Schurman Steel Fabrication, a division of M F Schurman Company Limited, has expanded its operations in Summerside in order to meet their production requirements for fabricated steel contracts in the New England States.
For the past four years, Schurman's has been producing fabricated steel for the U.S. market. Steel is sourced worldwide, shipped to Summerside and fabricated to detailed specifications for US contracts. The company has concentrated primarily on institutional construction to date. However, the expansion has provided the necessary capacity to compete for larger private sector projects. It has recently been awarded a $4.5 million ($cdn) contract for the structural steel for a condominium development in Boston.
The expansion added 3,600 square feet to the fabrication facility and additional equipment to clean the steel for painting, a paint shop and cranes. The company was assisted in the expansion by a loan from Island Investment Development Inc (IIDI).
"Diversified manufacturing is an area that has been identified as important to the growth of the Prince Edward Island economy," said Mike Currie, Minister of Development and Technology. "Schurman's has had great success in product development and exporting and is a great example of a company that has sought out a niche market and is aggressively pursuing it."
Fabricating steel to specification is a very exacting job. Schurman's technical staff details the steel sections from structural drawings of the proposed building. Once these shop drawings are approved, the sections are fabricated with the necessary connections. A great deal of detailing and logistical work is required. Measurements must be accurate to within millimetres so the fabricated steel will fit together to form the structure.
The majority of contracts awarded to Schurman Steel division have been in Massachusetts. The state is currently undertaking a large school construction program. The schools are generally anywhere from 4 to 8 times larger than the average Island school. These projects require a steel company which has the ability to carry a significant steel and work-in-progress inventory.
"These jobs depend on building strong and lasting relationships with the large general contractors in the New England market," said Michael Schurman, President. "This is where we have found our niche. We have the ability to finance inventories, and we can be very cost competitive. By expanding, we have been able to bid on more contracts and to increase our business significantly."
Schurman Steel Fabrication division currently employs 23 people. The expansion allowed the company to create four additional labour, welder and technical positions and to sustain an additional six positions that were created in 2000 to meet demand and expansion.