Metals Service Center Institute

05/28/2026

REMINDER: MSCI is hosting a complimentary safety webinar for members next Wednesday, June 3.

The subject: OSHA inspections.

A surprise visit from an OSHA inspector DOES NOT have to turn your day upside down. Learn how to better prepare by joining this free webinar for safety operations leaders, managers, and other members of your company’s safety team.

Over 60 minutes, Steve Yates, president of UpVantage Strategies, LLC, will walk safety and operational leaders through all nine stages of an OSHA inspection. From the opening conference to response and citation abatement, participants will learn strategies that actually work under pressure.

Drawing on his and his team’s experience of more than a hundred OSHA investigations, including cases involving upwards of 40 citations from a single inspection, Yates will equip you with the tools and confidence to protect your company when it matters most.

Join us on June 3: https://tinyurl.com/5frxn285

A surprise visit from an OSHA inspector does not have to turn your day upside down. In this practical, experience-driven webinar, Steve Yates, president of UpVantage Strategies, will walk safety and operational leaders through all nine stages of an OSHA inspection. From the opening conference to res...

05/27/2026

From our President and CEO M. Robert Weidner, III's latest blog post:

The strength of a community rests within its people — how engaged members are, how willing they are to offer advice or support to their peers, and how they lead and innovate on matters important to the community. In a world and workplace marked by increased automation, I believe it is this ability to come together as human beings that will set organizations and communities apart. (McKinsey & Company, a new MSCI member, agrees human traits are more important than ever for business success.)

Why?

Technology cannot replace the serendipity of meeting a new supplier or customer at an MSCI chapter or national event. Chatbots cannot develop refined, bespoke solutions to your company’s unique needs. We can use AI to improve safety outcomes, but a single tool is not replacement for the type of human leadership MSCI mills, service centers, and affiliates have displayed through our Zero Harm, Safety Leadership initiative.

Human engagement matters.

Read Bob's full blog post: https://tinyurl.com/445chfn8

05/26/2026

It is almost here: the deadline to submit data for MSCI’s 2026 Safety Survey. The safety team at your MSCI member company has until June 1 to click the link below to participate.

If you are not the right person to submit the data, please forward to this email to the correct teammate.

Providing data will not take long. That is because MSCI’s annual Safety Survey uses OSHA-aligned data to benchmark your company against others in the industrial metals industry.

WHY SHOULD YOUR COMPANY PARTICIPATE?
Because data from MSCI’s Safety Survey can serve as a roadmap for your organization to identify opportunities to save lives and reduce injuries. These improvements will help reduce your business risk and liability exposure, retain employees and attract new ones, and set your company apart as one invested in the health and well-being its people.

And remember: your data from MSCI’s Safety Survey is completely confidential. Data goes directly to a trusted third party.

The survey is here: https://tinyurl.com/4hwfarru

05/20/2026

Last chance to register for THIS THURSDAY’S Quarterly Keybridge
Economic Update featuring Katie Archer and Jeff Jensen.

Join us this Thursday, May 21, 2026 from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. CT.

The economy feels a little uncertain right now. Get the information you need to better anticipate twists and turns. Archer and Jensen will do a deep dive on data from the last two editions of MSCI’s Momentum Monitors and discuss the effect of geopolitics on the world economy and on business costs.

This event is a MUST-ATTEND for industrial metals teammates who are trying to understand the world economy and end use market demand.

Register NOW: https://tinyurl.com/2ued35tj

05/18/2026

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER!!

If you are a leader of a family-owned business, join us THIS WEDNESDAY, May 20 for a preview of, "The Strategic Family Enterprise," a new knowledge and learning offering from MSCI.

This one-hour webinar will feature Peter Boumgarden, academic director for the program.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Owners and senior leaders of multi-generational family businesses.

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?
The Strategic Family Enterprise will offer frameworks and strategies to help build strategic capability. On this webinar, Peter Boumgarden, PhD, academic director for the program, will cover topics like:
- How can companies build a unique vision for purpose and performance, and then put in place the structures to sustain it over time?
- Given this long-term strategic horizon, how can leaders think about managing, growing, and exiting the assets within the business to deliver upon the purpose?
- What strategic orientation best aligns with the outlined ownership objectives, and what is the best way to balance rigorous accountability with the unique possibilities of these kinds of companies to focus on long-term and patient value creation?
- How is governance of both the business and the family set up to ensure a strategic and long-term approach?

Register even if you cannot make it — a link to the replay will be sent to your inbox after the event. Sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/337rswyw

05/15/2026

To excel and advance in our industry, you need to understand the basics. That is why MSCI is bringing back our popular course, Fundamentals of Metallurgy, this September!

Snag your seat early! Click the link below to join us LIVE ONLINE Sept. 15-17. (This training is geared to non-metallurgists working in the metals supply chain.)

WHY ATTEND?
Learning basic metallurgy terminology is important for having productive conversations with mills and customers. It is also helpful for working through quality problems.

