Hermosa Iron Works, formerly a large structural steel company in town, sold most of its equipment to Ska Fab Steel earlier this year.
Dan Morris and Matt Vincent, the owners of Ska Fabricating, first got the idea to get into construction when Vincent was looking to build a house and he wanted to include some exposed steel.
“Why would we go somewhere else when we can do this?” Morris recalled thinking.
Ska Fabricating specializes in machines that move beer cans from a pallet to the conveyor to be filled, and it has grown quickly as the beer industry has expanded in the last few years.
The company is the latest venture for Ska Fabricating’s owners, who bought a powder coating company in 2016.
“Matt and I both have an entrepreneurial spirit; we’re always eyes open looking for what’s next,” Morris said.
The two wanted to retain the Ska Fab in the new company’s name to help build some recognition for Ska Fabricating, which does most of its business outside the area.
“When you get out there doing structural steel, people relate to you and what you do,” he said.
The company works on residential and commercial construction, and it operates out of the Hermosa Iron Works shop at 29318 U.S. Highway 160.
Morris said the business started out at a measured pace, but he expects work to pick up in the next few months, and he expects to be hiring.
Currently, the company has six full-time employees and one part-time employee.
Like most businesses in the construction industry, Morris has run into challenges in hiring.
“There is more work than there is people to do it, basically,” Morris said.
Hermosa Iron Works didn’t close after selling welding equipment to Ska Fab Steel.
Under the umbrella of Hermosa Iron Works, its owner, Andrew Pierce, is selling code-compliant tiny houses, Weather King Portable Buildings, and other products in the same building occupied by Ska Fab Steel.
Pierce started Hermosa Iron Works 17 years ago, and his company helped build the Durango Transit Center, Nature’s Oasis, Bayfield Town Hall and other large projects in the area.
The company was downsized during the recession, and then two years ago, before selling equipment to Ska Fab Steel, Pierce started focusing on residential construction.
“We kind of started dialing back,” he said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
