Blog - Owen Industries

NPS Retirement

Mike Flach will be retiring from Northern Plains Steel on Thursday, March 14th after 33 ½ years of service.

2019 2nd Annual MVS Chili Contest

Tuesday, February 26th hosted the 2nd Annual Chili Feed at MVS Metals. Staff enjoyed the chili feed and voted for the best chili!

PVS Chili Cookoff 2019!

February brought the 2nd Annual Chili Cook-off to PVS. Our staff was prepared for the fierce competition and ready to claim the title of best chili!

PVS Structures Promotion

Dewayne Bright started at the PVS Service Center in 1999, loading trucks on the night shift. Dewayne was recently promoted and is now the West Bay Forman for PVS-Structures.

Owen Industries Celebrates National Apprenticeship Week

Across the nation, thousands of individuals are celebrating National Apprenticeship Week, which runs November 12th through the 18th.

Owen Industries/PVS Hosts Westside High School Tour

Friday, October 12, 2018 – Paxton & Vierling Steel/Owen Industries hosted a group of Westside High School students for a day long tour as a part of their school welding program.

MVS Metals – Inaugural Cornhole Tournament

MVS – Metals Inaugural Cornhole Tournament.
MVS held their first Cornhole Tournament on October 18th and 19th.

Owen Industries Sponsors Skills USA

PVS 2018 Horseshoe Tournament!

PVS held its annual horseshoe tournament the first two weeks of October. Thirty-two employees signed up. The competition was fierce, and everyone had fun.

PVS Structures Continues to Build Aksarben Village

PVS is working with McNeil Company to bring a 100,000-square-foot office, retail and restaurant building to the corner of 67th Street and Mercy Road.

Owen Industries Welding Apprentice Program

Owen Industries honors first welders of apprentice program

Celebrating the Retirement of Rod Hall

Celebrating the retirement of Rod Hall

Daryl Jilek’s 35th Anniversary!

Daryl Jilek’s 35th Anniversary

Paxton & Vierling Steel Receives President’s Award for Commitment

PVS Metals and PVS Structures recently received the President’s Award for Commitment. The award celebrates 20 years of registration to ISO 9001.

The Newest Addition to the Owen Industries and PVS Fleet!

PVS is proud to announce an expansion to our in-house fleet of tractors, trailers and haulers.

In 1915, the corners of 36th & Farnam streets in Omaha, which is part of the “Blackstone District” looked drastically different. In fact, this area was once considered West Omaha, which would make most present-day Omaha residents laugh out loud

PVS Structures’ Commitment to Safety Related Steel

Beginning in January of 2013, PVS Structures accepted the responsibility to provide structural steel on the first new nuclear plants to be built in the United States since the late 1970’s.

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

We are excited to announce the release of the official history book of OII and P&V. This book has been decades in the making, beginning with a rough draft commissioned by Ed Owen in the 80s, and ending with its publication by our friends at Legacy Preservation this summer.

Owen Industries Participates in 2018 Owl Ride

Owen Industries is proud to support The Meyer Foundation for Disabilities by participating in the 2018 Owl Ride.

Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way!

PVS Structures has led the steel fabrication industry since 1885. We are growing and adding new equipment that save you money and time! Introducing the Gemini-Ficep HD 36 Plate Processor.

Owen Foundation Scholarship with MCC

The Owen Foundation and Owen Industries offers scholarships

PVS Metals Quality Metrics

PVS Metals’ maintains a PPM of under 300 with a John Deere PPM of 0.

Northern Plains Steel Celebrates Retirement

Arlin Vanderwerff retired from Northern Plains Steel on Wednesday, May 30th after 33 years with the company.

PVS Structures Fabricates and Delivers!

PVS Structures successfully fabricates and delivers 94’ TPG and two 59’ Wide Flange Beam Spans to a close-fitting project site for our Class 1 partner in Omaha.

Owen Industries Celebrates Another Retirement!

Bob White started with Owen Industries February 9, 1976.

PVS Around the World

PVS around the world. On my recent trip to Scotland I visited the Ancient and Royal St Andrews Golf Club.

