• END USER INTERVIEW •
“ We’ ve always sourced globally, but now we’ re being challenged to go even further. That means expanding our supplier base and identifying new opportunities to reduce cost.”
However, expanding the supply chain is not simply a procurement exercise. It requires rigorous validation. Barber is candid about what he sees as a structural weakness in the industry’ s approach to supplier qualification.
Across all of these dynamics-materials selection, supply chain strategy, and fabrication, the same underlying tension persists.
“ The biggest challenge with corrosion-resistant alloys right now is getting the lowest cost material that still meets the requirements of the specific corrosion mechanism you’ re trying to address.”
It is a deceptively simple statement, but one that captures the essence of modern materials engineering: balancing performance, risk, and cost in an environment where margins for error are small.
Barber notes that the broader market context is far from stable. Overcapacity in recent years has dampened growth, but geopolitical events have begun to shift the balance.
“ I’ ve long been an advocate for re-auditing suppliers, especially if you haven’ t visited them in four or five years.”
In practice, however, this is difficult to implement.“ With the current cost constraints, it’ s challenging to get approval for that kind of activity. Typically, you only get the support to travel once a project is already underway.”
This creates a reactive rather than proactive model of supplier management-one that may be increasingly difficult to sustain as supply chains become more global and more fragmented.
Working through fabricators Another structural constraint is purchasing scale. Like many end users, Dow does not typically buy materials in volumes large enough to justify direct mill production runs.
CHAIRMAN OF STAINLESS STEEL WORLD AMERICAS CONFERENCE & EXPO: DAVID BARBER, DOW CHEMICALS INC.
On 9 & 10 November 2026, Stainless Steel World Americas Conference & Expo takes place at the George R. Brown Convention Centre in Houston. Bringing together the entire stainless steel supply chain, from material manufacturers to suppliers, stockists, welders, fabricators, machine shops, EPCs and end users, it’ s an event that promises to deliver for all attendees.
David Barber is the Conference Chairman, lending his wealth of experience and practical knowledge to support the expert Steering Committee. The technical conference program covers topics as diverse as oil & gas,( petro) chemicals, duplex stainless steels, SMRs, refining, design and specification, and much more!
View the exhibition floorplan here: https:// stainless-steel-world-americas. com / exhibition / floorplan /
Want to be involved?
Conference: Ms Madeline McNabb, m. mcnabb @ kci-world. com Exhibition: Mr Karim Ayache, k. ayache @ kci-world. com
“ We don’ t buy enough to secure mill runs ourselves,” Barber explains.“ So we rely heavily on our fabricators.”
This shifts part of the sourcing responsibility downstream.
“ We have to work closely with fabricators and understand where they see opportunities- particularly when it comes to lower-cost suppliers. Then we step in to vet those options.”
The result is a more collaborative, but also more complex, procurement ecosystem; one that requires alignment between end users, fabricators, and material producers.
David’ s long history with Stainless Steel World began in 2018 when he chaired“ the Duplex World Conference. In 2026, he returns as Conference Chair for the Stainless Steel World Americas conference in Houston.
26 Stainless Steel World Americas | June 2026 | ssw-americas. com