PHOTO: Tiffany Brooks
Lynden Sheet Metal going strong Venerable company keeps powering up Cheryl Stritzel McCarthy Considering that just 21% of American companies make it to their 20th anniversary, Lynden Sheet Metal is breathing rarefied air indeed. The company wants to grow more. Earlier this summer at LSM on Evergreen Street in Lynden, Conex shipping/storage containers and even a party tent were up outside to add storage space. There’s talk of putting up another permanent building, maybe 8,000 square feet, at the company’s present location. The existing building is 12,000 square feet on the ground level (the fabrication shop) and another 6,000 square feet on the mezzanine (offices). Before COVID-19, the company had 58 employees. Earlier this summer, it had 70 and was hoping to hire five more. Company President Bobbi Kreider started in the office in 1996 and is
now the majority owner and the dayto-day, hands-on general manager. Phil VanderVeen, head of HVAC and refrigeration service and repair, and Ken Keck, head of metal fabrication and welding, are partial owners buying into the business gradually. The company’s biggest revenue generators, in order, are HVAC installation, HVAC and refrigeration service and repair, plumbing, metal fabrication and welding, and electrical, added in 2020. All serve commercial and residential customers (except electrical, which serves residential only) in new construction and remodels. “We work on commercial walkin coolers and freezers and any sort of commercial kitchen equipment,” Kreider said. “We have rental coolers and freezers for events if someone’s equipment is down.” The metal fabrication division does
From left to right: Ken Keck, Bobbi Kreider and Phil VanderVeen.
anything from small fix-it jobs to stairs, handrails, awnings and countertops. “This is big in the Northwest for commercial kitchen hood installations, as we provide an all-inclusive package, including design, engineering, submittals, permits, installation, plumbing and electrical,” Kreider said. “This allows the customer to deal with one contractor versus several.” LSM’s customers include homeowners, landlords, realtors, business owners, restaurants, contractors, food processing plants, hospitals and assisted living (“any customer looking to install or upgrade,” Kreider said). The company grew as it added plumbing and refrigeration, making LSM more of a one-stop shop, Kreider said. “Now, by adding the electrical division, we really have closed the gap and can take care of all the mechanical systems in a home.”
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JUL/AUG 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM
