CNBC Street Signs: >>
We talk about the stock market. It's taken a pummelling. The question we're
trying to find out is, does the downturn in the stock market and all the fears
around Europe actually translate to a slow down in business for you?
On main street, does the wall street mirror what's really happening with the economy?
Drew Greenblatt is the President of Marlin Steel Wire, actually testified before Congress today and
he joins us now.
Drew, I know you testified on trade, but I want to get to a different issue.
I want to get to this idea of market vs. main street.
We've seen stocks tumble in the last couple of weeks.
Has that translated into a slow-down for your business?
DREW GREENBLATT >>
No. We're up 39% for the year. Last year was our best year ever.
We're growing over a tough comparable.
I think we're taking a contrarian approach, sort of like what
Warren Buffett does. He buys when everybody sells and he sells
when everybody buys. Right now, there are a lot of people
hunkering down and we're taking a different tact, a
different approach. We're investing in new technology, new robots and
we're also hiring new people. In the last month, we've hired
two mechanical engineers and some sheet metal fabricators that setup our new robots.
CNBC Street Signs: >>
So you're investing and you're hiring, but are you hiring and investing
at a more cautious or slower pace than before, Drew?
DREW GREENBLATT >>
No, what we're trying to do is we're trying to capitalize on speed.
What happens is, when people come to us, they need things yesterday.
If you go to somebody else and they're 5 to 6 weeks, 6 to 8 weeks out on the delivery
because they laid off all kinds of people, because they're not investing back in
their plant and we can do it in a week or three days, we're going to be very
compelling. People pay a premium for that and that's the niche we're focusing on.
High quality, great engineering and the fast delivery.
CNBC Street Signs: >>
Drew, this is Herb. You hear people say they can't find qualified talent and
you're telling me you just hired a few people; where did you get them?
DREW GREENBLATT >>
The mechanical engineers we're hiring out of the University of Maryland,
Mechanical Engineering program. We have six mechanical engineers at our company and
that's been a great resource for us right out of college.
CNBC Street Signs: >>
Right out of college, you're getting them at a lower price.
DREW GREENBLATT >>
We're training them so they don't have any preconceived notions about speed and delivery.
We're teaching them, we can mold them in our own way. They're focused on what our clients need.
CNBC Street Signs: >>
Can I just ask you about the testimony this morning. You were
testifying on job creation made easy. The Columbia, Panama and South Korea Free Trade Agreements.
How confident are you that these are going to get through?
DREW GREENBLATT >>
I think it's going to go. I think it's going to happen.
There's a momentum building. The Korean President is coming in the middle of next month.
I think that it will be wonderful when President Obama meets him, if we could have this put to bed
so that it will be a very cheery, pleasant relationship.
These are our allies, these are our friends. This is 100-million new consumers that we're going to be
able to sell into. Right now, we need more markets. We need more opportunities.
We need more clients. That's how we're going to grow. If we get more orders, we're going to hire more
people. When I buy a machine and I hire a person, the vision is that they're going to be able to
make a wire basket or a sheet metal fabrication that we will export.
CNBC Street Signs: >>
Can I want to us back to the point of this interview is that a 30% drop in BNP Perry bond shares,
does that impact Marlin Steel Wire?
DREW GREENBLATT >>
No.
CNBC Street Signs: >>
There you go.
DREW GREENBLATT >>
We don't care about the day-to-day stuff. We don't care about that.
CNBC Street Signs: >>
So main street is doing ok even though Wall Street stinks?
CNBC Street Signs: >>
Yesterday, steel stocks were among the hardest-hit on a very down day.
Was that completely unwarranted? Those sharp falls that we saw in steel stocks?
DREW GREENBLATT >>
I think that what's going on with steel is that demand is going down a lot in America,
so what's happening is a lot of the steel mills in America can handle all of the business
in America and it doesn't make sense to import Turkish steel, it doesn't make sense to
import Chinese steel. So what's happening is a lot of the American mills are able to
control the whole market right now. There are some things that are happening that
have nothing to do with the stock market and the steel mills now.
CNBC Street Signs: >>
Alright, Drew Greenblatt, thank you very much. A very wide-ranging but insightful interview, thank you.
