Company Report: Custom Alloy Corporation
Offering one-of-a-kind solutions EVP Adam M. Ambielli says this manufacturer of butt-weld elbows and fittings provides processes and services that are without equal

Talk with Adam M. Ambielli for even a short while and you feel the Executive Vice President of Custom Alloy Corporation's passion for the company founded 41 years ago by his father and uncle, Adam F. Ambielli and John M. Ambielli.

You also understand his steadfast belief that, as a customized one-stop shop, the High Bridge, NJ, company provides services unmatched by any other manufacturer of butt-weld pipe fittings in the world.

"We have people I would put up against anyone from around the world. There is not another manufacturer in the world that can compete with us and what we do," Ambielli says, quietly confident in the knowledge he is surrounded by a top-notch team.

Custom Alloy Corporation produces butt-weld elbows and fittings ranging in size from a half-inch to 60 inches for use in gas transmission and other energy sectors. With five locations in the United States and offices in Singapore, Birmingham, England and Antwerp, Belgium, the company has built a global reputation for quality and delivery in a field not always known for reliability. It employs approximately 240, and holds multiple quality certifications including ISO 9001:2000 and multiple nuclear certifications.

A DIFFERENT APPROACH
Ambielli says they do things a bit differently at Custom Alloy. He credits much of his approach to having experienced a formal apprenticeship when he started with the company in 1986.

"I studied with a gentleman from Europe and I was able to get a European background in manufacturing and business. They do things unlike we do here in North America. They want facts before they move. That helped me a lot because, in the US, we do things very fast. This taught me how to grab onto facts at a rapid rate," Ambielli says.

He also learned the basics of metallurgy and how steel reacts to heat. "It's knowledge that's been handed down since Roman times, more of a blacksmith understanding to what's happening as you're working the metal. Learning that was huge for me, a wonderful experience," he says.

Custom Alloy designed its plant to be effective but not necessarily efficient in the traditional sense.

"We manufacture from half inch to 60-inch, from quarter-inch wall to 6-inch wall and we work with 125 different alloys. No one else in the world can do that," Ambielli says.

"Other manufacturers need specific start steels to manufacture their product. We have the flexibility in our manufacturing methods to be able to start with many types of start steels. When you make your name in the industry by manufacturing a quality product delivered on time, it would be rare for us to produce 100 pieces of one size."

Custom Alloy allows customers to dictate terms of delivery and sales. "They tell us what they want, how many, when they want it delivered, how they want it packaged and if they want it in inches or metric. They tell us what they want and we give them a price for that package," Ambielli says.

Along with the guarantee that "if the customer requests a 30-inch elbow of 316L stainless steel in Singapore in three days, it will be in Singapore in three days." This is a niche the industry has needed and we are the best at what we do," he says.

Custom Alloy workers are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They are cross-trained and able to take on a number of jobs. "People are our number one asset. It's all about them. Our guys can touch 20 different alloys in a day and they are trained to know what each does," Ambielli notes.

FORGING DIVISION
The company's new Forging Division, housed within the 230,000sf facility, features 3,000- and 6,000-ton presses and furnaces built by company employees.

"The fitting industry has always been one of peaks and valleys and we made a plan about three years ago to smooth those out. It has worked. We went to our first power generation trade show and debuted to the industry that we had a forging division and got an overwhelming response," Ambielli says.

While the company has worked primarily in the natural gas transmission sector for several years, the Forging Division adds possibilities in the alternative energy and sub-sea oil field sectors. The company now produces casings for windmills and, moving forward, Ambielli anticipates a strong surge in nuclear power generation.

SAFETY AND PEOPLE
The company has a full-time Safety and Training Coordinator and new hires first join the safety team for an evaluation period. "We see where they would best fit in the facility and we get to learn their personality and see if they fit the philosophy and nature of the company," Ambielli says. "We can then place them in the department where their skills fit best."

Once placed in a department, new employees train for three months with a co-worker in an apprentice arrangement before being released to work on their own.

The company's turnover rate is well below industry standards and it takes pride in having multiple members of several families working for it. Additionally, it has created a Legacy Program to leverage the knowledge of long-time employees ready to retire.

"We have several guys who have been here for 40 years. We've created a way for them to pass on all their knowledge to the younger generation and it's working incredibly well," Ambielli says.

Looking ahead the company feels it has positioned itself to be prepared for the energy demands of the world in both the short-term and long-term. Custom Alloy offers a portfolio of services others in the industry are unable to match.

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