From headaches to handled: How we took over IT for a busy steel manufacturer.

When we first met Rule Steel, their IT setup was dragging their operations down. Slow responses. Patchy support. Expensive software recommendations that didn’t even fit their workflow. The HR and Safety Manager—who was going to lead the switch on their end—was bracing for what she called a “long, painful onboarding.”

This wasn’t a simple shop either. Over 50 people spread across offices, shop floors, remote sites (some international), and a huge shipping yard. Plus specialty hardware and software everywhere you looked.

We knew we had to hit the ground running.

They budgeted a month for the transition. The plan was to run us alongside their old IT company to ease into it. But within about a week, we were already handling most of their day-to-day IT needs.

The HR Manager put it bluntly:

“I probably only needed the old IT for about a week because at that point I was having TotalCare handle all the situations.”

We dug in fast—fixing legacy issues like missing credentials and locked-out files—and set up a support system where requests were prioritized and resolved quickly. Here’s her example:

“I sent an email to set up a new employee today at 3:37 PM… got the ticket closed at 3:54 PM with username and password ready.”

But more than that, we listened. We adjusted how we communicated, how often we reported updates, and how we secured sensitive data—tailoring it all to fit their workflow.

And yeah, there were bumps early on. One of our engineers hopped into a remote session while on the phone with the client but didn’t explicitly ask first. The client called it out: please confirm access before remoting in. Fair feedback. Now, it’s a standard step in our process. That one conversation made us better for every client after.

Transitioning IT providers is never seamless, especially when the old team leaves behind missing passwords or half-done documentation. But with collaboration and responsiveness, Rule Steel moved past the rough edges fast.

The result?

• Less downtime with faster responses

• Stronger security for sensitive HR and operational data

• Smarter software spend

• Clearer communication that leadership could rely on

• Scalable support that covers their offices, shop equipment, remote workers, and yard-wide Wi-Fi

The HR Manager said it best:

“It’s not just about the money, but I feel like they all care and take pride in what they offer. They checked all the boxes we were looking for, and still do. I would choose them again in a second—and I wish I would have found them sooner.”

Want IT support that actually fits your metal manufacturing operation? Stop fighting with vendors who don’t listen. Let’s talk.