WebSightings

E-Fiber Hits Number 500

E-commerce service provider e-Fiber LLC, Atlanta, has registered 500 members to its Web site. The company claims the number makes it the largest Web site focused exclusively on pulp and paper mill procurement.

The company has registered more than 150 mill sites, 200 direct suppliers, 100 brokers/agents and exporters and 50 industry service providers to its service in its first full year of Internet operations.

“We are quite pleased with the growth we have experienced over the past year and are looking forward to expanding our service offerings for our network,” states Doug Mowery, e-Fiber’s president and CEO.

Mowery has also announced that e-Fiber is expanding its service offerings to include chemicals, transportation, equipment, MRO supplies, consumable items and other goods and services that mills buy.

“Unlike most paper industry Internet sites, e-Fiber focuses on the supply of products and services to pulp and paper mills and not from them,” says Mowery. “We’re off to a great start with 500 members in the fiber sector,” Mowery remarks. “Now we are building on that to provide full service procurement functions for pulp and paper mills worldwide.”

According to Mowery, e-Fiber provides direct, electronic communication of transactional data for existing supplier/customer relationships as well as an online marketplace. “Mills are not out to replace the supplier relationships they have developed for years for the possibility of saving a couple bucks in an auction or exchange,” Mowery adds, noting that the industry can use the Internet to streamline transactions.

ScrapSite Unveils E-Commerce Functions

ScrapSite.net, Pittsburgh, an online scrap metals marketplace, has launched the e-commerce portion of its Web site. The site was created by existing e-commerce firm MetalSite along with Metal Management Inc., Chicago, and Philip Services Corp., Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Potential buyers are able to review product offerings and place bids on materials. Membership is free but there is a transaction charge.

“It was straightforward, easy and no trouble at all,” says Jeff Smith, Westland Metals, Hayward, Calif., one of the first bidders on the site.

ScrapSite’s first auction posted eight million pounds of product, with 173 bids received at the auction’s close.