Montana goes Bare Naked!
Montana Business Directory
A Conversation with Alli ReauVeau, President of Steel IQ.Inc
Wednesday, 21 April 2010 07:09
Business: Steel IQ, Inc
Principals: Alli ReauVeau, President/Education Specialist
Location: Arizona, Ships Nationally
On the web: Steel IQ.com
Description of Business:
Steel IQ™, Inc., is the largest mill direct distributor of roofing grade 22GA, with the lowest carbon footprint in the USA.
Bare Naked Steel™ COR-10 A606 Type 4 & Cold Roll A1008 in the USA.
Why is Montana right for your business/product?
The topography and the rich culture of mountain living is ideal for Bare Naked Steel™. Steep slope roofs are usually metal and the rustic weathered steel blends well with the mountain providing an aesthetically pleasing option.
What was the last business book you have read?
Philosophy of sustainable design, by Jason McLennan. Attended his seminar in Boise Idaho hosted by the USGBC Idaho Chapter: Beyond LEED: The Living Building Challenge with Jason F. McLennan. We attend US GreenBuild Expo and SW GreenBuild Expo.
What technologies are important in the business?
How steel produced “ore to the door”!
Electric Arc Furnace Technology at the mill level. EAF‘s use 67% less coal and 40% less energy and 100% domestic metal scrap. This produces a greener product. The steel we provide is 70% recycled content and is made in the USA using the EAF.
What term best describes the company’s management philosophy and why?
Entrepreneurial, we are a small company that began servicing independent roll formers and once that option was exhausted, we began focusing on GreenBuild movement-which is more inline with our personal philosophy of product selection.
How do you define success?
Success is compensation, however our spirit of success lie in our personal investment into people and the Planet. We educate on green steel and advocate for the use of local contractors. Knowledge is power and using that knowledge to advance the health and wealth of all humans is what real success is.
In your current position, describe your proudest achievement?
We are proud to have formulated a business model that concentrates on “green”. We offer a wider variety of panels in the “Bare Naked Steel”, that cannot be run on the same machines as a painted product, saving them the investment in additional machinery.
We focus on co-creating with the local economy and provide an environmental option to a client’s already thriving business. We do not install so we directly support the roofing trades and builders in the area.
Describe the challenges you face?
Perception! Large manufacturers like Metal Sales, ASC and Fabral buy imported steel. It is cheap and has a huge negative impact on both the environment and economy. These large companies often have product lines that service the end user. This has a negative impact as both are competing for the same jobs.
We offer a green roofing product line with the best margin available for the local steel companies. More over, we are willing to sell the trim in slit coil form allowing the fabricators to create the trim on site, gaining higher margin and highlighting their craft. You will not find any one else willing to do that for the local companies.
We are committed to working with the local community not against it. However, some perceive as a threat to their market. This is simply narrow thinking. There is more power in collaboration than competition. We just have to educate!
Future growth and outlook:
The future is so bright we have to wear sunglasses as the song goes. We see green building and design as something that will define the century. The creativity that is driving this change is going to change the world. We are grateful to be a part of such a historical event.
Advice you would like to share?
Think “ore to the door”. We have spent 5 years directly working with steel mills. We have created Steel IQ™, Inc to not only distribute the Bare Naked Steel™ product line but also educate on the facts about steel. The global market and cheap steel imports threaten the USA’s manufacturing and building industry. We are focused on the big picture and the local markets that we can influence in a professional and progressive way.
Montana has many roll formers and roofing suppliers and we seek to advance their thinking. We can actually improve their business due to the margin we can offer.
From the perspective of the roofer, we offer a completely new product line, which they can now offer and gain business that was previously unavailable to them.
From the perspective of the designer’s-architects, we offer them an exotic metal that is gaining the admiration of both rustic and modern design.
From the perspective of the consumer, the historical significance of this product is breathing new life in to it. 100 years ago, this steel was as much a part of the landscape as the trees that have been replaced with ugly buildings that obstruct the beauty of Montana. The preservation of using bare steel and other local building products and talent is a noble a noble cause.
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