July, 2026- Q: What is different about Collier Metals—both in how the company operates and in how you strive to start and grow relationships?
A: We’re a young team. The average age of our leadership group is around 38, which is unusual in this industry. We’re also extremely lean. Everyone here pulls their weight across multiple roles. We feel that leanness gives us unique agility in the market. We can make decisions fast and step up when a customer is in a tight spot. We’ve literally worked right up to Christmas to get material delivered for a customer who needed it.
From a relationship perspective, we believe trust is best built through execution. We’re not a flashy company; we pride ourselves on the ‘blocking and tackling’ of the business. Honest communication and delivering bad news fast are disciplines that go a long way. We’re also intentional about how we communicate— whether that’s a phone call, an email or face to face. Matching the medium to the situation is an art form, and it evolves with technology. It’s an irreplaceable part of building relationships.
Q: How is having a younger leadership team an advantage?
A: The biggest advantage is time. Experience and relationships in the steel industry compound over the course of a career. It takes time to sharpen decision-making and grow trust. We have a long runway ahead of us to keep building, and we’re excited to see where that can take us.
There’s also the technology side. As a younger team, we embrace new tools and systems more naturally. We don’t adopt technology just for the sake of it, but where it makes us faster or more efficient, we dig in.
It’s interesting that at 38, you’re considered fairly young in steel. In the startup world, you’d be considered ancient. I think that contrast is a great opportunity for the next generation to step into leadership.
Q: What benefits has your team seen from having experience outside the metals industry?
A: Our team has deep experience in fields that seem to translate well to the demands of the steel industry. For example, our president, Tripp Collier, spent years building roads in remote parts of the world. What do you do when your cement truck has a flat tire in the middle of Denali National Park and snow is coming? Tripp learned to solve those types of problems and meet demanding deadlines, no matter what.
On the sales and marketing side, I’ve been buying and selling in markets my whole career. First in equities, then in real estate. The flatrolled steel market is a nice blend of those two in terms of deal speed and skill requirements. I’ve found the qualities that make a person want to do business with you are universal.
Our blend of outside perspectives has helped our team see problems and opportunities from angles that a more traditional team may not.
Q: What do you think attracts young professionals to this industry? How can the industry expand its reach?
A: The macro environment is doing a lot for us in this area. There’s a major push to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. That creates a huge opportunity in industries, like steel, that are directly tied to building and making things. Policy tailwinds are a big reason I made the mid-career change into steel.
The stability of the steel industry is also attractive. Most people I’ve met in this business have been in it at least 15 years. Metal is everywhere you look. The demand isn’t going anywhere. As long as things are being built, there will be a need for what we do.
As far as expanding the industry’s reach, I think it comes down to visibility. A lot of talented people have never considered a career in metals because they’ve never been exposed to it. The more we can get in front of the next generation and show them that this is a stable but evolving industry with real upside, the better.
Q: Is there anything in steel you think is overdue for a change?
A: The industry is on the verge of some major upgrades in terms of technology. I’m confident we’ve saved at least six figures in expenses over the last year using AI to do things we would’ve had to hire out otherwise. We use AI tools in several areas. It’s amazing at data analysis, creating marketing collateral, internal documentation and research. It can easily shrink four-hour projects into 15 minutes. For us, it’s not replacing people. It’s giving our small family-owned business the ability to do more with less.
Collier Metals, colliermetals.com.
