The Benefits of Buying from Steel Wholesalers

There are a couple of different ways that you can purchase steel, and whenever you are in the market for any kind of steel, you can decide whether you want to buy from a steel mill (often just called a mill) or a steel wholesaler like Wasatch Steel. Here are some reasons you might prefer to buy from a wholesaler over the mill.

Steel Mills
Steel is made in mills in large quantities every day, and if you are in the market for a really big order of steel, this might be your best option for purchasing it. Going directly to the mill means you can cut out any “middleman” in the process, which might save you some money.

However, since they do produce a significant amount of steel every day—even small steel mills ship about 1 million tons of steel every year, which amounts to about 150 truckloads every day—you better be ready to buy it in big quantities. For the most part, steel mills only allow you to buy steel by the truckload, which will be the equivalent of about 20 to 24 tons, or 40,000-48,000 pounds of steel.

You will also need to plan ahead, since a steel mill often requires at least four weeks of lead time, and sometimes as long as 10 weeks to fulfill your order. Finally, mills often have only a small range of sizes available, which means you will need to be able to cut the steel to your preferred sizes.

Steel Wholesalers
Most people who aren’t buying steel for commercial construction purposes will instead purchase from a steel wholesalers, like the steel supermarket at Wasatch Steel. These wholesalers often carry a wide range of sizes and shapes to choose from, including some odds and ends that you might never find at a steel mill. In fact, large wholesalers like Wasatch Steel have a product line with several thousand different options available.

Along with a wide range of basic steel, such as sheet metal, beams, pipes, and more, places like Wasatch Steel offer additional services such as balusters for your next staircase project, ornamental steel, and tools that you might need when working with steel. Wasatch Steel also offers customers the opportunity to get any piece of steel cut to your exact specifications, and can often do it while you wait.

Finally, at places like the steel supermarket there are also plenty of opportunities to find special deals. Customers can often find excess prime and used steel in addition to brand new steel, giving you a choice of different price ranges and different aesthetic appeal for whatever your needs. These advantages give you many reasons to consider purchasing from a wholesaler instead of a service center or a steel mill.

Next time you are in the market for steel, consider the benefits that you get when purchasing from a wholesaler like Wasatch Steel. Not only can you find one of the largest selections of different shapes and sizes, you’ll also get top-notch service from the friendly staff at the steel supermarket.

Steel & Our Modern World

Steel is so engrained in our everyday lives today that we probably don’t ever really stop to think about what kind of world we would live in if we didn’t have it. Steel forms a kind of modern “backbone” for the world today, offering us the ability to do everything from build skyscrapers that are hundreds of stories high to transport goods by rail and road, and even eat prepared foods from clean, sterile surfaces. Without it, we would have a much different world today.

The History of Steel
Metal has been around in many forms for hundreds, even thousands of years—in fact, the first known iron in history was used in the Egyptian pyramids more than 5 centuries ago. Prior to the 1800s, though, it was mainly in the form of wrought iron or cast iron. These two metals, while very strong, were also extremely heavy and impractical for many uses where we implement steel today. In addition, the processes used to make iron back then would be astronomically expensive today.

After thousands of years of using metal forged from blacksmith shops, the mid-1800s brought a new method, introduced by Henry Bessemer of England and William Kelly of Kentucky (while they came up with the idea independent of one another, they began working together about 10 years later in the 1860s). By blowing air through iron, they could refine it and the ability to produce large volumes of steel relatively cheaply revolutionized the modern world.

Building with Steel

Through the late 1800s the demand for steel increased with the building of the transcontinental railway. This new method allowed the railroad companies to get steel at almost one-third the price they had previously paid, and they could get 3 times the volume in the same amount of time. A few decades later, the availability of this cheap, lightweight, strong metal fueled the growth of the automobile industry, when Henry Ford dreamed of making cars that were available and affordable enough for every man to own. It has allowed other visionaries to push the envelope on development, design, and inventions ever since.

Steel for Everyone

While steel is a favorite material for large construction projects, automobile, and bridges, it is also a great option for any kind of smaller or do-it-yourself project. The trouble is that it can be difficult to buy in smaller quantities. In fact, many steel mills require that your minimum order is several thousand tons just to get in the door. For the weekend warrior builder, or someone just looking for unique pieces of steel that will be used in an art project, this kind of requirement doesn’t work.

At Wasatch Steel, we know that buying in bulk isn’t for everyone. That is why we offer the ability to find just about every kind of steel you can image, all in one place, clearly labeled just like a supermarket. You can pick and choose your pieces, order in large or small quantities, and get exactly what you need to finish up that item that has been on your “to do” list for quite a while now.

Because Wasatch Steel offers new, used, and excess prime steel pieces (like-new steel that has been exposed to the elements or shows other signs of wear), you can find just what you need at a price point that will make your wallet happy. Don’t miss out on all the benefits that steel has to offer in this modern world—check out the steel supermarket today to start buying steel.