Tag Archives: small business

The “Springfield Flame” Graces the Cover of the West Coast Edition of A2Z Manufacturing Magazine!

Check out the cover spot and three page feature article on Albina Co., Inc. in the June/July West Coast Edition of A2Z Manufacturing Magazine. Pages 24-26! Portland artist Devin Laurence Field produced the laser-­cut stainless steel flame sculpture and Albina Co., Inc. bent 18″ STD A53B ERW 10 lens x 40 ft down to a 42 ft radius for the sculpture.

We had such a great time working with Linda and Kim to highlight and showcase all of the amazing curved steel projects we have done in Oregon, Washington, and California. Some projects featured in the article include:

Portland International Airport Curved Steel Canopy
Portland International Airport Canopy
Daly Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum Curved Steel Roof
Dale Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum- Seattle, WA.
The Spheres Curved Steel Spheres
“The Spheres” Seattle, WA.

Happy Father’s Day

I’m proud of my hard work. Working hard won’t always lead to the exact things we desire. There are many things I’ve wanted that I haven’t always gotten. But, I have a great satisfaction in the blessings from my mother and father, who instilled a great work ethic in me both personally and professionally. –Tamron Hall

Father’s Day is upon us! Father’s Day is particularly important to me as I lost my father, Bill, over 8 years ago, and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about him or get a reminder of him while at work. It can be a phone call from someone in the industry who used to work with him, it can be an old quote I see come across my desk with his name on it, it can be my daily rounds through the shop where I can still see him problem solving with a machine operator on a particularly challenging job. Whatever it may be, I always remind myself that I am a representative of the Smith Family and the steel bending business that my grandfather and father helped to build. Jaime and I have been building on their values for many, many years now and feel great about where we have been able to take the business. All three generations have worked in both the shop and office during our careers. A fourth generation spends their summers pulling weeds, washing windows and doing database entry in their spare time. We have four generations of family who believe in the steel industry and believe in the value of hard work. I have no idea if my son and daughter will be interested in taking over the family business some day, but if they do, I am confident that they will work hard, be honest and carry on the traditions we have lived by for the last 80 years! I am a proud business owner and a proud Father. Happy Father’s Day to all you Father’s out there! 

Bill & Brian Smith-2001

Utah District Courthouse Spiral Staircase Graces Cover of A2Z Manufacturing Magazine in June!

Check out the cover spot and three page feature article on Albina Co., Inc. in the June Rocky Mountain Edition of A2Z Manufacturing Magazine. Pages 18-20! We had such a great time working with Linda and Kim to highlight and showcase all of the amazing curved steel projects we have done in Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Some projects featured in the article include:

Sun Valley Music Pavillion in Sun Valley, ID. 220,000# of pipe rolled ranging from 10" Sch80 to 10" XXH
Sun Valley Music Pavillion in Sun Valley, ID. 220,000# of pipe rolled ranging from 10″ Sch80 to 10″ XXH
Custom Signage at Entrance to Yellow Stone National Park Attraction "Buffalo Bill Cody Stampede Park"
Custom Signage at Entrance to Yellow Stone National Park Attraction “Buffalo Bill Cody Stampede Park”
Ellie Caulkins Opera House Denver, CO. 210 lengths 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" x 3/16" angle rolled to numerous compound radii
Ellie Caulkins Opera House Denver, CO. 210 lengths 1-1/2″ x 1-1/2″ x 3/16″ angle rolled to numerous compound radii

We Can Save You Money! (How to Read a Quote)

Have you ever had trouble reading one of our quotes? I hope the answer to that questions is “No”, but if for any reason it is not, we have put together a brief video to show you “How to Read Our Quotes.” If quotes are not being read accurately, it is possible you are not comparing apples to apples when analyzing our quote against our competitor’s quote. You could actually end of paying more if you do not understand what the quote consists of.  The biggest thing is material. More often than not, we quote material on our bid, so our TOTAL number is more because material is included. You may look at the TOTAL number and think we are too high. BUT, instead of  being “high” we were actually the LOW PRICE, once you compare apples to apples. Our quotes will consist of one or all of the following 3 elements: Material, Labor and/or Freight. Both the email you receive and the attached quote will clearly identify which of those 3 elements are included in the quote. Please take the time to watch this brief video so that you can understand what our quotes consist of and avoid the mistake of paying too much for a project. 

How to Read Our Quotes
LINK TO VIDEO: HOW TO READ OUR QUOTES

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.

“Hey Siri” Who Do I Call When I Have a Labor Shortage and Am Struggling to Keep Up With the Flow of Work? ANSWER: Albina Co., Inc. Can Help Service Your Needs!

Our industry is faced with a labor shortage right now and we know that many shops are struggling to keep up with the flow of work. In this case, don’t ask “Siri” for help, ask us! Albina Co., Inc. is fortunate to have a strong union labor force behind us with workers that are available to meet your IMMEDIATE NEEDS. If you have a rush project that you need to get done-WE CAN HELP! If you have spillover work you need assistance getting to your customer- WE CAN HELP! Why hire temporary workers that you need to train? Why not team up with Albina Co., Inc.? We can be an extension of your shop. Let us partner with you on such projects as:

Small Parts Bending

Handrails

Bike Racks

Supplemental Fabrication
(cutting, trimming, coping, end finishing, drilling, small part welding, etc.)

