by championnewspaper.com
December 12, 2011
SteelMart, a full-service steel center, recently announced the opening of a 60,000-square-foot facility in DeKalb County. The new location, a foreclosed on property on Lawrenceville Highway, will more than quadruple the company’s current space and bring jobs and growth to DeKalb County, according to SteelMart’s owner partners.
Owners say they will spend the next five months renovating the property. “You won’t recognize it when we’re through,” co-owner Brian Satisky said.
Founded in 1993, SteelMart produces steel products for the building industry. In a market that has been hurt by the recession, SteelMart is on track to have its most profitable year yet, the partners say. Satisky said the market for steel has remained stable in recent years. “The pie hasn’t gotten any bigger, but we’re getting a bigger piece of the pie,” he said.
“Our formula is simple—do what you say you are going to do; take care of the customers, vendors and the employees and always remain humble,” Satisky said. “If a customer needs a piece of steel on Saturday we’ll run it out to them. Customers know they can rely on us.”
“When we got started Brian and I would invest 90 cents out of every dollar we made back into the company. Our take home would be literally five cents on the dollar. But we believed in what we were doing and thankfully it has paid off,” said co-owner Paul Carling.
Carling grew up in DeKalb County, where he attended Lakeside High School. He and Satisky met as fraternity brothers at the University of Georgia. Carling was majoring in marketing, Satisky in pre-law.
“I thought I wanted to be a lawyer,” Satisky recalled. “I took a job with a law firm and hated it. Paul invited me to join him in the steel business. I did and I’ve never regretted it.”
They began working together at SteelMart in 1996 with nothing more than a truckload of rusty steel, a forklift and a torch. In 1997 they hired their first employee. The company has been profitable every year since 1997. It has been named to INC Magazine’s Fastest Growing list three times in the past five years and owners say they are on pace to have their best year to date.
SteelMart warehouses and sell angles, channels, tubes, pipes, plates, sheets, flats, expanded metals, beams, ornamental iron, decking and other products. The company’s services include shearing, forming, saw cutting, punching, drilling, plate burning and decking.
Currently SteelMart operates out of four locations. The new facility will combine three locations allowing the company to bring the operations into one spot. The Gainesville location will remain a full service facility. Owners say combining the three locations better uses resources, as well as expands operations. They add the move will bring 50 jobs to DeKalb with new hires planned for the immediate future.
“Moving to DeKalb will change our company for the better. We are so grateful for this exciting opportunity; we want to pass on our good fortune to our new neighborhood. We look forward to being good corporate citizens and to give back in many ways, starting with bringing much needed jobs to the area.” Satisky said.
