Tag Archives: bent steel

Signature Curved Steel Sky Bridge at the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact

We took our daughter to tour the University of Oregon this week and we were simply in awe of the amazing facilities and buildings on campus! Our tour started on Franklin Boulevard where the University broke ground in early March on the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact. Albina Co., Inc. bent 22″ OD x 1″ Wall Carbon Steel Pipe to a 105 foot center-line radius for a signature sky bridge that spans Franklin Boulevard and serves as a connector between campus and other U of O research facilities. The $225 million, 160,000-square-foot first phase is slated to open in early 2020.

Curved Steel Sky Bridge at the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact
Curved Steel Sky Bridge at the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact
Curved Steel Sky Bridge at the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact

Curved Tube Steel Used on Timber Equipment

We recently completed a project consisting of 400 pieces of bent tube steel 4″ X 4″ X .375″ WALL A500 GR B for a customer on the east coast. All parts were cut and trimmed by Albina to a 1/16” tolerance. These bent parts will be used on equipment for the timber industry. 

Curved Tube Steel Used on Timber Equipment

Curved Aluminum for Rock Guard Frames

We recently completed a job bending some rock guard frames out of 1″ SCH80 6063-T52 Aluminum. Albina cut and bent the aluminum to net 500 pieces.  All of the pieces were bent on a 5″ center line radius. It was quite an amazing site to see them all packaged and ready for shipment in our yard!

Curved Aluminum for Rock Guard Frames
Curved Aluminum for Rock Guard Frames
Curved Aluminum for Rock Guard Frames

Extremely Precise Bent Steel for Chemical Processing Application

We recently bent 215 pieces of .79” OD X .083” WALL C-276 for a chemical processing application. C-276 alloy is one of the most corrosion resistant alloys currently available. This project is a perfect example of how consistent, accurate and reliable we are with jobs that require extreme precision!

C-276 Alloy Bent Steel for Chemical Processing Application-1
C-276 Alloy Bent Steel for Chemical Processing Application-2
C-276 Alloy Bent Steel for Chemical Processing Application-3

Custom Made 1940’s Bending Machine Displayed On-Site at “The Smith-sonian” in Honor of 80 Years in Business!

In honor of our 80th Anniversary, Albina has created a museum on site, called “The Smith-sonian”, which honors the family name and houses one of the first ever pieces of equipment that Albina owned and used to bend materials. John Smith, Brian’s grandfather, built the “Model-T” bending machine in the early 1940’s utilizing the transmission and differential from a “Model-T” Ford. This machine was used to roll/bend various materials such as pipe, tube, and square and rectangular HSS (hollow structural steel). The machine would pull material around a bend die resulting in a smooth radius finished good. The “Model-T” was in operation at Albina until the 1990’s when it was replaced by more efficient bending equipment. “The Smith-sonian” is ready for visitors. Stop by to see us! Cheers to 80 Years! You can check out a virtual tour on YouTube.

Albina 80th Anniversary "The Smith-sonian"

Albina 80th Anniversary "The Smith-sonian"

Albina 80th Anniversary "The Smith-sonian"

Going Above and Beyond to Meet Our Customers Needs

Albina is not only known for bending large structural members, but we service a wide range of manufacturing companies. We have consistently bent hydraulic lines for a local manufacturing company in Portland Oregon. We will bend 100’s of parts at a time on our CNC equipment. A recent production run was bent out of ½” OD X .049″ WALL T316 S/S material. This customer required some very specific radii. We did not have all of the tooling to match the exact needs. So to service our customer and meet their requirements, Albina purchased tooling to meet every radii our customer required!

Picture Vault Getting Rave Reviews from Customers!

Our new “Picture Vault” has been live for almost two weeks and our customers are loving it! We have sent picture links to dozens of customers and have gotten extremely positive feedback. Customers think the vault is “cool”, “informative” and “a great way to learn about the steel bending process.”

