On the week of August 22nd, Steel King came to visit MSG headquarters before their president Jay Anderson retired. During their visit, we got to sit down with Jay and discuss his journey with Steel King, MSG, and more!
Describe your journey with Steel King:
Jay has been familiar with Steel King for a majority of his life since his father found the company and his grandfather also was an influence in him joining the manufacturing field. During college, he took part in a plethora of roles and departments in the company. He has worked in departments such as drafting, inventory control, and accounting. One Summer he even worked in the production shop dealing with fabricating equipment, welding, and painting. He can be seen as a jack of all trades and has a well-rounded idea of what each department does. He feels that he was lucky to get exposure to all of these areas in order to fully understand the complexity of the business and the importance of each department and role. When he graduated from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, he started out as an inside sales rep and also became the face and voice of the marketing department of the business.
One reason why he discovered a passion for the manufacturing world was seeing the process of how parts were made. Since his grandfather and father both found their own manufacturing companies, it only made sense that Jay would happen to follow their footsteps and become intrigued by this segment as well. He liked being involved in the process of making and watching the parts being formed, figuring out what works for customers and what may not be selling as well. He also found it fascinating to figure out solutions for how they can improve on those less selling products or when to scrap them.
One of his favorite parts of working at Steel King was the feeling of being part of a family versus strictly a business. The employees are hardworking, share the same moral values, and go above and beyond with customer service. He’s enjoyed seeing new employees join and become a part of something big. Seeing a company that has meant so much to his family start at less than 5,000 square feet with nine employees and grow to become a significant part of supply chain operations for the manufacturing world has meant so much to him to become a part of that process.
How did you come to work with MSG?
While in the market for a manufacturing rep, MSG actually reached out to Steel King to discuss a new line Steel King had introduced of an industrial guard railing product. It was a different approach to their usual line at the time of having a safety product versus pure material handling, storage, or distribution equipment. MSG was intrigued by this product and thought that their customers would be interested in it, and wanted to put it in a catalog distribution channel that could provide some success to it. This ended up being very successful! Steel King then started working with them in 1988.
One of Steel Kings core values is working with personable companies which is shared with MSG. He described MSG as being professional, always knowledgeable, identifying interests and opportunities for Steel King, and overall are good people to work with and in their character.
What are your retirement plans?
Jay has been busy leading up to his retirement and is more occupied now more than ever with helping out around the business, he is wanting to have some sort of involvement with steel king after retiring by offering assistance when he can. For his actual retirement, Jay is wanting to start planting trees and gardening more often as well as fish and hunt more!
We are so thankful for the many years we have worked with Jay and wish him a well deserved and happy retirement!