Blog posts of '2016' 'June'

A customer recently called us and asked if we were ready for a difficult steel bending project out of 3½” Sch40 pipe.  The project was for a Wind Sculpture in Oak Harbor Washington.  The designer was hopeful that the material could be bent to countless radii and configurations.  Some of the radii are elliptical, some bends are compound, some bends are helical bent, the list goes on. Once Albina reviewed the drawings we jumped at the opportunity to perform. The experts at Albina make the seemingly impossible bending projects, possible. [caption id="attachment_902" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Helical, Elliptical and Parabolic Bent 3-1/2" Sch40 Steel Pipe[/caption]

Some would think that a 24” tall beam weighing 84# per ft would be a big chunk of steel. One might even ask if it is possible to bend such a large section of steel. The answer would be to contact Albina. We are experts in bending the very small and the very large….you name it and we will bend it. Yes W24x84# beam is a large chunk of steel, but certainly not too large for the experts at Albina. A loyal customer out of Deer Park, Washington contacted us to bend this material the easy way down to a very tight 42 ft radius. After bending the 25,000# of steel, our customer is fabricating the sections and will eventually ship to Alaska for the new Juneau Seawalk. [caption id="attachment_898" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Wide Flange Bent the easy way down to a 42 ft radius.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_899" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Wide Flange W24 X 84# A992[/caption]

Albina shines on a steel bending project requiring material that isn’t a mill stocked or produced shape! A loyal customer out of Billings Montana contacted us to partner up on the South Reserve Street Pedestrian Crossing project. This project was unique as it required TS 18" X 18" X .625" WALL A588 CORTEN material that one couldn’t purchase from a mill. This tubing had to be fabricated from plate. Albina teamed up with a local forming partner in Tualatin, OR and had 60 ft lengths of plate formed in a press break and then welded to form this unique square tubing. After this material was formed and fabricated, Albina took over the steel bending portion of the job. We are curving 8 lengths x 60 ft long of this material to a 148’ 3” inside radius. All of the materials need to meet AESS (Architecturally Exposed Structural Steel) requirements. No challenge is too difficult for the experts at Albina! [caption id="attachment_893" align="aligncenter" width="225"] TS 18" X 18" X .625" WALL A588 CORTEN material [/caption]

As a University of Colorado alumni graduating in 1998 I would never pass up on an opportunity to provide bent structural steel for my alma mater. A great customer of ours from Colorado contacted us months ago presenting the opportunity to partner up on the University of Colorado Health Center project. We jumped at the opportunity to team up and work on this project. The project consists of 8 pcs of 12 3/4" OD X .375" WALL A252 GR3 which is a special grade of material. This material is being bent to various radii ranging from 114 ft to 438 ft. We are also bending 18 pcs of MC12 X 10.6# A36 the hard way (against the web) radii ranging from 439 ft to 468 ft. We are also providing 10 lengths of W44 X 290# A992 bent the hardway to radii ranging from 439 ft to 468 ft. [caption id="attachment_888" align="aligncenter" width="225"] 12-3/4" OD X .375" Pipe Bending[/caption]

Albina recently created an "Industry Links" page on our new mobile-friendly website. Albina understands and values the relationships that we have in the steel bending industry and we wanted to highlight a few of the companies we deal with on a daily basis who help us provide our customers with the best products and services available. We highlight various steel industry associations such as AISC, NOMMA, PNSFA, Impact and others. We also give a brief description of many of our key Service Centers, Subcontractors, and Specialty Contractors. This page provides a great resource for individuals to learn about all the different aspects that go into the process of bending steel.

It is that time of year again where beautiful floats take the streets of Portland, Oregon during the annual Rose Festival Parade. Reser's Fine Foods chose to use curved steel pipe for the feature element of their float during a previous Rose Parade.  Actual flames of fire traveled across the steel ring to create a dazzling visual effect. We are looking forward to the upcoming Rose Parade June 11th, 2016 and hope to assist many more companies and organizations who choose to use curved steel to enhance the aesthetics and visual effects of their floats! [caption id="attachment_880" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Steel Ring of Fire[/caption] [caption id="attachment_881" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Portland, Oregon Rose Parade[/caption]

Albina Co., Inc. will be a featured exhibitor at the 2017 NASCC Show March 22-25th in San Antonio, Texas at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. Mark your calendars now and come visit us to learn more about our various steel bending methods including induction bending, pyramid rolling, rotary draw bending, cold bending and others. See the amazing curved steel products we are able to produce on our various steel bending equipment. Hope to see you there!