Trade association Thursday: Stainless Steel

Stainless Steel Industry of North America

http://www.ssina.com/news/index.html

Overview:  The Specialty Steel Industry of North America (SSINA) is a voluntary trade association representing virtually all the producers of specialty steel in North America. Our members produce a variety of products including bar, rod, wire, angles, plate, sheet and strip, in stainless steel and other specialty steels.

Associate members?  Yes, they have a sponsor program which provides for advertisement and access privileges.  The cost is $3,000 per year.  “B”

Public membership directory? Yes, there aren’t many members and they don’t provide contacts nor anything more than an address and the website. “B-“

National conference? No, but they have a link to a Chinese Steel conference held this year.  “D”

Subchapters? No. 

Industry news or reports? They provide quite a bit of information on stainless products, the size of the market, information about suppliers.  “A-“

Glossary?  Yes, an extensive “definition of terms” that lists out many words and terms specific to the stainless steel industry. “A”

Provides a sense of the industry?  Provides an excellent sense of the industry with lots of information about all aspects of their business.  The only weakness is a lack of public advocacy.  That might be handled by an affiliate association.  “B+”

Overall: Very functional site with strong information and easy to access.  Its weak on a sense of community, public advocacy, conferences and the like.  There aren’t many members of the organization but if the goal is to understand the stainless steel industry, this site will be a big help.  “B+”

Tags: competitive intelligence, Linkedin, stainless steel industry, Stainless Steel Industry of North America