Tag Archives: steel rolling

Pumpkin Carving & Steel Bending: What Do They Have in Common?

Carving pumpkins is a family tradition in the Smith House, a tradition that started 20 years ago with one of mine and Jaime’s first dates. But like most events in our household, it is not something we just do without thorough planning and preparation. We follow a strict set-up, we have our designs in mind before we start, we have all of the tools we need at hand, we tackle challenging designs, and most importantly, we have Chinese food waiting for us when we are done! But in all seriousness, the steps we go through to carve pumpkins are very similar to the ones we go through when dealing with a project involving a curved steel component.

Steps for Pumpkin Carving

1) Plan Ahead: Buy Your Pumpkin Shortly Before Halloween

2) Buy Your Pumpkin from a Pumpkin Patch or Supermarket

3) Select a Healthy Pumpkin Free of Nicks, Bruises and Cuts

4) Pick the Size You Need

5) Choose a Design Before You Start Carving

6) Choose a Method for Carving Your Pumpkin

7) Trace Your Design on the Pumpkin

8) Set Up a Spacious Work Area

9) Select the Right Tools

10) Remove the Filling

11) Carve Your Design

12) Display Your Pumpkin

Steps for Steel Bending

1) Plan Ahead: Early Involvement of Key Players, especially Your Bender/Roller.

2) Buy the Steel: Have Us Quote Your Job Labor + Material or Purchase Your Own Steel from a Service Center and Have it Delivered To Us

3) Select the Material that is Right for Your Job: HSS, Pipe, Tube, Angle, Channel, Wide-Flange, I-Beam?

4) Pick the Size You Need: Use our Handy Calculators or refer to our quote indicating the lengths we require to successfully bend your project.

5) Work with the Engineer, Architect or Bender/Roller on the Project to Perfect the Design of the Curved Steel

6) We will Choose a Method for Bending Your Steel Based on Your Needs and the Application of the Product

7) We Bend Per Your Template and/or Drawings.

8) We have a 50,000 sq ft Shop with Ample Room to Handle Large Structural Projects and Smaller Repeat Orders.

9) We have the Right Tools with State of the Art Bending Equipment, Bend Dies, Fab Equipment and a QC Department.

10) No Need to Remove the Filling! We DO NOT fill your HSS with other Structural Members. We are able to Bend HSS Members WITHOUT adding extra Material and Weight.

11) Bend, Roll, Spiral, Fabricate, Form!!

12) Erect, Assemble & Display Award Winning Projects Featuring Curved Steel Members for the Steel Industry to See!

Exterior Images of Curved Steel at The Madison Center “Great Room” in Seattle, Washington

We were in Seattle this weekend and were able to get some exterior pictures of The Madison Center. The Madison Center is a 530 foot tall, 36 story high rise office building in Seattle, Washington and is featured in the June edition of Modern Steel. Albina Co., Inc. was the bender/roller on this project and worked specifically on what is being called “The Great Room” which is a 45-foot tall steel framed entryway rotunda. Albina bent many material types for this project including tube steel 8″ x 6″ up to 12″ x 12″, 3″ x 3″ angle, W10 and W16 wide flange, 8″ pipe and more. Check out the article for some more details on the architectural feat and some great pictures. We will be heading back up to Seattle next week to get some interior shots. Stay tuned!

Exterior Picture of The Madison Center Great Room
The Great Room Rotunda
Close up of Curved Steel Wide Flange, Tube Steel and Pipe
Curved Steel Spiral Staircase

24,000# of Curved Steel for UC Health Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont, CO.

Albina Co., Inc. bent at total of 24,000# of steel including 12 ¾” OD x .375″ wall material and MC12 x 10.6# material for the new steel-framed UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont, Colorado. The project is featured in the July issue of Modern Steel Construction and the article details many of the structural design challenges as well as the importance of early involvement of specialty fabricators.

Curved Steel Roof for UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont, Colorado
Curved Steel Roof for UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont, Colorado
Curved Steel Roof for UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont, Colorado

New Estimator Has Joined the Albina Team

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 both our shop and office team members.  We are excited to introduce the newest member of our Estimating / Project Management team, Joseph (Joe) Daniels. Joe is joining Aaron Hughes, Mark King, Brad Lund, Stuart Hasman and Brian Smith in Albina’s Sales department. Joe has many years of experience in the steel and fabrication industry and has worked in Albina’s shop, as an Ironworker, since July 2014. Joe has developed an outstanding reputation at Albina and will be a welcomed addition to our outstanding sales and estimating team. Joe possesses a comprehensive work ethic and will service Albina’s customers just as you have grown accustomed to from the other members of our team. We are confident Joe’s commitment to quality and integrity will make him a valuable resource as our company and your business continue to grow. You can contact Joe or any of our other existing sales staff with your estimating and technical needs at 503-692-6010. Joe’s email is jdaniels@albinaco.com. Thank you for your continued support.

Joe Daniels joins Albina Co., Inc. Estimating Team
Joe Daniels

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

Vancouver Waterfront Project/Grant Pier (Featuring Our Curved Steel Handrails) Wins 2019 Earnest Wiemann Award!

