Better together: delivering shared value
In Outokumpu, Webco found a company with the same values, rigorous standards, and focus on forever. Kyle Ingram, the vice president of Webco’s Tech Center and leader of their stainless engineering efforts, describes their multi-pronged relationship:
“Outokumpu is one of our strongest partnerships, and it’s not just a commercial relationship — we also have a technical relationship; we have quality relationships; we have marketing relationships.”
For 30 years, their unique, complementary partnership has enabled innovation on a scale that spans industries and drives customer success for the sake of a better future. Their relationship is marked by honest, open communication and the combination of their greatest respective strengths. Webco’s Tech Center offers critical quality, testing and variation data, which they pass to Outokumpu for product improvement. Webco customers operate within long workups, demanding deadlines, and tight tolerances. The stakes and financial investments are high. So Outokumpu proactively addresses evolving customer concerns and demands and even provides logistical support. As Webco President David Boyer explained,
“We have our engineering teams talking to their engineering teams. We have sales and purchasing guys working together. We have logistics people working together. We have our executive management teams come together and align around things that are important. It’s all cross pollination. I think that’s what makes it work.”
Webco is one of the world’s leading producers of laser seam-welded tubing. Webco’s unique approach and requirements, whether in the gas & oil industry or elsewhere, are under constant consideration by Outokumpu. Kyle Ingram reported on Outokumpu’s ability to deliver value, no matter the customer or industry,
“We have some product that has to be the best, cleanest, most premier steel in the world. In other spaces, it’s something different — it’s a mechanical property or a cleanliness or a surface roughness. Whatever it may be, we’re constantly trying to increase the strength of our tube and reduce the gauge of the material. They understand that, and they know how to deliver it.”
The value of a global footprint
As Outokumpu’s global footprint has grown, specifically in Europe and North America, it’s brought sourcing closer to Webco and their customers, helping support Webco’s primary aims. According to David Boyer,
“At Webco, we are committed to serving demanding customers in specialized markets where precision, performance, and reliability matter most. Our strength lies in helping customers meet highly specific technical requirements and critical delivery expectations. Having Outokumpu as a supplier-partner that is deeply committed to the North American market has enabled us to deliver on those expectations. Beyond the technical synergy of our relationship, Outokumpu has worked collaboratively with us on innovative supply-chain efforts, which help improve delivery responsiveness and reliability. By working closely with a company that shares our commitment to innovation, customer service, and niche market focus, we are better positioned to deliver exceptional value to the world.”
As a result, the trust, intentionality and benefits of Webco and Outokumpu’s relationship have only grown over time.
The future is built on collaboration today
Most industries are at a crossroads. The only way forward is to fundamentally challenge what’s possible. The means to do so is grounded in relentless collaboration, the willingness to do hard things, and a focus on forever. Donnie Holder, Webco’s vice president of strategic sourcing and global trade affairs affirmed,
“Being a forever company allows you to focus on the long-term. In doing that, our decision-making process is different. The long-term relationships with our customers are different. The relationships with our suppliers are different. We’re not focused on today; we’re focused on what’s the right answer years into the future.”
Partnering to pioneer the future is also the most effective way to ensure Webco and Outokumpu provide the utmost value to customers, build sustainability into every aspect of their operations, and do the next right thing, today and every day after.