Steelmarketing.net, a transaction fee-based steel buying service, has been phased out and replaced with SteelBoss.com, a subscription-based electronic auction service. Steel Marketing Inc. of The Woodlands, Texas, says SteelBoss will give buyers "expanded access to the worldwide supply chain in steel."

Ken Hensey, president of Steel Marketing, believes SteelBoss "will be a revolutionary step in the evolution of the way steel companies buy and sell their products." The new service will offer members inexpensive access to live contact with private supplier and customer groups and the ability to access thousands of other members in the Steel Marketing network.

He says SteelBoss members will have accountability and documentation of transactions along with organizational tools to reduce transaction times, thus lowering transactions costs. Members also will have a choice of anonymity or making their identities known at any time during negotiations in order to speed the transactions process.