Phil Castle, The Business Times

Jim Over remembers pulling out a map of the United States to search for possible locations for the steel fabrication business he hoped to open. While he considered several sites, he decided on Grand Junction and subsequently launched Western Slope Iron & Supply.

Fast forward 50 years, and the company Over started and his son, Jeff Over, expanded remains in business under the ownership of Dave and Elizabeth Marsh.

A recent celebration reunited the owners as well as various aspects of their lengthy story about the history of the operation.

Some themes about longevity emerged, among them the importance of paying and treating employees well, providing quality products and services to customers and adapting operations to serve new markets.

Dave Marsh says he’s grateful for what he considers a remarkable achievement. “This is really impressive. It’s quite a milestone.”

Western Slope Iron & Supply still operates at the site on 23 Road where Jim Over stated the business. But the operation has expanded over 50 years with a total of 35,000 square feet of shop space on 7 acres. The company maintains the largest inventory of product of any firm between Denver and Salt Lake City and a fleet of trucks to haul products to construction sites.

Western Slope Iron turns raw materials from mills into the steel beams, joists, stairs, railings and other components used in commercial, industrial, residential and government projects.

Many of the large buildings erected in the Grand Valley over the years include steel from Western Slope Iron, Marsh says. That includes Community Hospital as well as buildings on the Colorado Mesa University campus in Grand Junction. The Grand Junction High School under construction constitutes one of the biggest projects ever for the company, he said.

Western Slope Iron also has provided structural steel for high-rise hotels, condominiums and other buildings at ski resorts often featuring complex roof lines, Marsh says. In addition to CMU, the firm supplies products for buildings on other university and college campuses.

The company serves a far-flung region of the western United States that includes Colorado as well as Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.

Marsh says the bulk of business for Western Slope Iron comes from contracts for specific projects in which the company not only supplies components, but also works with architects in designing the way those components fit together to construct the buildings. Working with detailers and erectors, Western Slope Iron can provide complete steel packages for delivery and erection.

The size and scope of the operation has grown from what Jim Over started in 1974.

Over says he worked for a steel fabrication business in California and handled small jobs on his own, but wanted to relocate and run his own company. He says he considered a half dozen possible locations, but decided on Grand Junction because the city offered a large enough base of customers.

He initially fabricated adjustable storage racks and rebuilt cement truck tanks in addition to handling other custom work.

Jeff Over says he studied engineering at the Colorado School of Mines and subsequently worked in surveying. But he returned to the Grand Valley to join his father in operating Western Slope Iron & Supply. “I was excited to be back into it.”

Jeff Over says he modernized and expanded the operation to supply structural steel components for large buildings in the Grand Valley as well as ski resorts.

He purchased Western Slope Iron & Supply from his father, discussing the terms over what he recalls was orange julius drinks at the Mesa Mall.

Marsh says he joined Western Slope Iron & Supply after graduating from college and initially worked as a fitter and welder before becoming a project manager. He went on to purchase the company from Jeff Over.

Marsh and Jim and Jeff Over attributed the longevity of Western Slope Iron & Supply to several factors, chief among them paying and treating employees well. “I have a deep appreciation for employees and what they do,” Marsh says. “All jobs are critical to the quality of products and the success of the company.”

Jeff Over agrees. “You couldn’t do it without employees.”

The three also attribute long-term success to the relationships nurtured with customers and based on quality products and service. Jeff Over says the repeat business so important in the industry depends on honesty and integrity.

Marsh says modernizing operations and adapting to new markets has promoted efficiency and growth. Automated equipment has shortened processes that used to take four hours to a matter of minutes.

As for the next 50 years for Western Slope Iron & Supply, Marsh says he looks forward to continued growth and improvement. “We’ll just keep doing what we do and continue to get better at it.”