Steel buildings go upscale: These SLO County creations aren’t your everyday garden shed
Steel buildings today are polishing their image.
Formerly seen as stark and utilitarian, they are riding the wave of industrial chic design, becoming a commonplace choice for tasting rooms, storefronts, guest houses and art studios.
Aside from offering an aesthetically pleasing package, these structures resist conditions that plague traditional wood structures, such as termites, mold and fire damage. Manufacturers say that the steel structures offer significant savings in cost and construction time.
Here, we profile two local manufacturers of pre-engineered steel buildings.
“Prefab” may conjure thoughts of the cookie-cutter and mass-produced. However, these two companies have found success with highly customizable structures. Each building’s components are manufactured off-site before they are installed. The companies streamline the process by handling every step, from design and engineering through construction.
Nunno Corp.
Year established: 1976
Ownership: Privately owned by Louis Nunno
Employees: 20
Annual revenue: Declined to disclose
Area served: Western United States
Location: 3461 Dry Creek Road, Paso Robles
Louis Nunno started his steel fabrication business 40 years ago with the help of his son, Michael, who is now vice president of the company. In the beginning, the company welded portable aircraft hangars in an old charcoal factory across the street from the Paso Robles Cemetery.
At the time, its clients were primarily outside the county, at airports throughout the Western United States. That changed when the recession hit.
“General aviation development disappeared,” said Michael Nunno. “Thank God for the wine industry, because we were able to come back here and be competitive in the local market.”
Working for the wine industry not only helped the company weather the recession; it also reshaped its focus. Although Nunno Corp. still builds aircraft hangars, it has diversified its product offering, which now includes pre-engineered steel buildings, and fabrication of products such as metal gates, railings and trellises. It also sells steel supplies such as fasteners, tubing, nuts and bolts. Recently, the company began constructing parking lot solar shade structures, for which Nunno sees tremendous growth potential.
Nunno Corp.’s work in pre-engineered buildings has taken off “as the demographics in the area have changed,” Nunno said. It has built structures for local wineries such as Turley and Ecluse, as well as buildings for farms and residential clients. Currently, 80 percent of its clients are within the county.
Nunno said that the company is “back on track,” profitable and growing at a rapid rate. He estimates that sales have more than tripled since they bottomed out in 2009.
The company continues to innovate and add to its product offering. It is in the final design phase of the “Nunno Cube,” a freestanding two-story steel structure that he calls a “solution to the small home movement.” The 24-by-24-foot structure will be a blank slate, on which the homeowner can customize finishes and floor plans. Nunno expects the “cube” to be available sometime next spring.
Protective Weather Structures
Year established: 1994
Ownership: Privately owned by Tim Perozzi
Employees: 14
Annual revenue: Declined to disclose
Area served: California and Nevada for buildings, USA and Canada for canopy kits
Locations: 5290 Orcutt Road, San Luis Obispo (corporate office); Arroyo Grande (manufacturing plant); Highway 46 and Golden Hills Road (showroom)
Protective Weather Structures started out as a dealer for a national manufacturer of steel-building kits. In 2008, the company began manufacturing its own products at a plant in Arroyo Grande. Founder Donald Kern sold the company last year to president Tim Perozzi, but stayed on as a consultant.
PWS has two main products. Through its website www.premiumcanopy.com, it sells shade structures typically used to protect vehicles. The kits, which require do-it-yourself installation, are sold to customers throughout the United States and Canada.
Eighty percent of its business is in pre-engineered steel buildings. The company builds 65 to 80 buildings per year, which makes it the “largest steel building manufacturer and installer in California,” Perozzi says.
Although sales flattened out during the recession, Kern said that the company is currently profitable and has been growing about 30 percent annually in recent years. To keep up with demand, PWS expanded its manufacturing plant last year from 10,000 to 12,000 square feet.
PWS builds residential structures such as workshops, garages, art studios and guest houses. Its list of industrial and commercial clients is diverse and includes local wineries and local ranches, as well as the University of San Diego, Cal Poly, PG&E, Coca-Cola and Vandenberg Air Force Base.
The company has been successful because of its focus on aesthetics, Kern said. It offers designer features such as French doors, skylights, custom trim, soffits and dozens of color choices, which he says puts the appearance of its structures “on par with wood buildings.”
The company’s biggest obstacle is the common misconception that a steel building is unattractive, Kern said.
“When people have a million-dollar home, they don’t want an outbuilding that looks like a shed,” he said.
To overcome that misconception, the company built a display building and showroom in Paso Robles in 2013. There are company displays in Miner’s Hardware stores and other retail outlets throughout the county. Company representatives travel to home shows and fairs throughout the year.
Although PWS still works to distance itself from steel buildings’ “garden shed” image, sheds happen to be its next big offering. The company will soon unveil a line of small building kits that can be assembled at home and used as storage or garden sheds.
This story was originally published December 13, 2016 at 1:04 AM with the headline "Steel buildings go upscale: These SLO County creations aren’t your everyday garden shed."