Customers Keep Returning to Kern Steel

With Steel costs on the rise and a tight building schedule, good communication was essential between Taylor Teter Partnership, Wallace and Smith, and Kern Steel Fabrication, Inc. Together they were able to lock in a design and order the steel early, which got them a much better price. The project these companies were working together on was the Kern School Federal Credit Union main office building in Bakersfield, CA.

Kern Steel was hired by General Contractor Wallace & Smith to work together with other subcontractors to get this project done. Justin Marino, Structural Engineer for Taylor Teter Partnership, recalls that Kern Steel was, “very good to work with and they were very well coordinated.” Before a building can be fabricated it must be designed. There was a lot of collaboration between the design team and Kern Steel before the final design was completed. This allowed for a very efficient and economical structural steel design that incorporated the fabricators best manufacturing practices with what the Engineer and Architect wanted and allowed for the project to be completed on schedule.

Project Superintendent for Wallace and Smith, Tom McCormack said, “We set some goals for Kern Steel on some dates and you guys were able to meet all those goals,” Kern Steel was able to come in on schedule and on Budget.

This wasn’t the first time that Kern Steel and Wallace & Smith have worked together. Wallace and Smith was so impressed with Kern Steel’s performance on a Chevron-Texaco project in Bakersfield that they came back to KSF for the Kern School Federal Credit Union Project. McCormack said, “When we have a job that requires quality and workman like attitudes we always go to Kern Steel on the big stuff.” Taylor Teter Partnership are also working with Kern Steel again, they are currently working with Kern Steel on Kingsburg Elementary School in Kingsburg, California. “It was a pleasure to work with Kern Steel and we would definitely work with them again,” said Marino.

“When we have a job that requires quality and workman like attitudes we always go to Kern Steel….” -Tom McCormack, Project Superintendent for Wallace & Smith