PVS Structures Aids in Upgrade of VA Hospital

PVS Structures is honored to be a part of a much needed upgrade of the current VA Hospital here in Omaha. We look forward to working with McCarthy and Heritage on this incredible project.

MVS Metals Advanced Cutting Technology

MVS Metals uses the most advanced fibre and tube lasers and waterjet and plasma cutting technology to cut any shape in a variety of materials.

Owen Industries Supports the Maha Music Festival

PVS/Owen Industries is excited and proud to support the 10th Anniversary of the Maha Music Festival!

Owen Industries Hosts Westside High School Welding Students

Friday, April 27th – Six Westside High School Students toured the PVS Metals and Structures facilities as a part of their high school welding class.

PVS Fabricating Bridges For Chicago Metra Line

PVS Structures is Fabricating Multiple Bridge Structures on Chicago’s Metra Commuter Rail Network

PVS Metals Job Fair

On Saturday, April 14, 2018 PVS-Metals hosted a Job Fair for the 20+ positions that are currently open including a new 3rd Shift. The turnout was a success with 39 individuals attending.

MVS Showing Its Green!

This past Saturday marked the 10th annual Sioux City Saint Patrick’s Day Parade! The weather cooperated, and the turnout was amazing, with over 6,000 people lining the 10-block route in downtown Sioux City. This was the first year for MVS Metals participation, and the results were nothing short of spectacular!

PVS Structures – Keeping Railroad Customers Happy!

We Like Happy Railroad Customers! PVS Structures fabricated this Bridge for a short line in Illinois. The project delivers this week.

NPS Hosts Minn-Dak Tour

On February 20th 2018, Northern Plains Finishing hosted the Minn-Dak Manufactures Association for a luncheon and meet and greet.

PVS Structures In The News!

PVS Structures in the news!

PVS Structures Responds to Urgent Need

Union Pacific contacted PVS Structures after a pier was damaged by a barge on the Mississippi River, in St. Paul, MN. Upon collaboration, an accelerated steel design and fabrication plan was developed.

Northern Plains Steel donates to Make-A-Wish

Northern Plains Steel also attended to donate $1,000 to Make-A-Wish

Owen Industries Celebrates Retirement of Rick Brendel

Rick Brendel started with PVS in May 1985. Rick started in the Accounting department and has been with the company for 32 years. His job title started out as Account Manager, and promoted to Controller.
We interviewed Rick on his experiences with PVS.

PVS Structures Welcomes New Welding Apprentices

PVS Structures welcomed four new welding apprentices in October. This is the second year of the welder apprenticeship program. The program consists of on-the-job training as well as worksite classroom training

PVS Structures Hosts Concordia High School Principles of Engineering Class

PVS Structures Hosts Concordia High School Principles of Engineering Class. Concordia’s Matt Mueller brought 23 students to PVS Structures to learn about steel and custom steel fabrication.

Owen Industries Upgrades Quality Management Systems

Owen Industries is proud to announce that each of our divisions’ have recently upgraded their quality management systems to the requirements of ISO 9001:2015.

“Most Beautiful” Bridge Restored and Rededicated

The refurbished Dodge Street Overpass in Omaha, Neb., celebrated its 50th anniversary with a rededication ceremony today.

PVS – 900 Tons of Structural Steel

PVS is supplying approximately 900 tons of structural steel by the end of November.

In The AISC News….A New Director

In addition, the board welcomes a new director, Tyler R. Owen, general manager of Paxton & Vierling Steel, Structures Division, and president of Owen Industries Inc., Carter Lake, Iowa. All were elected to serve two-year terms at AISC’s annual meeting in September in Chicago.

PVS Nuclear Team

PVS nuclear team celebrating the delivery of the last C8 trunk on Oct 17th.

More Slagger news……

Owen Industries is excited to be a partner with Kemper for European distribution and production of the Slagger table. Shown at the Kemper booth during the Schweissen-Schneiden show in Dusseldorf, Germany is a small, single blade unit — many thanks to all of you who inquired about the system.

Topping Out!

The HDR Topping out ceremony was earlier this week, with the final beam erecting yesterday

A little something to brighten up a dreary Monday…..

