Chassis Material Supplier Research

Owned by Keyon Jerome
Last updated: Oct 29, 2020
3 min read

Note: Research was done for 41-30 chromoly steel custom tubing

Information needed before calling to ask for pricing information:

  • How much do we need? (e.g ~15m)

  • Am I asking for part sponsorship in kind first, or do I go straight for pricing?

  • Other - need to get phone and voicemail script reviewed

Potential Chassis Material Suppliers in the KW area:

  • Kitchener Steel: Website notes “Hollow Structural Tube” as a product. No pricing information available on website.

    • Phone: (519) 748-2410

    • Address: 600 Trillium Drive, Kitchener, Ontario, N2R 1E6

    • Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm

  • Metal Supermarkets: Website specifically notes Alloy Steel 4130 (Chromoly) as an available product. No pricing information available on website. They have locations in London, Kitchener/Waterloo, Guelph, Cambridge, Oakville… see list here.

    • Phone: 519-742-8411

    • Address (Kitchener/Waterloo): 5 Forwell Rd, Unit 4, Kitchener, ON, N2B 1W3

    • Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm, Saturday 9am-1pm

  • Polyfab Industrial Services: Website notes custom metal tubing, but no other information is available. Not sure if they offer 41-30 chromoly.

    • Phone: 519-885-9674

    • Address: 1655 Strasburg Road, Kitchener, ON, N2R 0C9

    • Email: polyfab@bellnet.ca

    • Hours: unavailable

  • Aircraft Spruce: Website notes 4130 steel available for order.

    • Phone: 519-759-5017

    • Address: 27 York Road, Brantford, ON N3T 6H2

    • Hours: 8AM - 5PM EST

Companies that MIGHT offer 41-30 chromoly steel (need to call & verify):

KW:

  • Formex Metal - It looks like they only do machining, but they are a “leading supplier of automotive components”. They also offer tube forming—is this important to MSXIV?

  • Bell Service Group - Website notes “structural steel” (beams, plates, brackets) and “custom fabrication”, but no mention of tubing specifically.

  • Russel Metals - Their “products” page notes that “[their] steel distrbutors provide… structural and tubular products to customers nationwide”, so they may actually be able to supply steel tube. However, after digging deeper into the page I didn’t find chromoly/steel tubing anywhere—only welded & seamless pipe.

  • Boss Steel

Companies that do NOT offer 41-30 chromoly steel (other companies researched):

Phone Script

Good morning/afternoon,

How are you doing today?

My name is [name] and I am the Sponsorship Specialist for the University of Waterloo’s Midnight Sun Solar Car Team. Over the last thirty years, our team has built twelve fully solar cars and raced across two continents.

We’re looking for 11 metres of custom-made 41-30 chromoly steel tubing for the main chassis of our solar car and were wondering if [company name] had any interest in partnering with us or sponsoring us with some material.

I’d be more than happy to initiate this process today—is there an email and name I can contact you, or your team at?

Voicemail Script

Hi there,

My name is [name] and I am the Sponsorship Specialist for the University of Waterloo’s Midnight Sun Solar Car Team. Over the last thirty years, our team has built twelve fully solar cars and raced across two continents.

We’re looking for [number] metres of custom-made 41-30 chromoly steel tubing for the main chassis of our solar car and were wondering if [company name] had any interest in partnering with us or sponsoring us with a contribution of that material.

I’d love to speak with someone from [company name] about this, as well as the many benefits of sponsoring Midnight Sun. You can reach me at [phone number, repeated twice]

Thank you, and have a great day