User:Gerhard Schiller
Gerhard Schiller, born 1964 moved to the United States from Germany in 1992. While still "fresh off the boat" and while learning English Gerhard Schiller started his own business called Alpine Consulting with the focus on consulting manufacturers in marketing and sales strategies to succeed in different markets. Naturally the emphasize was on either German and European manufacturers trying to market product in the US and also to assist US manufacturers to enter the EU markets.
Eventually in 1993 Mr. Gerhard Schiller started METALCO Fence & Railing Systems as a result of initially representing a EU manufacturer in the US. However, the EU manufacturer was not able to adjust to certain market conditions and demands customary to US consumers. Mr. Schiller decided to narrow the product line to a smaller but extremely successful line of fence and railing systems, including High Security Fence Systems, Stair and Balcony Railings and Facade Screen Systems.
In the early stages these products had been designed and engineered in the US but manufactured in Europe, mostly Germany and Poland. Starting in 2005 the sales volumes reached made it uneconomical and impractical to import the products as long shipping times and cost presented a challenge. Under the leader ship of Gerhard Schiller METALCO decided to setup its own manufacturing facility in the US which contributed greatly to increased sales and profits. After an initial learning curve manufacturing lead times had been shortened dramatically and the product cost to the end consumer was lowered due to the decrease in logistic and shipping cost.
Since 2006 Mr. Gerhard Schiller is proud to state that METALCO products are now are Made in America, yet engineering and quality control are based on German quality and precision standards.
More information about METALCO can be found here: www.metalco.us More information about Mr. Gerhard Schiller can be found here: http://www.gerhard-schiller.com