The Most Important Thing to Know about Steel

Just start looking. Steel is around you more than you might realize. It’s in the margarita machine, the HVAC, and the refrigerator. Roofing, railways, bridges.

“You can’t build anything without it.”

Which is another way of saying, steel makes anything possible. This fact excites Laura Berthon, whose own creativity and experiences have led her to a career at Kloeckner Metals.

What Does Baking Have To Do With Steel?

A decade ago, Laura launched her career at Kloeckner Metals Birmingham. She’d recently graduated from college and pursued steel at the recommendation of a friend working in construction. In those early years, Laura’s main goal was to sell steel so customers could make whatever they needed to make.

As Laura progressed in her career, she also developed knacks for baking and flipping houses. She’d personalize cakes for friends, building each piece and putting them together thoughtfully—transforming baking into food sculpture.

Watching design shows reinforced her inclination for beauty and order. The knowledge and research skills she gained from working in steel over the years naturally transferred over to house flipping.

By the time Laura decided to leave her hometown in Alabama, she’d baked countless cakes, successfully flipped two houses, and worked in steel for 9 years.

Get Curious About Steel

Curiosity led Laura to Nashville, where she started working for one of Kloeckner Metals’ customers. The experience of purchasing steel deepened her perspective of the industry.

She learned how important it is to get curious about the end product, “You ask better questions, and you stay better informed when you know more about what the customer plans to do with the steel.”

Returning to Kloeckner Metals

We were thrilled when Laura returned to Kloeckner Metals last year as the Territory Manager of Kloeckner Metals Suwanee. Laura applies her expert attention to detail as she evaluates products and parts, ensuring each customer gets exactly what they’re looking for. If there’s ever an issue, she resolves it head-on, understanding from her own experience that timely updates save our customers money.

While it’s true that steel might be everywhere and used to make anything, the question remains, what’s the most important thing to know about steel? The answer is that you want someone as qualified as Laura to partner with you on your project and help guarantee its success.