Schuff Steel Management Company SW

Schuff Steel Management Company SW (SSMC) was launched in 2001 to bring turnkey project management to steel erection. The company is part of Schuff International Inc. (Schuff Steel), a family of companies that together form the largest steel fabrication and erection group in the United States. The Schuff family began in 1976 with Schuff Steel Company, and has blossomed into a network of over 1,500 skilled professionals, 10 steel fabrication plants, two steel joist manufacturing plants and more. SSMC is located in Mesa, Ariz., just to the east of Phoenix, home to the original Schuff shops, and the company specializes in providing an innovative approach to project execution.

“We do things differently,” muses Randy Eskelson, president and COO of SSMC. SSMC employs only 14 professionals, but the company’s reach extends nationwide. SSMC provides design-assist/design-build preconstruction engineering services to projects of all sizes. Schuff Steel Company has acquired a loyal client following from coast to coast, leveraging years of experience, a reputation for quality, and the company’s expansive fabrication resources to deliver projects on time, on budget and at a competitive cost.

SSMC functions as a smaller, independent arm of its parent company and works with clients to find the best available prices on steel fabrication and erection services.

SSMC can leverage its parent company’s purchasing power to secure the best possible pricing and send the materials to the most appropriate fabrication company in the country given a project’s specific requirements. SSMC also maintains the flexibility to consult the client and opt to have the same fabricator complete the steel erection services on smaller projects or award the package to another specialist.  SSMC maintains excellent working relationships with structural, architectural, mechanical and miscellaneous steel design and fabrication companies, such as accuracy- and efficiency- focused steel detailing and engineering firm Tectonix Steel, as well as with comprehensive erectors.

SSMC utilizes proprietary tools to track the progress of every project as its parent company. The company’s SSIMS (Schuff Steel Integrated Management System) data coordination method tracks the status of a project using real-time data and can be used to check whether an order has been placed, where the steel is being fabricated, and when the client can expect the order to arrive on site. Together these capabilities reinforce SSMC’s commitment to deliver on-time steel management.

Building Steam

Schuff Steel Company’s portfolio includes a number of high-profile projects across market sectors. The company is currently completing work on the new Intel campus in Arizona, and in the past it contributed to landmark projects such as Cardinals Stadium and was the primary steel specialist for many of the attractions along the Las Vegas Strip, including the Venetian Venezia, Paris Hotel & Casino, Mirage Hotel & Casino, NY NY Hotel & Casino, the Palazzo Hotel and Casino, as well as the more recently completed Crystals at City Center shopping mall.

SSMC does the majority of its work in Arizona, but has completed projects in Nevada, California, New Mexico and Colorado. SSMC also successfully completed a project in Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point), Mexico. In contrast to its parent company, SSMC’s primary target markets are healthcare and education balanced with a smattering of industrial and several commercial projects.

SSMC most recently competed work on a new solar panel manufacturing plant for Rioglass Solar in Surprise, Ariz. The plant serves as the U.S. headquarters of the Madrid-based solar manufacturing company and is estimated to cost over $50 million. Rioglass is reported to have chosen the site for its convenient rail access, but the site also landed the company a $10.6 million federal tax credit, the largest such credit issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s program to promote building green industries in the region.

The first phase of the project comprises a 130,000-square foot headquarters complete with a manufacturing operation that came online in 2011, with a second phase of similar size to follow. The facility will produce curved-glass sheets used in thermoelectrical power stations as parabolic concentrators. The facility will also supply much of the product for use at the 280-megawatt power plant in Gila Bend, Ariz., just 70 miles from Phoenix. The plant will become the largest solar power station in the country with a six-hour thermal storage capacity, and it is scheduled to be fully operational by 2013.

Stronger than Steel

Drawing on in-house BIM-aided engineering and budgeting capabilities, as well as relationships with fabrication and erection firms of all sorts, SSMC builds the most efficient, creative project teams and schedules to maximize value and minimize waste. But even SSMC’s strong reputation couldn’t shield it completely from the economic downturn. “In 2010 we did approximately 50 percent of what we did between 2008 and 2009,” expands Eskelson. “Last year was a 25-percent improvement over 2010, but we expect at least a 50-percent improvement over 2011’s numbers for 2012.”

Eskelson’s positive projections appear justified, as in its first decade SSMC has carved itself a proactive niche by leveraging the approach and reputation of its parent company with a flexibility and focus on next-generation facilities that sets it apart. As signs of improvement pop up around the country, Schuff Steel Management Company SW will be poised to take on additional growth opportunities without compromising the extra attention to detail for which it has become known.