2018 was a big year for Steel Nation. The company celebrated its 10th anniversary and relocated to a new 10,000-sq.ft. (929-m2) facility. The Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, USA, company has carried its positive momentum into 2019, recently adding facility services to its portfolio of transmission, storage, and compression facilities for the midstream and transmission operations of the oil and gas industry.
Steel Nation is a full-service construction, engineering, and environmental firm specializing in pre-engineered metal buildings (PEMBs). The company serves customers through four divisions – Steel Nation Buildings Inc., Steel Nation Engineering Inc., Steel Nation Environmental Inc., and now Steel Nation Facility Services.
At its inception, Steel Nation’s core business was PEMBs for the mining industry. Steel Nation Founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Caskey soon found opportunity in gas compression.
“I was very optimistic when I launched Steel Nation in 2008, but I couldn’t have imagined how quickly the company would grow,” said Caskey. “I’ve always said that this is a performance, people, and relationship industry. I credit the success of the company to our hardworking team and to an expanding list of incredible clients. Since the development of the Marcellus and Utica Shales, this area has attracted a variety of natural gas producers, trade associations, and other related service industry companies. Steel Nation is right in the heart of that. The larger facility allows us to have our construction, engineering, and facility services divisions all under one roof. As a result, we expect to see process flow improvements as well as more efficient communications between customers and Steel Nation departments.”
“Our team remains focused on not only keeping pace with emerging customer markets but also anticipating their future needs,” said Mark Dooley, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Steel Nation. “Steel Nation Environmental and Engineering divisions are discovering exciting opportunities in business sectors that were barely on our radar five years ago.”
In addition to gas compression, Steel Nation offers engineering and environmental services to myriad industries, including energy, water/wastewater, healthcare, commercial, and heavy industrial sectors.
“Although we’re very proud of our accomplishments,” said Alan Reid, executive vice president of Steel Nation, “we recognize that in order to continue on our path to success we need to drive further innovation, and we need to be even more responsive to the needs of our business partners.”
The company’s drive for innovation and dedication to its customers led to the creation of Steel Nation Facility Services.
“We have buildings that are now 10 years old. We’ve gone back and visited some of them and found that the lack of regular maintenance has left some of them in pretty bad shape,” said Caskey. “The reality is that the keys to these buildings change hands quite a few times before the operator receives them. They start out with oil and gas engineers, then move to the construction managers. Finally, they end up in the hands of the operator. Each time the keys get passed, they rarely discuss what needs to be done in terms of facility maintenance. That’s the idea behind Facility Services. We make sure the building itself is maintained. We have preventive maintenance plans where we come every quarter. We replace all the fan belts. We adjust every door in the building to ensure proper closure. We also make sure that the facility remains within OSHA compliance. We get on the roof and install lifelines, for example. We take care of annual overhead crane certifications. There is a lot that goes in to keeping a facility within OSHA compliance. We take care of all of that. That’s a big part of our Facility Services business. We will also go into legacy buildings and fix them up and, in addition to compliance, make them comfortable to work in year-round. In the winter, for ex-ample, these buildings can get very cold. We can find a winter balance where the building stays about 50°F (10°C).”
As the company rounds the corner on 10 years in service, Caskey sees continued growth for Steel Nation. “Every day we learn something new about making buildings quiet,” said Caskey. “Our engineers, project managers, and support staff are committed to providing the latest product innovations and supporting the needs of our customers. We have evolved to the point where, if we’re on site and a customer asks us to do some-thing and we’ve never done it before, we can say yes. We can design and engineer a solution that encompasses an entire facility site and then make sure the buildings themselves are maintained correctly.”
BUILDINGS
Steel Nation Buildings Inc. specializes in steel buildings for compressor, transmission, and storage facilities for midstream and transmission operations for oil and gas companies. Steel Nation offers specialized steel buildings that house compressors and gas engine, turbine, or electric motor power plants. The company specializes in sound mitigation and insulation, offering fast-track design to erection in six to eight weeks.
ENGINEERING
Steel Nation Engineering Inc. employs full-time Auto-CAD designers and detailers to focus on foundation, HVAC, process flow, electrical, sound mitigation, air handling, blast-resistant structures, and other critical disciplines that are crucial to designing safe and effective facilities. These services include local and state permitting and full interior design of office and occupied spaces. Steel Nation continues to provide a variety of ad hoc services such as building and crane investigations, above ground tank inspection services, and customized engineering solutions. In January 2016, Steel Nation Engineering Inc. added electrical design to its engineering portfolio.
ENVIRONMENTAL
Steel Nation Environmental Inc. is a full-service commercial and retail landscape and erosion and sediment control supply and installation company. It offers a comprehensive product line of aggregates including lime-stone, gravel, and sand, as well as retaining walls, drain-age systems, erosion control blankets, silt socks, and silt fences. “We closely monitor the marketplace for innovative product technologies to offer our customers a competitive edge,” said Caskey. “Additionally, we offer turnkey solutions for clients who need retaining wall design and installation. Steel Nation can also provide excavating and land clearing services as well as site fencing for erosion and sediment control projects and chain link fencing on oil and gas sites.”
FACILITY SERVICES
Steel Nation Facility Services offers preventive/predictive maintenance and retrofits on any facility, regardless of original builder. Services include torque anchor bolts and connection bolts; tension cross bracing; inspection and repair of roofing, gutters, wall panels, and cooler sealing; inspection, adjustment, and lubrication of overhead doors and person-nel doors; air handling services such as installation/maintenance of supply and exhaust fans, dampers and louvers, and HVAC systems; crane maintenance, inspection, and testing; and electric, fire/gas detection, and alarm system maintenance and installation.
