Cleveland Steel Container and its distributors share much in common, namely attributes like superior customer service, responsiveness, frequent communication and an innate commitment to quality.

"We work very closely with our extensive distributor network to ensure that the standards Cleveland Steel lives by are represented by our distributors out in the marketplace," said Cleveland Steel President John Herrick. "Distributors are an important extension of the Cleveland Steel family. They're our ambassadors in each city they serve. We're very supportive and responsive to them. In turn, we hope they're proud to represent us in their markets."

Chuck Cluckey, Western Regional Sales Manager, said Cleveland Steel selects the best distributors in each market by evaluating their experience, knowledge and reputation. They must know pails and demonstrate the same intense commitment to selling and servicing pail customers that Cleveland Steel does everyday.

Distributors believe they're in good company, as well, with Cleveland Steel, which is "probably the Cadillac pail" of all pail manufacturers, said Jeff Hasten, President of Canpak Inc. in Philadelphia. "They don't overextend themselves. They don't oversell. They maintain pretty good consistency in terms of quality," he said, adding that firstclass lithography helps sell the products.

Over the years, Cleveland Steel has forged strong relationships — and friendships — with its distributors that stock pails and sell them to industrial chemical and coatings companies. Cleveland Steel counts on them to saturate a market area with the ability to supply less-than-truckload quantities and personalized service.

Distributors say they're happy to oblige, in part, because Cleveland Steel helps them forecast their annual needs and sends tracking reports each month. With (hose details, distributors can break down shipments into small orders for some customers or keep enough pails on hand for major customers who need just-in-time delivery.

Either way, distributors like Cron Chemical in Houston are positioned to get the products in the hands of customers when they need them — even if it's a single pallet. Cron has the financial strength and structure to effectively order, store, process and deliver Cleveland Steel's products, said Charlie Lundquist, Cron's Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Scott Ambrose, Cleveland Steel's Eastern Regional Sales Manager, said he enjoys working closely with distributors. For example, together they've developed better coding systems for packaging and improved order-processing procedures.

Distributors said they like the fact that Cleveland Steel promptly takes care of even the slightest problem. "Their customer service department is beyond reproach," said Tom Griffin, Vice President of Operations for Deeks & Co. Inc. in High Point, N.C.

Craig Elizinga, Vice President of United States Container Corp. in Los Angeles agreed, adding that Cleveland Steel's response rate to new sales opportunities is much faster than larger companies. "They're very quick on their feet."