Small business owners (from left): Melonie Brown Martin, Robert Dill, Staci Sour Martinez, and Jay Lockett.

We're currently in the midst of International Small Business Week (June 27-July 1). And it's worth pointing out just how important small businesses are to the metal fabrication industry.

Not only do small shops help the metalworking sector thrive, but they also add a level of entrepreneurial spirit, innovation, and creativity.

Consider our audience: More than 60% of The FABRICATOR subscribers work in shops with less than 50 employees. And 45% of those readers work in shops with less than 20 people.

We’ve covered countless stories about small job shops and welders working artistic side hustles over the years. And the small-business focus became especially poignant during the pandemic as folks working for larger companies lost jobs or decided to quit altogether.

Here are just a few of many recent examples of some small metal fabrication and welding businesses:

Nearly two years after Canadian welder/fabricator Mike Kaufmann built himself a one-off squat rack, he started Squat6stands, a business dedicated to designing and fabricating workout equipment suitable for home use.

When Southern Illinois-based Robert Dill was laid off from his job, he combined his welding/fabrication skills, hands-on experience building and fixing things, and love of the outdoors to start up a business, Flat Tail Metal Works, to fill a niche in his community.

A Kansas City metal fabricator's first crack at creating a large-scale metal sculpture has been a huge success, to say the least. A giant rose fabricated by Jay Lockett of Jay FabWerks is on display in downtown Lee’s Summit, Mo.

Staci Sour Martinez’s relatively new career as a welder has been a natural fit with her experience as a working with wood. Now the South Dakota-based fabricator builds custom wood and metal furniture, handrails, other architectural items, and, recently, metal art sculptures. It's even led to a a partnership with the Hooded Heroes Foundation.

Melonie Brown Martin, a third-generation welder and owner of Sparksfly Welding and General Repair in the Atlanta area, strives to bring more diversity to the trade with mentoring and training programs.

Indiana-based shop Crosby & Drumm learned difficult yet valuable lessons when the COVID-19 pandemic hit just 14 days after the small fabrication and welding business opened its doors.

Running a family-owned business isn’t easy. Certainly many small manufacturing companies share roots with a family tree. Columnist Lisa Wertzbaugher, who has worked in both family-owned and non-family metalworking companies, has some insights based on her experiences.

The Conner family of Industrial Machine and Engineering Co., Monett, Mo., is just one family helping to make the metal fabricating sector in the U.S. a vibrant part of the overall economy.

The FABRICATOR is North America's leading magazine for the metal forming and fabricating industry. The magazine delivers the news, technical articles, and case histories that enable fabricators to do their jobs more efficiently. The FABRICATOR has served the industry since 1970.

See More by Gareth Sleger

Find The FABRICATOR on Facebook

Find The FABRICATOR on Twitter

Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The FABRICATOR.

Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The WELDER.

Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Tube & Pipe Journal.

Enjoy full access to the digital edition of STAMPING Journal, which serves the metal stamping market with the latest technology advancements, best practices, and industry news.

Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Fabricator en Español.

© 2022 FMA Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

Not yet registered? Sign up