April 5, 2022
Supply Chain and Costing Update
By Greg Fox, VP of Sales
Although inflationary pressures and supply chain disruptions have been a part of our industry for nearly a year now, the recent geopolitical events in Ukraine have exacerbated an already challenging situation. In addition, though much less visible, SIGMA and other globally sourced producers are in the midst of negotiating new freight rates for the 12 months beginning May 1st. Both the war in Ukraine and the future freight rates look to greatly influence our business in the short term and into 2023. Consequently, we want to share some of the details of these influencers to best prepare you for the realities ahead.
 

Ocean Freight
 
The severe container imbalance originating from the Covid-19 shutdowns in 2020 remains
attenuated by the continued high demand for globally sourced products. The insufficient
container capacity in active operation has caused many freight carriers to move away from
annual contracts for the 2022/23 year and, alternatively, offer freight rates for shorter periods of 4 – 6 weeks. While it is true that the headline-grabbing spot rates paid for containers at the height of the shortage have dropped, the reality is that SIGMA anticipates its average freight rates to increase significantly as a result of the change in the carriers’ pricing methods.
 
On a positive note, SIGMA has experienced improved container availability – particularly out of China. Container availability in India is more challenged but, largely, space is allocated monthly to handle the majority of SIGMA’s production. While the news on container availability is encouraging, SIGMA’s limited inventories coupled with the high industry demand ensures that supply chain will be constrained through 2022.
 
Raw Material Costs
 
For much of this calendar year, raw material costs in both India and China have been
relatively stable at the elevated levels set in 2021. However, the Russian invasion of
Ukraine created a severe disruption and surge in costs of raw materials as both Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of steel and iron. For various economic and geographic
reasons, these raw material increases are more significant in India. Within SIGMA’s
production in India, the inflationary pressures are greater on its line of Municipal &
Construction Castings as those products are manufactured almost exclusively with import
pig iron. Though MJ and Flange fittings produced in India utilize some domestic steel, the
sizeable disruptive impact of the war on raw material prices and availability in Europe and
Western Asia will impact the cost of these goods too. 
 
Conclusion
 
All said, product remains in limited supply and cost pressures continue to be inflationary. 
For cast iron valve boxes, meter boxes, manhole frames & covers and the like, we anticipate significant increases. In fact, we may be forced to adopt monthly pricing adjustments based on raw material volatility. Also, we cannot guarantee that we can protect and honor backorders; however, no firm position is set. For Fittings and MJ Accessories, we are aggregating the increased costs from our blended sources and will set pricing and policy accordingly. For Pipe Restraint, freight rates, at this time, seem to be a greater influencer on cost increases. Therefore, price adjustments, if any, will be later this calendar year.
 
After a demanding 2021, we realize this news is not welcome. However, it’s the realities of
today’s environment. As such, we want to keep you, our customer, as informed as possible.
 
As always, we appreciate your support and business particularly in this challenging time.
Check out this Webb-Site: The Value of Experience and the Service-Forward Approach
By Joe Webb, National Sales Manager
Now that COVID restrictions are being lifted across the country, in-person events are returning, and that is good news for everyone. We were happy to attend the WASDA conference in Naples in February and and I had the privilege of hearing Christopher Kuehl, PhD, Managing Director of Armada Corporate Intelligence, speak about the state of the industry. His focus, along with pretty much everyone else I talk to of late, centered on the challenges we face post-COVID: the ongoing supply chain disruptions, and the labor shortages. 

The phrase “we’re all in this together” has been overused to the point of oblivion, but the labor issues and supply chain shortages are real. That said, we here at SIGMA have been incredibly fortunate that our team has remained united, dedicated, and committed to our mission of delivering quality product through industry-leading service. The so-called “great resignation” has not hit our company, and that is good news for us, our customers, and our distributor-partners. Most of our team members have been with the company for over a decade, if not longer, and that makes for a lot of expertise, industry knowledge, and ability to get things done.