If you haven’t heard about the vault yet, here is a recap! We recently added a new bar coding system to our shop orders which allow our operators to take pictures during various stages of a bending project. Customers can now login to a secure portion of the Albina Co., Inc. website to see their jobs in four various phases of the steel bending process: raw material, in-process, in quality control and ready to ship.The objective is to offer yet another value-added service for our customers and to keep them well informed throughout their project. Once pictures are taken and uploaded to Albina’s internal picture vault, the project manager at the customer site will receive an email with a secure login username and password, as well as a link letting them know that they have new pictures ready to view. Pictures will be categorized based on Purchase Order Number and Project Name and will remain available for viewing indefinitely. If customers like the pictures posted in the vault, they are welcome to contact us and we will provide a JPEG image for both internal or external use.

The secure site is also useful for ordering Standard Duct & Component Parts online! So quick and easy! If you haven’t ordered online yet, call us today and we will get you set-up immediately to start ordering online.

Picture Vault

This is just the first phase of the secure site. Our plan is to provide a resource for customers to view and track other items including invoices, packing slips, order confirmations, etc.

Gearing Up for Our 80th Anniversary in 2019!

We are hard at work planning lots of fun events and stocking up on lots of COOL Albina Company swag to prepare for the year-long celebration of our 80th Anniversary. We are in the planning stages of some great activities and events in order recognize all of our employees, customers and vendors that have helped us reach this milestone! We are also creating “The Museum” on site which will house one of the first ever pieces of equipment that Albina owned and used to bend materials. My Grandfather (John Smith) built our “Model-T” bending machine in the late 1930’s / early 1940’s utilizing the transmission and differential from a “Model-T” Ford. This machine was used to roll/bend various materials such as pipe, tube, square and rectangular HSS (hollow structural steel). The machine would pull material around a bend die resulting in a smooth radius finished good. The “Model-T” was in operation at Albina until the 1990’s when it was replaced by more efficient bending equipment.

We hope to have “The Museum” set up and ready for visitors after the first of the new year. Stop by to see us! We are happy to take you on a tour of our shop and show you the machine!

Bending Machine powered by Model T Ford Engine

Bending Machine powered by Model T Ford Engine

Bending Steel Angle Heel Up, Heel Out, Heel In, Leg In and Leg Out! Plus Bulb Flat!

We bend all sizes of angle that the mill produces, up to 8” x 8” x 1¼”. We can bend all types of angle as well; including aluminum, stainless and carbon steel. Carbon angle (mill produced) is classified as ASTM A36 resulting in a yield point (PSI) of 36,000 minimum. We bend all stock lengths as well as non-stock lengths. Stock lengths range from 20 to 40 feet. Angle is produced with equal legs and unequal legs. Unequal legs would measure differently on the horizontal leg versus the vertical leg. We have the ability to bend angle with the leg in, leg out, heel in, heel out and heel up. We also have the ability to bend bulb flat. Bulb flat is similar to angle with one of the legs cut down to a very short “stub”. We can bend bulb flat with the stem out and the stem in. We can bend all mill sizes produced up to 430 mm x 20 mm (16.93” wide x .787” thick). Bent angle can be used for many different applications. The most common application would be angle flanges which are full circles that are used to join sections of pipe together. Bent angle is also used for canopies, roof trusses and tunnel shoring applications.

Bent Steel Angle Leg Out

Angle Leg Out

Bent Steel Angle Heel Up

Angle Heel Up

Curved Steel Everywhere you Look in Seattle!

We spent this last weekend in Seattle as we took our son and some friends up to a Mariners game. We had Saturday morning to spend in the city, and everywhere we looked, we stumbled upon projects containing curved steel that we have been a part of! The Jimmy Hendrix Museum, The Spheres and Spiral Staircase at The Spheres, the New Spiral Staircase in the Space Needle, the Canopy at the Seattle Great Wheel, the Dale Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum, the pedestrian bridge at the Museum of Flight, and art projects outside of corporate offices. The list goes on! What a true experience to see Brian showing the kids all of the curved steel projects Albina has done over the years! It was a great teaching moment to explain how the entire process works from the beginning of a project to the end and how all the different players work together to accomplish one final product. We were extremely proud to be the steel bender of choice for these amazing projects in the Pacific Northwest. And stay tuned, there are great things happening in the PNW and many more high profile projects coming up!

"The Spheres" at Amazon Curved Steel

"The Spheres" at Amazon Curved Steel

The Seattle Great Wheel Canopy Curved Steel

Curved Steel Art Work