Materials
Specials:
Alloy steel
Aluminum
Brass
Bronze
Carbon Steel
Cast Iron
Copper
Indstrial Supplies
Nickel
Plastics
Stainless Steel
Tool Steel
Conjures up a picture doesn't it? But probably not a woman on a forklift bringing you the metal materials to make that hot rod you're receiving.
American Metal Services, owned by Marsha Graham, is a metal distributor that supplies specialty or hard-to-find metal products to a niche market that includes race-car fabricators and local chopper manufacturer American IronHorse Motorcycle Co.
No one would guess that behind the soft-spoken female voice on the phone is a woman who knows aluminum from stainless and a round bar from a rivet - and she stocks them in her warehouse, operates the forklift and drives the delivery truck herself.
" In her metal industry, a woman has to prove she knows what she's talking about," said Graham.
Although she draws on her banking
background in research and financial expertise, Graham
attributes her entrepreneurial success primarily to a
loyal customer base and suppliers willing to conduct
business with a small, determined company that can turn
on a dime.