Owen Industries Celebrates Retirement!

Ed Korbel started with PVS as CFO in March 1997, he retired August 2017 after 20 + years of service. We interviewed Ed on his tenure with OII.

PVS Metals Completes Punch Operator Training

In keeping with our commitment of continuous improvements through training and education, PVS Metals employees participated in Punch Operator Training.

Touting Tubes and Taking Terms – Tube Steel

Hollow Structural Sections (HSS), Tube Steel, Structural Tubing and Steel Pipe, just to name a few, are all commonly used terms in the Steel Industry. While it may have many names, and a million times as many uses, there is one thing for certain: We would be lost without it.

PVS Joins 87 Million People for the 2017 Solar Eclipse

Many of the Owen Industries/Paxton & Vierling Steel staff were able to enjoy viewing this once in a lifetime event.

Congrats from PVS on another successful Maha Music Festival

As you can see from the photos, another PVS project played a starring, if silent, role in the latest Maha Music Festival.

Kicking it into High Gear with Lapping Carriers

Gears: A Stable of Manufacturing Lapping Carrier Gears have long been a staple in the building blocks of human civilization. Our early ancestors used wind and water power with a combination of gears to grind grains, seeds, nuts and beans into flour. They used gears to...

Owen Industries Welcomes Delta

Owen Industries welcomes Delta. Owen Industries met Delta recently. Delta is the new Carter Lake Police Departments K-9 Officer.

Fundamentals of Forming at PVS Metals

Fundamentals of Forming class for PVS metals brake operators covers safety aspects of brakes, programing of new parts, corrections and machine adjustments…..

Through Plate Girder – TPG

PVS Structures was selected to fabricate a Through Plate Girder (TPG) Span, 114’ in length for Iowa Interstate Railroad. Steel fabrication was in accordance with AREMA and AISC specifications.

PVS – Making “New Connections”

PVS Structures is making “new connections” with Omaha’s most distinguished construction firms while fabricating HDR’s new World Headquarters, in Omaha’s Aksarben Village.

Celebrating the Retirement of Jerry at Northern Plains!

Jerry Spiekermeier started with Northern Plains Steel 6/25/84. Jerry’s first position was inside sales, in the 90’s……

Northern Plains Finishing Installs New Ionics Booth

Northern Plains Steel Finishing Company has recently completed the installation a third Colmet/Parker Ionics Powder Coating Spray Booth to allow us to do instant change color without interrupting current production levels.

Paxton & Vierling Steel Creates Girder Set

Girders for Hawkins Construction Company. Picture was taken immediately after erection, and readying safety cables. Note that the safety cable posts are custom engineered by HCC and coordinated with PVS for anchoring. HCC + PVS = Quality + Safety, and ahead of schedule!

Owen Industries/Paxton & Vierling Steel Hosts Westside High School Welding Program Students

Owen Industries/Paxton & Vierling Steel hosted a day long tour for eight Westside High School Welding Program students. The students met with several different departments to learn the full process of steel fabrication; from raw material to final product. Students...

Owen Industries Apprentice Program

Carter Lake, Iowa-based Owen Industries (an AISC member) is now an official registered apprenticeship sponsor and offers a three-year, competency-based welder apprenticeship program

MVS Metals Builds 1000th Slagger Table

On March 29th, MVS Metals celebrated making their 1,000th cutting table with a lunch for their employees.

PVS Structures Ships 114 Foot TPG!

Owen Industries/PVS Structures ships a bridge girder for Iowa Interstate Railroad, to the project site in Des Moines. This TPG weighs 80,000 pounds and is 114’ long!

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst tours Paxton & Vierling Steel Structures Building

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst toured Owen Industries on Thursday, April 20th. Senator Ernst visited both the PVS Metals Service Center and PVS Structures Division.

PVS Structures Ships 69′ Beam Span

Take a look at what was shipped today! PVS Structures fabricates and delivers another bridge for the local Class 1 Railroad. The bridge pictured is 69 feet long. It will ship out in 2 oversized sections and weighs approximately 100 Ton. Did you know that PVS...