As a result, our sales and service professionals know who to call, what products are an acceptable specified substitute, and how to go about sourcing and delivering items for maximum efficiency. The long tenure of our teams also speaks to the fact that we are happy where we are and are not seeking to chase a few extra dollars or a more impressive job title somewhere else.

Customers and distributor-partners benefit from this knowledge, this track record, and this mutual trust, and as a proud member of the SIGMA team for 17 years, I know that I also benefit from this culture.

As normalcy continues to return, we are all looking forward to connecting in person and gathering together both in social and professional settings. My four kids have all resumed their school, sports, and activity routines. As winter moves to spring, we transition from wrestling and basketball to lacrosse and baseball. That is good news for Annie and me, firm believers in the idea that busy kids are happy kids. Off the record, we are big proponents of busy kids equal tired kids, which means a break for Mom and Dad.

On a more serious note, we all know that the only constant in life is change. As we ease back into the pre-pandemic travel schedules, we must remember to remain patient and grateful. The patience is necessary to deal with the hectic schedules between work, families, and travel. And remaining grateful for all the blessings in life ensures a healthy, positive perspective.
SIGMA-Raven Specified in WSSC
SIGMA is proud to announce that our Raven HDPE products have been specified by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC). The WSSC serves three Maryland counties surrounding Washington, DC, and is one of the largest water and wastewater utilities in the country. The commission covers a network of nearly 5844 miles of fresh water pipeline and over 5610 miles of sewer pipeline, and serves 1.8 million residents.
 
Territory Sales Manager Josh Sullivan comments, “We are thrilled to supply HDPE products for the WSSC. Serving one of the nation’s largest water systems is a point of pride for SIGMA-Raven, and we look forward to delivering high quality meter enclosures for this respected organization.”
 
For additional information about SIGMA-Raven, please contact Jeff Fox at jf1@sigmaco.com.
Sourcing Solution Amid Supply Chain Challenges
By Mitchell Rona, Executive Vice President #GlobalSourcerer    
In our industry, sourcing challenges persist despite the fact that pandemic-related restrictions and impacts on daily life have eased considerably. Recently, SIGMA OEM has seen a significant uptick in inquiries from people who currently are ‘going it alone’ in the global sourcing arena only to find massive roadblocks, shortages, astronomical prices, and headaches with logistics, inventory, currency, shipping, and other issues.

In addition, many companies that previously relied on domestic suppliers have experienced the same overall supply chain challenges. As a result, they have struggled to source material on time and at consistent, reliable prices.

Steel fabrications, in particular, have seen major shortages due to huge domestic demand, with supply chain disruptions and precipitous price increases. While no one is immune from inflation, tariffs, duties, ocean freight expenses, container costs, and more, SIGMA OEM has been successful in managing the supply chain and delivering for our customers. Granted, things are not where they were in January of 2020, but our in-country presence, boots-on-the-ground, and long-standing relationships that date back as much as 40 years, have helped us manage these challenges better than many others in the industry. We certainly offer a better solution than going it alone.

During these difficult times, SIGMA OEM can complement a direct sourcing strategy, offering a risk mitigation benefit to balance the overall exposure.

Through the pandemic, SIGMA OEM has provided global sourcing services for many different customers in various end markets, delivering completed products in a timely fashion.  We are not perfect--nobody is immune today. However, our experience and scale bode particularly well during these unprecedented times. In addition, we offer a dedicated JIT supply chain from our ten US logistics facilities. This means a value proposition for the customer, in terms of reliability, trust, and an end-to-end solution.

To learn how SIGMA OEM can help solve your sourcing challenges, please contact oemusa@sigmaco.com today!
SIGMA Launches Training Program
SIGMA has launched a comprehensive training program to ensure that all members of the sales teams are fully versed in our product lines. Regular training sessions are scheduled throughout the year to educate our employees on new and existing product lines in order to provide the best information and resources to our customers.

National Sales Manager Joe Webb explains the move: “SIGMA is committed to delivering the best service to our customers, and to that end, it is essential that our sales teams are knowledgeable on the full range of products we offer. By providing this training, we ensure that our sales professionals can deliver quick answers to customers, and, of course, if further technical expertise is required, our engineers step in with additional support.”

