As published in The Repository
Canton, Ohio
January 31, 2000

Businessman develops system guaranteeing scrap steel quality

By EDD PRITCHARD
Repository business writer

JACKSON TWP. -- Ed Norris got to be pretty good at guessing the quality and chemical content of the scrap steel that companies would sell to the Timken Co.

But even a good guess can be wrong. When the material isn't what you had hoped it would be, it can lead to an expensive mistake.

"Steel mills just can't do that. There's too much money at stake, Norris said.

There had to be an alternative to guessing. Norris believed that with a computer and numerical modeling, he could develop a process to reduce the guessing and guarantee the quality of the scrap steel that manufacturers are buying.

A lot of things needed to fall into place, Norris said. He took a leave o absence from Timken and worked at developing his idea. Four years later, Norris can smile and say, "My theories were right."

Working with local scrap supplier Philip Services, Norris has developed an engineered grade of scrap steel -- he calls it Smart Scrap -- to match the customer's needs. The process guarantees the steel company receives an accurate analysis of a scrap shipment.

Value-added service

Norris now operates Ferrous Solutions. The small company -- the staff comprises Norris, his daughter, Heather, and furnace operator George Williams -- provides value-added services for Timken and other steel companies in Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

Ferrous Solutions serves as the middleman between the steel company and the scrap seller. Norris has to convince the steel company that he can provide an accurate profile of the scrap material being sold. He also must find a scrap supplier willing to mix and test the material.

Ferrous Solutions and Philip Services - formerly Luntz Corp. - have managed to develop a great partnership for selling the Smart Scrap product to Timken, said Tim Valentine, who handles steel scrap shipments for Philip Services.

"We've been able supply them with a very consistent, high-quality grade of scrap," Valentine said. "Every time they get a train carload, it's exactly what we say it is."

Working with Ferrous has allowed Philip Services to add a grade of steel scrap, Valentine said. It has also made Philip Services' product more valuable to Timken and other steel companies.

Scrap metal collected from old cars, used appliances and other sources is a key ingredient in any new steel melted at mills around the country. Steel makers mix a variety of metals with iron to make different grades of steel. When scrap is used, the steel company looks for steel matching the grade they intend to make.

That can lead to the guessing game, Norris said. While working as an operations scrap analyst for Timken, Norris met with a lot of scrap salesmen who promised a certain type of steel but couldn't always live up to their promises. If the scrap load isn't what the steel maker expected, 100 tons of new steel can end being scrap before it's ever used, he said.

To avoid the mistakes, Norris coordinates with the scrap suppliers. Philip Services, for example, grinds cars and other products daily, then sorts the grindings into different grades.

Norris visits the scrap yard regularly and collects 2-pound samples of the grades. Williams melts the samples in a furnace to make small blocks of steel that are tested for chemical make-up.

Materials are stored at the scrap yard according to chemical composition information that Norris has collected. When a customer comes to Philip Services seeking a specific kind of scrap, Valentine's crews can select the specific grindings that match the order.

The process helped steel companies meet the exacting demand of their customers, Norris said. Knowing the chemistry and using numerical modeling helps him find a solution. "Everything is tangible."

Factory as classroom

Norris learned the steel business from the bottom up during his 24 years at Timken.

He started work in the Harrison Steel plant in 1972, fresh out of Washington High School. Norris had considered attending college, but he was drawn to the paying job in Timken's mills.

Entering a steel mill, seeing the size and nature of the operation left him awed. "I couldn't believe there would be railroad trains going through buildings."

But the factory became Norris' classroom.

After a few months, he moved from a general labor job to an inspection job. Then he trained as an electrician, became a journeyman and repaired equipment. When an opportunity presented itself, Norris said he asked and often was given the opportunity.

"Nobody gets anywhere by themselves," he said. "I've had help."

He moved into the operations scrap analyst job in 1988. By then Norris also had learned about computers and programming. He paired that knowledge with his background in numerical modeling.

As operations scrap analyst Norris learned that making steel is as much an art as it is a science. It's also like cooking in the kitchen. Each type of steel has a recipe, with a few added special ingredients mixed in to make the product right.

Some steel companies have thousands of recipes written up on little cards, just as cooks file their specialties in a recipe box.

With that in mind, Norris began working with Richard Gillooly, who has a business called Absolute P.C. Solutions. Together they have developed a software -- called Alchemist Scrap Management System -- that can be used in the mills to keep information on steel recipes.

The process helps steel makers select the materials and equipment needed for melting a new batch of steel. It also tracks the costs.

Photos by Stan Myers.