Metal Supermarket - Open House Sat 9/4

Heads up makers!

Metal Supermarkets is is having an open house for MakeICT members!

Come check out their new place Saturday (9/4) from 9am to Noon!

9110 East 35th Street North Suite B

Jim Hopper will be opening the doors of the Metal Supermarket to the public on September 20th! Mr. Hopper would like for members of MakeICT to come check out the new Wichita location for a sneak peak of what they have to offer. They specialize in grade AA materials (rust/corrosion free) and sell by the part size instead of an entire sheet/stick. Their initial material line up will include cold rolled steel and 6061/6063 aluminum, but are willing to bring in different materials as people request them (like brass and copper). Material is currently available as round, bar, angle, and box stock.

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Metal Supermarkets Wichita page.
https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/wichita/

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I stopped in and checked it out.

The good
Looks like they can get just about anything you need, including many grades of steel, aluminum, brass, and tool steel.
They are open Saturday morning.
All new material that hasn’t been sitting in the rain for 3 months.
Will sell full sticks or small quantities. They can cut stick stock or sheet goods.
Lower price for full sticks vs cut pieces.
Very friendly staff.

The bad
Hard to get even a ballpark price for anything. Will only do quotes based on known qualities.
Only small quantities of stocked locally. Most stuff is only 2-3 days away but they prefer a week to locate what you need and get it in.
Might have to pay shipping for stuff that has to be ordered in, but no really guidance provided for when you might have to pay for shipping and when you don’t. I guess if you have to have something brought in, just assume you will have to until you get your quote.
They are still new, but the person who gave me the tour of what they have didn’t seem to know much about the materials there.
Because everything has to be quoted for a known quantity, there’s no going and getting a price for something and then being able to guess what it might be for a smaller quantity. I guess that’s just another take on the first item.

I can certainly see them being another source for material. Having new tool steel local is very handy. It’s surely far better than buying at home Depot. I don’t see them becoming my go to for all of my needs though.

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I can get steel deliveries every Tuesday and Thursday. There is a $250 min on the orders we place to get without any additional shipping cost. I suspect my price beats the Supermarket without even checking as I already blow the yard store out of the water as they are usually at least twice my cost but if you need it today it can be worth it… AND I do use the Yard Store when I need it today… We do not make orders every week though, we order when a job needs it. We are more than happy to check on materials for people, but if it is small and something we don’t keep on the shelf, it might take awhile for the order to get made…

Aluminum and Stainless are a different supplier. There is no known shipping cost with them and no min, but the more you order the better the price as shipping it figured in by an algorithm they don’t share.

Dad usually handles the orders steel/aluminum. Just give him a call if you need anything. His name is Wayne. 316 744 2841

KCE Industries

10329 East 101st Street North

Valley Center, Ks

67147

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I should have mentioned that we do have a scrap pile that we often just let people have out of. Soft of a good will gesture and laziness as it isn’t often worth the time to figure what a 10inch piece of xyz is worth…

Jeff Eck

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