Over the past several months, SIGMA has trained its sales teams on the features of SIGMA Zinc, V-BIO®, and most recently, on the SIGMA-Raven HDPE product line. The program has been successful, is expected to continue and expand to educate our teams so that they can effectively serve our customers.

Special shout out and thanks to Jon Taft, Dennis Wilson, Ajay Roy, Wayne Pederson, and Jeff Fox for leading the training sessions.
Looking Forward to ACE22!  
SIGMA is thrilled to be heading to San Antonio in June for the long-anticipated in-person AWWA show! Please be sure to stop by booth #14601 to say hello and see what’s new and exciting from SIGMA. See you there!
NOW READILY AVAILABLE:
SIGMA’s Mechanical Joint Accessories
SIGMA is pleased to announce the availability of our full range of Mechanical Joint Accessory Products.
 
These include:
 
·      Mechanical Joint and Transition Gaskets
·      Mechanical Joint Glands
·      Mechanical Joint T-Bolts and Nuts
·      Prepackaged Mechanical Joint Accessories
·      SIGMASEALTM Improved MJ Gasket
 
When customers source these products from SIGMA, they see benefits both logistically and financially. They deal with one purchase order, one vendor, and incur no additional freight charges.

Craig Schapiro, National Customer Service Manager, comments, “As a one-stop-shop supplier with a nationwide network of warehouses, SIGMA has the ability to deliver efficiently for customers, while providing significant economies of scale. We are fully supplied with this product group, so now is a great time to source accessories!”
 
To learn more about this product line, or to place an order, please contact Craig at cs1@sigmaco.com.
Meet SIGMA: Tanya Sweet-Pater, President of Concord Supply
Tanya Sweet-Pater stands firmly at the helm of Concord Supply, SIGMA’s longtime partner in Eastern Canada, and that is good news for the customers in that part of the world. SIGMA’s partnership with Concord Supply enables us to provide our customers in Ontario and the Maritime Provinces with industry-leading quality and service. Dave Pietryga, Manager, SIGMA Canada, explains, “Concord functions as SIGMA’s distribution arm for this part of Canada; they handle all of our material, warehousing, inventory and logistics. And Tanya Sweet-Pater, Concord’s President, ensures that everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Her leadership, professionalism, courtesy, and competence are unparalleled.”

Tanya recently celebrated her 30th successful year in the business, and her staff threw her a surprise party to mark the occasion. Her colleague Christine Robitaille, Inventory Control Manager, comments: “Tanya comes from a strong waterworks family…through osmosis and hard work she learned the business, and she continues to deliver valued products, service, and smiles to our customers in Eastern Canada.” Tanya grew up in the business; her dad Del Sweet was an industry legend, one of the founding fathers of the municipal distributor model in Canada, and renowned for product innovation. When it was her turn to lead, Tanya rose to the occasion and has done a spectacular job managing SIGMA’s Eastern Canada branch. We congratulate Tanya on her 30-year milestone, we thank her for her excellent work, solid partnership, and strong leadership, and we wish her continued success.
Spotlight on SIGMA 

We at SIGMA place tremendous value on our SIGMA family. With that in mind, we celebrate the joy and success of our employees and their loved ones, and we share their good news.

SIGMA is in the midst of a baby boom! We congratulate the following members of the SIGMA family on their beautiful new additions.


Congratulations to National Pipe Restraint Product Manager Steve McDonald and his wife Katalin on the arrival of their granddaughter Raegan Shay. Reagan joins her big sister Riley, age 3, as a new bundle of joy for her happy, (but no doubt tired) parents Alex and Lindsey.


Congratulations to Midwest Regional Branch Manager Charlie Kyle, who became a grandfather. Cooper James Kyle was born on February 11, weighed just over 6 lbs, and measured 19 inches in length.




Congratulations to SIGMA’s new Marketing Assistant Grace Mathews on the birth of her son, Clayton Walker Lees. Additional congratulations to Accounts Payable-Freight Associate Becky Matthews, proud mother of Grace and grandmother of Clayton.