NexTech was established in 1990 to create the only domestic source of ultra-thin galvanized steel sheet. The marketplace was previously dominated by foreign companies, but NexTech quickly carved out a share of sales in the United States and abroad. NexTech even landed a share of the previously untapped and growing Chinese market.

Today, NexTech has an annual capacity of 170,000 and remains the only domestic provider of ultra-light galvanized steel sheet in gauges as thin as .007 inches.  

The Techs—NexTech, MetalTech, and GalvTech—was acquired by Steel Dynamics in July 2007.

Above, left to right, are NexTech Plant Manager Bart Miller, team leader Bill Arnold, material handler John McLaughlin, maintenance technician Ed Onder, and material handler Craig Steinbruegge.

From left, plant managers Bart Miller (NexTech), Chris Winger (GalvTech), and Dennis Pishney (MetalTech) display their recently earned OSHA SHARP certifications.

The Techs—GalvTech, NexTech, and MetalTech—have again been recognized in OHSA’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) after passing a reevaluation process that takes place every two years. The program recognizes employers who operate exemplary safety and health-management systems.

The Techs is one of only seven Pennsylvania companies to earn membership in SHARP, demonstrating an aggressive adherence to OSHA standards.

“This recognition by OHSA demonstrates that we go above and beyond in our efforts to promote the health and safety of our employees,” says Dennis Pishney, MetalTech plant manager. “Safety is a core value of The Techs.”

SDI, the fifth-largest producer of carbon steel in the United States, includes five steel mills, The Techs, OmniSource, New Millennium Building Systems, Mesabi Mining, Mesabi Nugget, Iron Dynamics, and Dynamic Composites.

The USGBC is a nonprofit trade organization that fosters sustainability by encouraging that structures—commercial and residential—be designed, built, and operated in a way that conserves natural resources and saves energy.

To that end, the USGBC established its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), a voluntary green-building certification program. To achieve LEED certification, developers, builders, and building owners earn credits for using materials and methods that minimize the impact on the environment.

SDI can provide customers with documentation to earn LEED credits in two areas: recycling and shipping distance.

First, SDI products are the result of recycling. Second, because SDI’s growth has resulted in more locations, more customers are within the maximum 500-mile shipping distance to receive credits.

Developed as a project for Professor Matt Cline’s “Mass Transport” class, the apparatus has boosted the efficiency of the wet-nitrogen pumps used in galvanizing.

Carnevale received guidance from several quarters, including Jim Anderson, The Techs general manager; Chris Winger, general manager of GalvTech, and Bart Miller, general manager of NexTech and technical services manager for The Techs.

“I really appreciate the opportunity The Techs has given me to apply what I’m learning in the classroom, and to help improve the efficiency of processes and quality of products for the company,” says Carnevale, a native of Greenville, South Carolina. “Of course, I couldn’t have done this without my teammates at the university.”

“Elliott and his team did an outstanding job on this project,” Anderson says. “Internships benefit everyone involved. Students apply the knowledge they’ve gained in the classroom, universities benefit because students involved in internships are more engaged in the classroom, and we benefit from the resources of the university and students’ work to solve real problems in our industry.”

Based in Pittsburgh, The Techs—MetalTech, NexTech, and GalvTech—consistently receives high marks from customers in the annual Jacobson survey.

“Our continued excellent rating in the Jacobson survey is evidence of our commitment to providing outstanding customer service year in and year out,” says The Techs General Manager Jim Anderson. “I want to thank everyone here at the Techs for his and her contribution to keeping our customers more than satisfied with our performance.”

Initiated in 1992, the Jacobson Survey is a continuous polling of more than 2,000 major steel customers—including service centers and end-users—in the United States and Canada. Customers are asked to rate their satisfaction in several categories, including product quality, delivery time, price, e-commerce, service, and inside and outside sales.

Farmerie, along with four others, founded MetalTech in 1984. NexTech and GalvTech were initiated in 1990 and 1996, respectively, to complete The Techs, now part of SDI. Farmerie retired from The Techs at the end of 2007.

Farmerie began his career in the steel industry as a summer intern with Jones & Laughlin Steel and immediately demonstrated a knack for innovation and leadership. After earning a degree in mechanical engineer at the University of Pittsburgh, he began a 15-year stint with J&L, during which he rose through the ranks, using his engineering expertise and business savvy to help lift the company to new levels of success.