PDM Steel Service Centers, Inc.

PDM entered the steel service center industry in California with its 1954 acquisition of the Proctor-James Steel Company in San Jose. In 1955 Kyle and Company, with facilities at Fresno, Stockton and Sacramento was added. With four service centers, PDM was able to provide outstanding service throughout central and northern California.In 1962, new facilities were constructed at Fresno, California giving improved service to customers in the central California area. Recognizing the great potential for its products and services, the Company established a fifth service center in the Reno/Sparks area of Nevada in 1963. In 1968, the new service center facilities at Fresno and Sacramento and the existing facilities at Santa Clara and Sparks were greatly augmented by the completion of the semi-automated center at Stockton.The latest in material handling fixtures and equipment were used in the Stockton facility. Steel is stacked 24' in the air on specially constructed racks. Stacker Cranes are used to handle the material in the racks. The Stacker Cranes move the material from the order storage areas to delivery trucks.

To provide the greatest possible service and selection for our customers, the "Common Inventory Concept" was established. This gave all customers access to the total company inventory at all locations.Under the Common Inventory Concept, Stockton is the geographical hub of the Service Wheel with spokes running north to Sacramento, east to Reno and Spanish Fork, south to Fresno, and west to Santa Clara. The "Interplant Transfer System" moves this Common Inventory from one location to another, allowing short lead-time delivery of most items regardless of the inventory source. The efficiency and success of this system has proven to be an important benefit to our customers.A new service center was established in Spanish Fork, Utah, south of Salt Lake City, in 1977. As customer demands for "pre-production processing" grew, new processing equipment was installed at all facilities. Shears, automatic saws, and shape burning equipment that can virtually burn in steel anything that can be drawn in two dimensions, are available at each center. Plasma cutting equipment allows shapes to be cut in material which is too thin to be cut with conventional flame cutting equipment. Computer aided design and CNC have made possible the burning of shapes too large to fit on paper and too complex to be easily laid out on a drafting table, while at the same time allowing for the efficient "nesting" of burned parts for reduced scrap loss.