My name's Chris James, and I'm the General Manager here at Metal X Thermal Specialties.
I'm Deborah James, President and CEO of Metal X Thermal Specialties.
Metal X is a family business founded in September 2020, and we've been running it for almost five years now.
We take in parts from many industries—auto parts, knife blades, molds and dies—and process them using various furnaces and ovens. We heat the parts up and then cool them down rapidly, which makes them harder, stronger, and more durable.
One of our biggest challenges was keeping track of what was happening in the shop—knowing every step a part went through, who handled it, and keeping records. We’re required to keep paper records for a minimum of 15 years, and that was a major pain point.
We had a software program Chris used to create orders, but then that info had to be entered again into QuickBooks for invoicing. We also tracked hardness results manually in a spreadsheet. There was a lot of duplication across different systems.
Now it's all consolidated into one program.
When we were looking at ERP systems, we came across Steelhead. We liked the way it worked and the hands-on setup approach. It fit our budget and met all our future needs, so we moved forward.
The deployment process was great. We did everything virtually, which worked well because we could keep the shop running. The deployment leader was very knowledgeable and got us ready quickly. We were up and running on day one—no downtime at all.
Before, everything was done on paper—people wrote down which furnaces parts went through. Now I can just check Steelhead to see exactly where the parts are and what’s been done.
We’re required to keep documents for 15 years. With Steelhead, we’ve eliminated paper filing and storage. Everything’s digital and in one place.
I used to spend two to two-and-a-half hours in the morning on invoicing and getting jobs out. Now, I can do it in half the time. It saves me at least an hour to an hour and a half every morning.
When I need to create certs for parts, all the information is already there. I just click "make cert," and it's done. I used to fill those out in Word, which would take 20 to 30 minutes—now it’s just one click.
I can email everything to the customer directly from Steelhead without switching to my email or attaching files manually. Even better, customers can log into the portal and pull their own certs and invoices.
It’s also helped us track costs more accurately. We can see furnace time and other process steps, which helps us determine if our pricing is right or if we need to adjust.
Our current goal is getting our NADCAP certification within the next six months so we can start processing aerospace parts.
Being able to see where a customer’s part is at any point in time is a huge advantage. Instead of going out to the shop and asking around, we can quickly find the information and stay on top of things for our customers.
I’m Deborah James, President and CEO of James Legacy Corporation, doing business as Metal X Thermal Specialties—and our shop runs on Steelhead.