Retirement Interview with MVS Metals Shari B.

Shari Blackburn started with Missouri Valley Steel sale team in December 1994. She transitioned to the purchasing department and will be retiring in June 2017 after almost 23 year of service. We interviewed Shari on her experience with MVS. Owen Industries: What did...

Owen Industries and MVS Metals – Overcoming Obstacles with Ingenuity and Commitment to Quality

Rotational Molding is an age old manufacturing process in which a hollow mold is filled with softened material and rotated in order to disperse the material evenly within the mold to produce a hollow part. Humans come into contact with, and often use a variety of...

Owen Industries Welding Apprentice Program

Owen Industries Welder Apprentice Program Apprentice Interview: Brad Dittman Carter Lake, Iowa-based Owen Industries (an AISC member) is now an official registered apprenticeship sponsor and offers a three-year, competency-based welder apprenticeship program. In...

MVS Slagger Table

Up close and personal with a Slagger Table inventor from MVS

Owen Industries Utilizes a Fleet of Hydraulic Press Brakes and Other Forming Equipment

Owen Industries utilizes a fleet of hydraulic press brakes and other forming equipment From simple 90-degree bends to complex sequences with 10 or more bends, our press brakes can form small and large parts up to 750 tons and 18-feet long. Our versatility, together...

Owen Industries Welding Apprentice Program

Carter Lake, Iowa-based Owen Industries (an AISC member) is now an official registered apprenticeship sponsor and offers a three-year, competency-based welder apprenticeship program. In August the company began an interview and selection process, seeking four welder...

Owen Industries Apprentice Program

Owen Industries Welder Apprentice Program Carter Lake, Iowa-based Owen Industries (an AISC member) is now an official registered apprenticeship sponsor and offers a three-year, competency-based welder apprenticeship program. In August the company began an interview...

Sustainable Structural Steel

Steel, by virtue of its high recycled content and capacity for reuse, is the ideal structural Steel for projects seeking to meet sustainable goals. Since the creation of the Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) rating system by the United States Green...

Owen Industries “Living Legends” Bill Hollis

Bill Hollis worked for Owen Industries from August 1970 to August 2015. We interviewed Bill on his 45 years of service. Owen Industries: What did you value most about your experience working at Owen Industries during the many years of your tenure? Bill Hollis: Knowing...

Owen Industries utilizes several types of CNC Press Brakes to accommodate a demanding range of metal bending requirements and volumes.

Press Brakes accommodate a demanding range of metal bending…..

Redbud Heavy Gauge Stretcher Leveler

Our Red Bud machine which is the finest heavy gauge stretcher leveler in the industry. It stretches material beyond its yield point to remove stresses introduced at the mill, including coil set, crossbow, edge wave and center-buckle, so your lasers and other...

You Should Expect Steel Coatings to be Applied During the Fabrication Process

Many steel fabricators have been resistant to apply steel coatings in the fabrication shop. The reasons range from bottleneck issues to the inability to control the environmental conditions. Some fabricators begrudgingly accept the coating portion of a fabricated project but have not made it a specialty…..

Water Jet Versatility Creates Manufacturing Options and Reduced Costs

MVS has the solution you’ve been looking for…..

Custom Non-Slip Floor Plates

Why spend lots of money and wait several weeks on proprietary catalog items when all you need is a simple non-slip surface? PVS Metals can create, and customize, a variety of patterns and depths, for your individual product needs. In some cases we can turn your...

Signs for Walter Scott Jr. Campus

PVS worked with the Kiewit Building Groups "Special Projects Division" to produce landmark signs for the new Walter Scott Jr. Campus on the University of Nebraska-Omaha grounds. The project was completed weeks before scheduled partially due to our precise water-jet...

PVS Structures – Part of Historic Rail Bridge Project

PVS Structures, in partnership with the UP and other Class 1 Railroads, continues to help build out America's infrastructure. An article with great photos and details can be found here: Bayou Lafourche Historic Rail Project.

MVS Metals – Pushing the Limits of Manufacturing Innovation

Coming soon! 6K Fiber Laser Technology, capable of processing 10′ x 40′ material up to 1″ thick…….