WHAT WILL BE COVERED?
This course covers the basics of how metals are produced, how they behave, and how their properties can be altered by common mill processes. Specifically, it will address:
- How metal properties are influenced by alloy composition and processes such as cold working, hot working, and heat treating.
- How carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum products are produced.
- The differences between different types of carbon steel alloys, aluminum alloys, and stainless steel alloys.
- How tensile testing and hardness testing are performed and how the test data is analyzed to determine tensile properties and hardness.
- How metallurgical failure analysis helps determine the root cause of quality problems.

Register now: https://tinyurl.com/3zce3vne

Format: Live Online Course Summary This course covers the basics of how metals are produced, how they behave, and how their properties can be altered by common mill processes. It also covers common metallurgical analyses used to evaluate metal properties, composition, and microstructure for general....

05/13/2026

A surprise visit from an OSHA inspector DOES NOT have to turn your day upside down.

Learn how to better prepare by joining a free webinar on June 3 from MSCI, "When OSHA Knocks: How To Handle An Inspection."

Who Should Attend?
Safety operations leaders, managers, and other members of your company’s safety team.

Why Attend?
In this practical, experience-driven session, Steve Yates, president of UpVantage Strategies, LLC, will walk safety and operational leaders through all nine stages of an OSHA inspection. From the opening conference to response and citation abatement, participants will learn strategies that actually work under pressure.

Drawing on his and his team’s experience of more than a hundred OSHA investigations, including cases involving upwards of 40 citations from a single inspection, Yates will equip you with the tools and confidence to protect your company when it matters most.

Join us on June 3: https://tinyurl.com/5frxn285

05/11/2026

MSCI is on a mission to create a Zero Harm, Safety Always culture in the industrial metals industry.

Is your company a LEADER in this journey? Then apply for MSCI’s Safety Innovation and Culture Improvement Awards.

Nominations are due June 30, 2026.

There are two categories for these awards. If your team has implemented a tool, process, or device that has dramatically reduced occupational risk or exposure the you should apply for MSCI’s Safety Innovation Award.

If your team has implemented a new initiative that has increased employee safety engagement? Participated in something extraordinary to educate your team, then you should apply for MSCI’s Culture Improvement Award.

Learn more about the awards and how to submit your company's entry at this link: https://www.msci.org/education/safety/

05/08/2026

MSCI is launching a brand new Knowledge and Learning opportunity
for owners and senior leaders of multi-generational family businesses.

If you are a leader of a family-owned business, join us for a preview of "The Strategic Family Enterprise," a one-hour webinar with Peter Boumgarden, academic director for the program.

We will gather at 11 a.m. CT on Wednesday, May 20.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Owners and senior leaders of multi-generational family businesses.

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?
The Strategic Family Enterprise will offer frameworks and strategies to help build strategic capability. Beyond building tools for effective management, business owners must be intentionally strategic as long-term holders of the asset that is the company. On this webinar, Peter Boumgarden, PhD, academic director for the program, will provide a preview of The Strategic Family Enterprise. [KR1]Add link to webinar registration when available.

Learn more and register for the webinar: https://tinyurl.com/337rswyw

05/06/2026

Did you hear the news? Jerome Powell is staying on at the Fed as a new chair comes on board. Want analysis on how this decision might after interest rates?

Or do you need a deep dive on the where the economy is, and where it’s going? Want to understand how to use MSCI’s Macroeconomic Current?

Then join MSCI’s Quarterly Keybridge Economic Update on Thursday, May 21 at 11:30 a.m. CT.

This series updates members on the economic developments that affect the industrial metals sector. We will cover a lot of ground, including:
- Data from the last two editions of MSCI’s Momentum Monitors
- The effect of geopolitics on the world economy and on business costs
- Where business confidence and manufacturing indictors have been and are headed
- Recent Fed moves and where Federal Reserve policy may head after Jerome Powell’s tenure as Federal Reserve Board chair comes to an end (and what effect his decision will have on the Fed’s posture)
- Trade and tariff policy and its impact on metals demand and shipments; and more.

Learn more and register: https://tinyurl.com/2ued35tj

05/04/2026

Keeping good talent matters. People drive productivity, culture, and innovation. How can you build, and keep strong teams?

Find out by joining MSCI NEXT WEEK for, "Developing Talent Through Constructive Feedback," a webinar with Dr. Jia Wang, Texas A&M University professor and researcher in human resources development.

Join just Tuesday, May 12 from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. CT.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
This webinar will benefit multiple stakeholders, not just human resources professionals. In fact, if you are responsible for managing and developing employees other than yourself, this webinar will benefit you.

WHY ATTEND?
Constructive feedback is one of the most powerful and most underused tools for developing talent in the metals industry. In fast‑paced production environments, supervisors and managers often rely on technical expertise to drive performance, yet employees increasingly need clarity, coaching, and developmental conversations to grow, stay engaged, and contribute at their highest level.

In this webinar, Dr. Jia Wang, professor of human resource development at Texas A&M University, will introduce a practical, people‑centered approach to giving feedback that strengthens skills, builds trust, and supports a culture of continuous improvement.

Register to join us on May 12: https://tinyurl.com/49bn79y8

Constructive feedback is one of the most powerful and most underused tools for developing talent in the metals industry. In fast‑paced production environments, supervisors and managers often rely on technical expertise to drive performance, yet employees increasingly need clarity, coaching, and de...