"It's definitely not business as usual" at Integris Metals, says Harry Jones, president and chief executive of North America's newest metals distribution giant. And it's not just because Minneapolis-based managers are adjusting to a metalworking marketplace just exiting a lengthy recession. It's also because they are still coordinating the buying and inventory systems and the processing and distribution operations at more than 60 facilities in 32 states and six provinces of Canada.

After all, Integris Metals is less than six months old and was created as a multi-million-dollar provider of stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass and nickel-based alloys to more than 35,000 customers in such market sectors as transportation, general manufacturing, machinery and equipment, and building and construction. The company provides processing services including cutting-to-length, leveling, slitting, precision blanking, heat treating and polishing of mill products such as sheet, plate, bar, shapes, tube and pipe. Integris Metals also sells copper roofing and AlumaKlad and ColorKlad lines of prepainted architectural metals.

Integris Metals jumped into the third spot of PURCHASING Magazine's Top 100 metals service centers late in 2001 when BHP Billiton Group's North American metals distribution businesses, Vincent Metal Goods in the U.S. and Atlas Ideal Metals in Canada, merged with Alcoa Inc.'s metals distribution business, Reynolds Aluminum Supply Co. "Every year, the three firms have sold millions of pounds of material in most sizes, shapes and types.

"We're going to get all the internal synergies coordinated, but not at the risk of damaging customer service," according to Jones. That's why "special emphasis has been taken to keep customer service levels up during this period of organization." And he insists that even the creation of a single buying organization under Purchasing Vice President Mike Reichenbacher and the development of a single sales and marketing group under Sales and Marketing Service Vice President Bob Bell "is being done to eliminate inefficiencies that could add costs and could jeopardize service for the customers."

For example, the company's procurement groups are being remolded and reconfigured so that purchasing director Ernie Taylor and his staff will have immediate access to all historical buying data and current customer and product-specific forecasts for the various metals. "We are enhancing the functionality of both sales and purchasing systems so we will always have what the customers want and need available in our facilities, no matter where they are located," Jones explains.

Jones points out he is "well aware of the trend among industrial buyers to reduce their supply bases" and adds that "we don't want buyers voting on this merger with their feet." For that reason, he adds, "we will focus totally on a key fundamental, the needs of customers." The restructuring and retraining of Integris Metals' sales force includes the coordination of the outside and inside sales personnel on the same information technology systems, Jones adds. "It's got them playing off the same sheet of music."