PVS Salutes Veterans!

PVS Salutes Veterans…..

MVS Metals – Largest WaterJet Cutting Table in the Country

MVS Metals – A Division of Owen Industries, hosts largest Water Jet Table in the country……

Check out our SidePlate Mock-up

Check out our SidePlate Mock-up! PVS Structures educational and instructional tool…..

Coming Home, Original Chair Lift is Installed on PVS Campus

Original ski lift chairs manufactured at PVS Omaha facility…..

Owen Industries Offers Welder Apprenticeship Program

Owen Industries offers three-year, competency-based welder apprenticeship program…..

Owen Industries hosts Bellevue West Students for Tour

Owen Industries hosts Greater Omaha Chamber tour for Bellevue West High School students……

37th Annual Bridge Day

Saturday, October 15th marked the 37th Annual BRIDGE DAY! PVS Structures is proud to be a part of and celebrate our bridge accomplishments! PVS Structures partnered with a Class 1 Railroad to fabricate a new bridge under emergency response conditions; dispatching...

Scott Campus Sign Fabrication

MVS Metals creates Walter Scott campus sign

Steel Day

We are excited to announce that Nebraska has formally recognized Steel Day! Celebrations are Nationwide and promote industry changes and trends that affect detailers, fabricators and engineers. This is an exciting day and we look forward to celebrating what we do...

100 Year Old Businesses

A big shout out to AISC for their great article recognizing old businesses! Read the article here!

Habitat for Humanity “Brew Ha-Ha” at Stinson Park

Thanks to everyone for supporting the Habitat for Humanity event last night at Stinson Park - a beautiful night made for an incredibly enjoyable event!

Back to Back… This Year’s Bechtel Award

Company Honored for its Commitment to Excellence and Quality Carter Lake, IA — Paxton & Vierling Steel Co. (PVS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Owen Industries, was recognized for outstanding work on projects by Bechtel’s Nuclear, Security & Environmental...

A look back to last year’s Bechtel award…

Last year, PVS was recognized for outstanding work on projects by Bechtel’s Nuclear, Security & Environmental global business unit at the Bechtel Subcontractor and Supplier Recognition awards. The awards recognize subcontractors and suppliers who supported...

Lighting Up the Night…

With a fresh new look, a fresh new website, it's time we added some new fixtures! Check out the slide show below for a couple of the new enhancements around PVS-Metals. This is just a teaser, more of our new metals center yet to come... Delivery day for...

A State Representative Comes to Visit…

Last week, we had the fantastic pleasure of having Iowa’s United States Representative David Young come to our shop and take a tour. He was able to see both our Structures Division and our Metal Service Center across the street. It was wonderful meeting him and to...

The Opera Comes to PVS…

Last week, Paxton & Vierling Steel Co. was the venue of choice for Opera Omaha's 2016 gala. With a few cosmetic tweaks, professional lighting, tables, chairs, and a whole bunch of talent, our North Bay was transformed into a thing of beauty. The industrial look...

Bustin’ Trusses and Takin’ Names… A Look into this year’s Truss Bustin’ Competition.

Truss Bustin’ is an annual event sponsored by the Nebraska Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the UNO Student Chapter that challenges Omaha-area high school students to design and construct a balsa wood bridge, simulating the...

Radio personalities learn to weld

Todd and Tyler of The Todd-N-Tyler Radio Empire recently broadcast live from PVS Metals in Carter Lake. While in-house, the two gave welding a try.

Pancake Man serves it up hot

The Pancake Man served up fresh and fluffy pancakes to the PVS crew, demonstrating his flair for the dramatic behind the grill.

Same Company, Fresh New Look

We are proud to announce a subtle but significant change to our logo and naming convention. Founded as Paxton & Vierling Iron Works in 1885, and focused primarily on our foundry and structural products, the company eventually rebranded as Paxton & Vierling...

The Slagger cuts in

Modern Metals commends the Slagger cutting table, a Missouri Valley Steel invention.

U.S. Senator visits Carter Lake facility

In August, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley stopped by PVS for over an hour.