Blog

The newly renovated Broadway Bridge opened a few weeks ago in Boise, Idaho. The General Contractor determined, at the end of the project, that the detailer had left off a couple of pieces. We rolled and galvanized the steel and sent the finished product over night to meet the bridge opening requirements. You can read more about the details of the bridge renovation here.

The following comments from our happy customers demonstrate the very reason that people should not make purchasing decisions based solely on price, especially when buying a product that requires precision and quality like curved steel. "We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Albina employees for their professionalism and expedited efforts that it took to perform their part in the bending and fabrication of the required tube assemblies. With the efforts of the Albina team, the fabricator was able to accomplish the expedited schedule that end customer required. We would like to mention that the customer was very happy with the work that Albina performed and commented that they have more projects they plan on sending our way. We look forward to working with you in the future." "The entire staff at Albina has been excellent to work with and up front and honest in the work that that was performed. I thank you and the Albina crew for setting the standard. I look forward to the next project that we get to send your way." Remember that there is a price and a cost associated with every job. The price of a competitor might be below ours, but when you add up all of the actual costs to receive and install the material, is there really a cost savings? If you chose the lowest price, you may deal with late delivery, poor quality or incorrect parts and a lack of or delayed communication. If you choose the lowest price, you will get what you pay for.

Albina Co., Inc. recently bent various steel pipe materials including  5” sch40 T304 stainless steel, 5" Sch10 T304 stainless steel and 4” sch40 T304 stainless steel for a curved steel water feature in Florida. Albina works on many projects including playground equipment, treehouses, spiral climbers and much more! [caption id="attachment_959" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Pipe Bending for Curved Steel Water Feature[/caption] [caption id="attachment_960" align="aligncenter" width="221"] 180 Degree Pipe Bending[/caption] [caption id="attachment_961" align="aligncenter" width="300"] 5" Sch10, 5" Sch40 and 4" Sch40 Pipe Bending[/caption] [caption id="attachment_962" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Recreational Pipe Bending Application[/caption]

Our office team is simply the best in the steel bending business! Each member of our Sales and Estimating team has longevity, experience and knowledge of the steel bending industry. We take great pride in our ability to quote jobs and manage them from beginning to end. We focus on communication, communication, communication! Our Quality Control and Equipment Maintenance teams ensure quality bent steel products and well-kept, high performing machines. Our shipping department focuses on combining long haul loads to keep costs down and we use dependable shippers with safe driving records. Our Accounting team makes doing business with Albina Co., Inc. a positive and seamless experience due to our extreme attention to detail and streamlined accounting processes. Our Executive Staff keeps our office running smoothly and focuses on customer support and getting people the answers they need in a timely manner. Our team is committed to working hard, working together and working efficiently to get the job done and to meet our customers’ needs on EVERY job, big or small! [caption id="attachment_955" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Albina Co., Inc. Office Team[/caption]

The erection of the curved steel "Spheres" in Seattle, Washington was completed in April 2016. Over the summer, the team of contractors began the install of the glass enclosure over the steel bio-spheres. Check out the progression in the pictures below. As a reminder, Albina’s scope of work included approximately 750,000# and 1.050 pieces of rectangular tube steel bent the easy way and a portion bent off-axis. The material was bent to tight tolerances and bent to AESS standards. The amount of welds and grinding was significant, but thanks to Albina’s ability to bend portions of the project, a significant amount of welding and grinding was avoided. Almost NO correction was needed during fabrication or erection as the bends fit to fixtures (fabrication) within 1/32nd of an inch! Check back for more pictures as the project progresses! [caption id="attachment_948" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Curved Steel Bio-Spheres Seattle, WA.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_949" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Curved Steel Bio-Spheres Covered in Glass[/caption]

Most of our steel bending production crew members have been at Albina for a majority of their careers. Our crew has a great working relationship. Having employees who have been here for a number of years and look out for each other, makes a lot of safe combined experience which definitely feeds into the quality work we do on all our projects. Our production crew takes pride in their work as they are continuously repairing and improving equipment, keeping the shop clean and uncluttered to further improve job set up, tear down and production time. [caption id="attachment_943" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Production Crew at Albina Co., Inc.[/caption]

Today we shipped out a two stop load that took some care in stacking from our veteran loaders. This load will head down to Modesto, Ca where some of this material is for the 1000 Page Mill Road Building. Then the truck will continue on to Phoenix, AZ. Where the balance of the material is to be used for a fitness center. This load included many types of materials: TS 10” x 8” x .500”Wall TS 6” x 2” x .375” Wall TS 8” x 6” x .375”Wall 3” x 3” x ¼” Angle C12 x 20.7# TS 12” x 4” x .375” Wall TS 16” x 8” x .500” Wall As you can see by the pictures, this was not very easy to puzzle together as to how best to stack the material for safe shipping as well as easy offloading. With that said, it only took our loader 3 hours to load and stack in a safe manner that both the loader and the driver were happy with.[caption id="attachment_937" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Page Mill Road Building Curved Steel[/caption] [caption id="attachment_938" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Complex Shipment of Curved Steel[/caption]

In July 2016, and article by Melissa Dalton was published in Oregons 1859 Magazine featuring treehouse architects Michael Garnier and Charles Greenwood. Albina has provided curved structural steel supports for the Garnier/Greenwood team on several of their projects. Click here to read the full article in 1859 Oregon's Magazine.

Albina recently completed 65,000# of bent steel  for a curved span bridge that connects Los Angeles' Metro Universal City City Red Line Station to Universal Studio Hollywood's Wizarding World of Harry Potter Attraction. Albina bent the following structural steel materials for the 400 foot, L-shaped bridge span bridge. 14” OD x .375” Wall bent down to a 60 ft radius 16” Od x .500” wall bent down to a 59 ft radius 17” Sch80 A106B smls bent down to a 59 ft radius 8.625” OD x .500” wall API-5L bent down to a 44 ft radius 8.625” OD x .625” wall API-5L bent down to a 202 ft radius The steel was fabricated by Thomson Metal Fab. Click her to read a recent article published in Modern Steel Construction. [caption id="attachment_929" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Pipe Bending for Universal Studio Hollywood Span Bridge[/caption] [caption id="attachment_930" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Pipe Bending Ranging from 8.625"-17" OD Material[/caption]

Summer months in the steel bending industry always present very fun and interesting curved steel projects from various manufacturing and structural customers alike. Our shipping yard is filled with various small material, mass production runs for our customers in the manufacturing industry. [caption id="attachment_922" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Pipe Bending for Boat Lifts[/caption] [caption id="attachment_923" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Heating Coils for Asphalt Trucks[/caption] In addition, we have many large material, heavy tonnage, unique bending requirements for our structural and architectural customers who are extremely busy during the summer construction months. [caption id="attachment_924" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Structural Steel Bending of Wide Flange for Store Canopy[/caption] [caption id="attachment_925" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Structural Steel Bending of Rectangular Tube for Curved Roof Trusses[/caption]   No matter the size or difficulty of your project, Albina can meet and exceed your expectations. If you have a project that requires a curved steel element, call us today!