Staying competitive top concern for producers

May 22, 2012 | 02:24 PM | Catherine Ngai

Tags  wire, wire rod, John W. Martin III, Mar-Mac Wire, Milton Magnus, M&B Hangers, Walt Robertson III, Johnstown Wire Technologies Wire Rod Supply Chain Conference

DALLAS — Facing continued imports of downstream wire and wire products, U.S. manufacturers are either joining the trend and buying foreign material or experiencing increasing competitive difficulties, according to industry executives.

"We sell finished goods into the concrete construction industry. We had always sold at a premium, and when imports came in I had to study it for a few years," John W. Martin III, chief executive officer of McBee, S.C.-based Mar-Mac Wire Inc., said at the Wire Rod Supply Chain Conference in Dallas sponsored by AMM and the American Wire Producers Association. "We responded differently than most people. Some think we went to the dark side—we started importing the very products that we were manufacturing. That’s how we dealt with....