Blog posts tagged with 'Albina Co'

We recently supplied rolled tubes for the Jimi Hendrix Park project in Seattle, Washington. The customer was so pleased with the rolled tubes that they received that they reached out to us to let us know. "We are currently in fabrication, we are looking at an install at the end of March. I will first say that the rolled tubes are exactly correct in terms of radius. You are experts at your craft and it shows." Remember that there is a price and a cost associated with every purchasing decision. Do not chose the lowest initial price or you may deal with excessive and unanticipated costs throughout the project. [caption id="attachment_1104" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Rolled Tubes for Jimi Hendrix Park Seattle, WA.[/caption]

It seems that during this time of uncertainty in the US Economy, we are returning the 2008 trend where consumers make purchasing decisions based solely on price. If you chose the lowest price, you are opening yourself up to many more "costs" that are not necessarily represented in the quoted price. It might seem like a risk to purchase from a supplier that isn't the "lowest price." The rewards are greater than the risk. What is important to you? Do you want to receive the correct parts the first time? On-time delivery? Communication throughout your project? Proper documentation? Billing Procedures? 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.

We are excited to introduce the newest member of our Sales team, Stuart Hasman. Stuart “Stu” joins Brad Lund, Aaron Hughes, Nathan Marker, KC Lesch, Brian Smith and Mark King in Albina’s Sales department. Stuart is a Territory Manager and will be covering all our various regional customers in conjunction with Brad Lund. Stuart has years of experience in sales and customer service, in fact, over the last 8 years Stuart has headed a very successful domestic and international sales campaign for a local Portland business. Stuart has developed an outstanding reputation in the Portland metro region, and you may already have a solid working relationship with him. Stuart possesses a comprehensive work ethic and will service Albina’s customers just as you have grown accustomed to from the other members of our staff. We are confident Stuart’s commitment to quality, customer service and his integrity will make him a valuable resource as our company and your business continue to grow. You can contact Stuart or any of our other existing sales staff at 503-692-6010. Stuart’s email is shasman@albinaco.com. Thank you for your continued support.

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]

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.

Albina rolled / bent a 60' Length of HSS 16 X 4 X .500 A500 Gr. B tubular steel this morning. It was not the most challenging job on the whole, but we had no margin of error. A mill ordered 60' length of material that was not easily replaceable and would have caused significant schedule delays for our customer if it didn't work out. Rolled / Bent to a 12' Radius the Easy Way with virtually zero distortion. Planning and teamwork at all levels resulted in another example of the best available result.

The last few years have been sensational for Albina Co., Inc. We have seen a great deal of change in our industry and have been fortunate to recognize growth in our capabilities, capacity and in our staff (both shop and office). We are excited to introduce the newest member of our Estimating / Project Management team, Nathan Marker. On December 2^nd Nathan will be joining Aaron Hughes, Mike Swanda, Brian Smith, Mark King and Brad Lund in Albina’s Sales department.  Nathan has years of experience in the steel and fabrication industry. For the past 15 years Nathan has worked in shop environments and has recently worked as an estimator / PM for a local steel fabrication company. Nathan has developed an outstanding reputation in the steel industry, in fact; you may already have a solid working relationship with him. Nathan possesses a comprehensive work ethic and will service Albina’s customers just as you have grown accustomed to from the other members of our staff. We are confident Nathan’s commitment to quality and integrity will make him a valuable resource as our company and your business continue to grow. You can contact him or any of our other existing sales staff with your estimating & technical needs at 503-692-6010. His email is nmarker@albinaco.com. Thank you for your continued support. Brian Smith- President

"The quality of your work and the extra efforts taken to expedite this project make it hard for any other forming company to get in the door. You’ve earned our business and my thanks."                                                  -Progressive Steel Industries, Ltd., British Columbia

Seventy years have passed since three co-workers had a dream and started a pipe bending company. They had very little, but a strong desire when they started that business in an old blacksmith shop at 225 N. Russell. Their dream grew through hard work and a determination to grow. Albina’s original owners hired two employees, one being John Smith. As a first order of business, John Smith along with the original owners, built Albina’s first bending machine utilizing the transmission and parts from a Model-T Ford. This machine still works to this day, and is in storage at Albina’s current location. At a later date, John Smith was able to purchase the business from its last living entrepreneur. In January of 1967, John’s son, Bill Smith, purchased the company located then at 7805 NE Halsey. Under Bill’s leadership, Albina proved to be capable of supplying unique, quality products to a wide range of industries including structural steel fabricators, public works contractors, pulp and paper mills, truck manufacturers, architectural designers, sculptors, shipbuilders and many others. Albina’s product line grew to include heat exchangers, coils, boiler tubes, chip lines, formed structural supports and framing, institutional barriers and fencing, art work and sculpture, playground equipment, medical and dental equipment. Over the years, Albina has proved they could produce virtually any other metal component that needs to bend or curve without the use of pre-formed fittings. Bill’s son, Brian Smith, came on board in 1998 and was instrumental in the decision to move to the current 50,000 sq. ft. building in Tualatin, Oregon that was custom built in 2001. Brian currently controls all day-to-day operations and holds the title of CFO and General Manager. Albina’s growth is the result of the American dream, solid ideas and hard work. We thank all that have been involved with this growth and we look forward to providing our customers with many more years of the quality customer service and products associated with the Albina name.

On February 6, 2009, President Obama made a significant change in federal policy concerning project labor agreements, or PLAs, on federal projects and government contracts. PLAs require all contractors and subcontractors on a construction project to have a labor contract with unions. Until, February 6, federal agencies could not require the use of PLAs on any government projects. The new Executive Order reverses that policy. While not requiring the use of PLAs, it encourages federal agencies to consider requiring PLAs on all federally-funded construction projects greater than $25 million. It makes PLAs permissible if their use advances the policies of the government's labor-management stability and compliance with safety and employment laws. The Office of Management and Budget has 180 days to make recommendations as to whether the new Order should be broadened. The Executive Order should result in an increase in the use of unionized labor on federal construction projects. PLAs will likely result in higher wages and require negotiation with construction unions in order to obtain federal work. While unions are pleased with the Executive Order, which reverses a non-union trend of several decades, non-unionized Contractors are not, as it impacts their ability, or desire, to bid on federal projects. Albina Pipe Bending Co., Inc. has been a union shop since its inception in 1939. We proudly employ union workers from the Local 290 Plumbers and Steamfitters Union (Local 290 Website) and the Local 516 Iron Workers Union (Local 516 Website). The specific language of the executive order can be found at: Whitehouse.gov