Page 33 - Wallingford Magazine Issue 46 Winter 2024

The Ulbrich Story

PART FOUR • BY STEPHEN KNIGHT

THE 1990S decimated by foreign competition, as had many of the acquisition business. Management saw that the exist-
Retrench and revolutionize were the two words industries that had been the industry’s market. While ing market for small quantities of stainless steels and
that would describe the work ahead as the new de- Ulbrich Steel had international sales, they were mea- special metals was limited. The only way to gain sales
cade of the 1990s dawned. Following Fred Jr.’s return ger and concentrated in only seven countries. Only was to take them away from competitors. For that
to the presidency, substantial management changes 5 percent of the company’s sales were international purpose, in 1993, the company purchased 51 per-
were made: Frank Best to General Manager of Ulbrich exports. Purchases of metal from foreign suppliers cent of Aerodyne Alloys of East Hartford. Aerodyne’s
of New England, Greg Chase to GM of Ulbrich Wire, were also only 5 percent of the total as well. $6.5 million in sales was primarily to Pratt & Whit-
and Chris Ulbrich to President of Service Centers (as One fateful decision would change all that. Fred ney, General Electric and their subcontractors. Their
well as Executive Vice President). Mary Ulbrich Merlini Jr. and ten additional Ulbrich employees attended temperature-resistant alloys, titanium bar and sheet
(Dick’s daughter) assumed responsibilities for Educa- the 1993 Paris Air Show, always an important an- metal products were also used in aerospace, oil and
tion and Communication and Spider Bulyk for corpo- nual event in the worldwide aerospace industry. They gas, and petrochemical plants. This line of products
rate and international development. returned home having made many new international Ulbrinox service center in Mexico. complemented Ulbrich’s very well.
An important Strategic Planning meeting at the connections. Sales began to grow – quickly. That was outright, built a service center in Queretaro, Mexico, In three years, sales of the renamed Aerodyne
end of 1989 put in place four tenets of the company’s the good side. Meeting international quality standards, staffed it entirely with local people, and opened it to Ulbrich Alloys grew to $27 million. To continue the
business philosophy that would be the foundation of on the other hand, became an enormous challenge. great fanfare in 1994. This particular project was one growth of this company in the bar, sheet and plate
what came to be known as the Ulbrich Revolution: 1) Miscommunications regarding customer specs, work- of Fred Jr.’s proudest accomplishments during this sectors of the metal market, Ulbrich negotiated an
Total Customer Responsiveness; 2) Total Company ing with the metric system of measurement, incorrect period. He wanted a name that fit the Spanish lan- amicable purchase of the other 49 percent from its
Involvement; 3) Total Quality Commitment; and 4) Con- certificates of analysis and a whole host of frustrating guage, and the name Ulbrinox was created, using the owner. The timing enabled Ulbrich to notch sales of
tinuous Professional Development. This was intended problems arose. At the same time, Ulbrich faced stiff company’s name and part of the Spanish phrase for 10 million pounds of titanium in 1996 and 1997 to
to develop a professional team where everyone was competition from new competitors. stainless steel, acero inoxidable. golf club manufacturers alone, and prices per pound
on the same page, guided by the book Quality Without Two decisions were made that would largely allevi- A third international plant was established in had soared. Alas, the market collapsed in 1998,
Tears. 1994 in Sheffield, England. While Ulbrich already had and the price of nickel fell, as well. Aerodyne Ulbrich
The new management team and the additional Diversified Ulbrich in Canada about 20 customers in England and Ireland supplied Alloys thus became unprofitable. The roller coaster
training overcame initial employee resistance. In by the Connecticut factories, the “just-in-time” delivery ride ended in 1999 when prices recovered, and this
1992, despite sales having dropped 15 percent from requirements some required could not be met. After company ended the decade with annual sales of $42
those in 1989, the company was profitable. Having rid a rough startup, a new facility was built, and now the million in 1999.
itself of other investments outside the metals busi- entire European market could be serviced properly. Unfortunately, another acquisition in 1995, that of
ness, the company returned to its roots. And, in so In 1995, international sales were close to $10 Metals & Cutting Specialists, Inc. of Rancho Cucamon-
doing, the Ulbrichs realized in hindsight that former million, but accounted for only 6.2 percent of sales. ga, CA, did not work out as planned. The company spe-
president Dana Stanziale’s changes had much to do But by the end of the decade, such sales were cialized in small orders of stainless steel, aluminum,
with their present success. $36,600,000, or 20 percent of the total sales for the copper and even plastic and had gross sales of $1.4
In this early part of the decade, Ulbrich made company. A year later, 40 percent of the sales made million. Despite pouring in millions to grow and stabi-
another change that would certainly be part of the ate the problems. Ulbrich bought Diversified Stainless by Ulbrich Stainless Steels and Special Metals were to lize the business, the company steadily lost money. In
Ulbrich Revolution and determine the company’s of Canada, installed new plate processing equipment European customers. On the other hand, successful October of 1999, the business was closed.
future: the establishment of the International Sales in their Toronto and Montreal service centers, and be- attempts to form similar partnerships and joint ven- In 1997, Ulbrich Stainless Steel and Special Met-
Department. Management very correctly recognized gan to understand how to operate in this new market. tures in Asia were yet to come. als hit its goal of $200 million in sales. International
enormous changes in the U.S. manufacturing sec- Canadian sales began to grow. Additionally, Ulbrich, At the same time that the three international sales contributed 40 percent of those, as well as ac-
tor. The enormous domestic steel industry had been not having found a suitable company to purchase operations were commencing, Ulbrich went into the quisitions, especially Diversified Stainless in Canada

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