WE CAN WORK TO YOUR BUDGET NEEDS….you tell us where our price needs to be to meet your budget requirements and we will figure out a way to get it done at that price.
IF LEAD-TIME IS A CONCERN, HAVE NO FEAR….you tell us when you need it and we will allocate the crew required to meet your needs.

Supplemental Steel Fabrication

Supplemental Steel Fabrication

Supplemental Steel Fabrication

Meet Brian and Jaime Smith-March Madness…Size Doesn’t Matter, Big or Small!

We are basketball junkies in our family and we love watching March Madness! We love it because all scenarios are represented: big history-rich dominating schools vs. small underdog first timers, big boisterous coaches vs. the silent tactical types, and big 7-footers vs. small point guards. This last scenario is true in our family as I stand at 6’6″ and Jaime almost a foot shorter. You can see below why Jaime, who actually played D1 college basketball, implemented a “no shot blocking rule” when we first started dating!!

Meet Brian and Jaime Smith

We think that this big vs. small comparison carries over so well into our business because we have the capability to bend steel for many different scenarios as well: big high-profile structural steel projects vs. small precision parts for manufacturing and industrial applications, large projects with mass quantities of bends vs. small one-piece bends for a one-time job and we are also a small, family owned business, yet we are the premier bending expert in the entire nation. No matter the job, big or small, we would love the opportunity to be Your Bending Expert.

DOWNLOAD OUR SPECIAL OFFER! FREE WHITE PAPER ON STEEL BENDING!

Click thru to the brochures section of our website or on the image below to be directed to our website and download your FREE White Paper titled “EXPER(imen)T: Why You Should Use a Bending Expert vs. Buying Your Own Equipment. If you are a manufacturer or even a structural fabricator looking to purchase your own bending equipment, this is an offer you don’t want to miss!

whitepaper_useabendingexpert

We Get It, You’re Busy!-That is Why We Value Your Time (Video Conferencing At It’s Best!)

As 2017 winds down, we would like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you. We hope to have the pleasure of doing business with you for many years to come. As we reflect on the many relationships we built upon this past year, the very interesting and high-profile projects we have been a part of, as well as the challenges and obstacles we faced along the way, we are thankful that we had such a great customer base to share those experiences with. We are looking forward to a new year that will certainly bring its own set of adventures, but we are ready!

WE GET IT…YOU ARE BUSY! THAT IS WHY WE VALUE YOUR TIME. It seems anymore that there isn’t just a “busy time of year”, every day, throughout the entire year is busy! We get that you are being pulled in many different directions with work, family, fun activities, etc. That is why we want you to know that WE VALUE YOUR TIME and boy do we have a gift for you this holiday season!

The visionary concept of “videotelephony” was first popularized in the late 1870’s in both the United States and Europe. The first systems were developed by AT&T Corporation, first researched in the 1950’s, and failed mostly due to the poor picture quality and the lack of efficient video compression techniques.

Today’s video conferencing systems are no longer just for webinars. Albina has invested in a system that makes video conferencing as simple as one click in an email. Even if you do not have a camera on your end, our video call allows you to see our smiling face, while we both can talk like a telephone call. But it can go much further than that!

We can share our screen with you to review drawings
We can link you to our shop cameras so that you can see your job in progress
We can teach you how to use the calculations application inside our website
We are still learning how this can bring even more value AND respect your time.

Click on this YouTube Video to see a brief example of what we are now able to accomplish (and at the same time, receive my holiday well wishes via video!)

Never tried a video call? Drop us a line and we would be happy to show you.

Meet Brian and Jaime Smith- There is Always Something for Which to Be Thankful

We live in a very uncertain world right now, but we try to remind ourselves every day that “There is Always Something for Which to Be Thankful.” We can only control what goes on in our own little circles of life and it is more important now, more than ever before, to take the time to say “Thank You” to the people who have made an impact or impression on either our personal or professional lives. We are thankful….

For our Loyal Customers: We truly appreciate your business, and we’re grateful for the trust you’ve placed in us. We are looking forward to another strong year and continuing our joint efforts to add the functionality, beauty, and drama of curved steel to the building and manufacturing worlds!

For our Outstanding Vendors: We are thankful that we have such a strong vendor base to meet, and often times exceed, all of our daily business needs. We value the relationships we have spent years building and hope that 2018 brings continued new projects and growth.

For our New Customers: “Thank You” for giving us a shot to be your steel bender of choice! We hope that your experience was a positive one and that we can continue to service your steel bending needs at the highest level. We are thankful for you giving us the opportunity to show you what we can do for you.

For our Employees: Our employees are part of the Albina family and so many of us have been around for decades battling through the many ups and downs of our economy. We have a very strong team in place right now and we are ready to meet the challenges ahead whatever they may be. We are thankful and grateful for their dedication to the Albina family and the time and efforts they spend servicing our many wonderful customers.

We hope to have the pleasure of doing business with you for many years to come. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you.

Meet Brian and Jaime Smith- There is Always Something for Which to Be Thankful

We are Thankful for the Opportunity to participate in the Consano Organization- A non-profit crowdfunding
platform for medical research. We got involved in the organization when my father, Bill ,was diagnosed with a
desmoplastic melanoma, that lead to his eventual passing in 2011. Albina is grateful to the Consano
Organization for all of their wonderful work!