The Ultimate Steel Buying Guide

The Ultimate Steel Buying Guide

Steel is one of the most used building materials in the world today, for several different things including automobiles, buildings, appliances, and more. It is one of the strongest metals available, and it includes benefits such as being very light and inexpensive to transport, having exceptional fire-resistance properties, and being very eco-friendly, which makes it a popular choice for many different applications. There are several different ways that you can purchase from Wasatch Steel, including new steel, surplus steel, and used steel, so this will serve as your ultimate buying guide.

Buying New Steel

New steel is one option for contractors and manufacturers alike. The biggest advantage of purchasing new steel is that it will have the “clean” steel look, with a shiny silver exterior and few imperfections, if any. This is often used in cases where it is necessary to have a very clean and prestigious look, including medical equipment at a hospital, and when it’s used for decorative purposes to give a building or a space an industrial kind of feeling.

There is also a need for brand new steel in cases such as food production equipment, where the items must be sanitary and clean for all uses. In fact, steel is often used for medical equipment or food production precisely because it is so easy to clean and keep sanitary.

Buying Used Steel

Another way to buy is used steel—and there are a couple of different ways you can get this type. The first is to get it after it’s been recycled and formed into new steel. One of the benefits of using steel for your building or other projects is its ability to be melted and recycled almost infinitely without losing any of its strength or other properties. In fact, since it can be so easily and readily recycled, steel is one of the most recycled items in the world today. If you’re looking for an eco-friendly option for your next project, recycled steel has the same strength properties and can be a great option to keep you on budget.

The second way to get used steel is to get it as scrap metal and refashion it for whatever your project is. This is a great option if you are able to weld it to the exact specifications that you need, and you can usually find scrap metal for a great price to help you keep the price of your project affordable.

Buying Excess Prime Steel

The final option for buying steel is to buy surplus steel, which is also sometimes referred to as “excess prime” steel. This type of steel is actually just like new, except that it doesn’t quite look like new. There are several things that can happen to a batch of brand new steel during its transportation from the steel mill to the end user. If there are any problems along the way, and the steel no longer looks like new, it has to be sold as surplus.

In many cases, this surplus steel or excess prime product has never been used, but because it has some freight damage, or a little bit of rust or oxidation from getting wet, it is significantly less than brand new steel. In fact, often you can save as much as 30-40% off the brand new price by buying excess prime.

When you need the best excess prime, used, or even new steel tubes, plates, beams, and more, you can find it all at the steel supermarket at Wasatch Steel.