosophy is rooted around the 6 Pillars of Success. These include Systems and Technologies, Expanding Capacities, Partnerships, Creativity, Quality, and Doing the Right Thing.

In continuing with their 6 Pillars of Success, Alliance has continuously upgraded their offices and plant throughout the past year. Including upgrading slitting capacities to include their new .500” x 84” Heavy Gauge Slitter, adding 150’ of a powered conveyor to increase efficiency in packaging and shipping, increasing their fabrication sector, and importantly achieving a 5S Lean Manufacturing status by the end of the second quarter.

“We are a progressive company; we are continuously moving forward,” states Gross.

“We are currently focusing on three areas of growth. Our primary goal is to constantly improve our customer service (experience) and on-time delivery. Secondly, increase our toll processing utilization efficiencies and simultaneously expand our workforce into three complete shifts. Alliance Steel’s Fabrication division will also be expanding strongly over the next several years. We have moved into small parts fabrication to help our customers fill their needs by allowing them to lean on Alliance and to aid them with their internal capacity issues”.

In 2018, when the steel service center publicly announced its move to Gary, Indiana, it also reported that it would bring over 100 new jobs to the city of Gary; to date, they have exceeded that goal with over 145 jobs.

Last year the company intended to have a Grand Opening event to celebrate their move/expansion. However, due to COVID – 19, it was postponed. Alliance Steel plans to celebrate by having a first-anniversary open house. “We welcome all tours,” says Gross. “I am in love with the way the offices turned out, but the plant layout and improved efficiencies turned out equally as well. You won’t see another steel service center like this, and I am proud of that”.

One thing is for sure; Andy Gross is exceptionally proud of his team at Alliance Steel. Not only did the team face COVID-19, but they also faced fluid market conditions head-on. 

“How do you feel the team has navigated covid and the market environments in the past year”?

“Exceptionally well, their efforts were extraordinary considering the overall environment of the market. We proved that through good teamwork and proper direction that a great group of employees can press through even the most difficult of times.”, states Gross.

Lastly, when asked, “is there anything you would change” Gross replied, “Overall, not really, certainly if I could do it over, it would not have been in the face of a pandemic. So, I guess timing would be the only change. However, Gary, Indiana is an excellent place to work; come on over!