The Vancouver Waterfront Project and Grant Pier Fabricator A2 Fabrication Earns 2019 Earnest Wiemann Gold Top Job Contest Award! 
Albina bent 2½” SCH40 T304 S/S, 1¼” SCH40 T304 S/S, 2½” SCH40 A53B ERW and 1¼” SCH80 A53B ERW for the curved steel handrails. We cut and bent the steel per the drawings and protected the finish of material during production and for shipping by wrapping the curved steel in foam and cardboard to keep parts from rubbing against each other. We bend handrails for commercial, recreational, transportation and residential applications. Handrail Kits Are Available: Bent and trimmed per drawing, mid-rails trimmed and coped, assemblies supplied as individual parts or fabricated complete. Call us for your next handrail project! 

Curved Steel Handrail on the Vancouver Waterfront Walkway 2019 Ernest Wiemann Award
Grant Pier
Curved Steel Handrail on the Vancouver Waterfront Walkway 2019 Ernest Wiemann Award
Vancouver Waterfront Project
Curved Steel Handrail on the Vancouver Waterfront Walkway 2019 Ernest Wiemann Award
Curved Steel Handrail
Curved Steel Handrail on the Vancouver Waterfront Walkway 2019 Ernest Wiemann Award

Feature Article & Cover Shot in May SW Edition of A2Z Manufacturing Magazine

Check out the two-page feature article on Albina Co., Inc. in the May Southwest Edition of A2Z Manufacturing Magazine. We had such a great time working with Linda and Kim putting the article together.

The article highlights several projects that we have participated in specifically in the states of Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. Our company history, philosophy and future goals are also touched on in the piece. 

A2Z Manufacturing Cover Shot
50,000# of Bent Steel Provided by Albina Co., Inc. for Sloan Park- Home of the Chicago Cubs Spring Training Facility

NOW HIRING: ESTIMATOR/PROJECT MANAGER

Candidate must have extensive steel fabrication and estimating (bidding) experience (a minimum 5 years’ experience). It would be ideal if the candidate has actual shop fabrication or bending experience as well. Candidate must be well connected in the bending and fabrication industry and have a strong reputation for customer service. High-level ability to use Geometry, Trigonometry, AutoCAD and computer based Excel spreadsheets.

Duties include: Read & interpret shop drawings to come up with bending and fabrication estimates. This candidate is responsible for all levels of the bid process as well as post-bid project management. Work with a team of estimators and project managers to initiate improvements in our current bid process and develop new standards / rules for estimating bending and fabrication.

Compensation DOE. 
This is NOT an entry-level position.

Please email or fax your resume Attn: HR Director: dwilson@albinaco.com or 503-692-6020 (fax)

Meet Brian and Jaime Smith-“Making Magic Happen”

We just returned from the happiest place on Earth (Disney World) and while we should be rested after 9 days of vacation, we are exhausted!!! Disney, just like everything else in our lives, involved strategic planning almost six months in advance just to ensure we could have a hot meal and ride the most popular rides. And even with all that planning and preparation, Jaime and I found ourselves constantly evaluating the efficiencies of the parks, the bottlenecks we faced, and how we thought Disney could improve the experience of park-goers. Don’t get me wrong, we had great family time, and Disney is one of the most successful companies around, but I think the lesson we took away from the trip is that even if we think we have things all figured out and are doing things the way we think you want them done, we can’t rest on our laurels and we need to be constantly evaluating how we can make your experience in doing business with us an enjoyable (and dare I say “magical”) one. 

On our trip, we were constantly on a roller coaster, jumping from one ride to the next, never a dull moment. That is the same feeling we have about how the spring is shaping up here at Albina Co. We have so many great and interesting projects going on right now! We are rockin’ & rollin’ on so many different types of material! So many industries…agricultural, structural, aerospace, mining, food processing, and so much more! Below are just a few projects we shipped out recently! 

Meet Brian and Jaime Smith-Happy New Year!

With every New Year comes excitement about the anticipation of what is to come, but also a bit of caution as to what may lie ahead. That is why we took two New Year’s pictures this year as a family! We must stick to what we know to keep our family and business strong, but we must also have the fortitude to take a leap when a project or challenge comes our way. The uncertain economic and social times we live in pose challenges each and every day, but I am confident in the companies we partner with, the people we work with, and the projects we invest in. Maintaining a strong steel industry, just like raising a strong family, is a collaborative effort. All hands on deck! Lets work together to get through these uncertain times and come out stronger on the other end!

And with every New Year comes reflection about the year prior. 2018 was one for the record books as we worked on many exciting curved steel projects. Albina was fortunate to team up with some great fabricators on a massive project in California this last year.  The project (to be named at a later date) consisted of 100’s of trucks, thousands of pieces and millions of pounds of bent steel.  This was the largest project Albina has processed to date and we look forward to working on more projects that have this level of complexity and excitement in 2019, the 80th Anniversary of our company!! Cheers to 80 Years!