how mill capacities vary at a given time and to look at supply and demand so he can handle all these factors efficiently. He uses trucks, rail and barges to get product to his customers and always tries to be fair with the steel mills. He understands, he says, that they have to make a profit too. Conklin sees trust as his firm’s stock in trade. Asked about his management philoso- phy, Conklin says he hires people and gives them a “long leash” and leaves them alone. They can hang themselves with it, or they can achieve beyond their own expectations. steel is latent energy. Concrete as a building material “wouldn’t be used,” except with rebar, which Conklin also sells. While his father mainly dealt with steel piling, Conklin sells H-pile, pipe pile, sheet pile, wide flange beams as well as other structural steel shapes. The H-bearing piles are the most trusted types of foundations, he says, and that steel is valuable because of its efficiency. Most important, he says he only deals with domestic steel, which is 100% melted and manufactured in the United States. Conklin makes a convincing case for steel, saying that scrap steel is a world commodity ... all recycled steel is latent energy. Currently, engineers and contractors are talking about sustainability in construction. Conklin makes a convincing case for steel, saying that scrap steel is a world commodity, and that all recycled Looking Ahead Conklin is launching Conklin Integrated Holdings, which includes 17 new “entities.” He plans to integrate this holding company horizontally and vertically, he says, and it will include industrial manufacturing, structural steel and plate, and “value-added” processing. Conklin is constantly looking at the industry and ways he can grow the company to assist his customers and future customers to grow their businesses. Conklin also has plans to form a foundation in the memory of his late father and his brother, Thomas P. Conklin, who passed away from Leukemia in 1969. A familiar face at DFI exhibits, Conklin has been a member of DFI since 2005, as well as many other industry associations, several of which his father joined when he first formed R.W. Conklin Steel Supply, Inc. in 1983. Conklin believes DFI assists in both his short-term and long-term goals in making relationships, and his hope is to eventually get more involved with DFI to obtain better intellectual knowledge to understand the products to further the advancement of deep foundations and geotechnical engineering. Virginia Fairweather 34 • DEEP FOUNDATIONS • MAR/APR 2012
