Mayor Jacobs’ Small Business Series Highlights Steel Plate Fabricators

Mayor Jacobs’ Small Business Series Highlights Steel Plate Fabricators

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs interviewed Mike Russell, President of Steel Plate Fabricators as part of his small business series. With more than 100 years of experience in certified welding and metal fabrication, SPF continues to grow using the industry’s most advanced equipment and methods.

Mayor Jacobs’ bi-weekly small business series is comprised of video interviews airing Wednesdays on the county and Mayor’s various social media platforms. The discussions offer folks the chance to talk about what they do; highlight their work; and share any future plans.

Since 1921, SPF has served regional and national customers from the business’ Knoxville location. In the span of almost a century, the company has gone through several changes focusing now on sheet metal fabrication.

“It is not just cut and dry. There are a few jobs like that. About 85 percent is custom fabrication. The other 15 percent we haven’t seen it before,” said Russell. “We have a couple of what I call pipeline jobs where our customer asks to keep supplies on the shelf and to restock when it goes down to a certain level.”

Russell said his company has plenty of opportunities for those eager to learn.

“We have our different levels. Our level one is grinding, sawing, punching hole,” Russell added. “We see how they do on that and how they follow instruction, then we let them go to level two and be a helper on specific machines and see how they adapt.”

Russell also noted that he’s proud his sons now work at the company his grandfather started. It’s now officially a fifth-generation family business in Knox County.

“I want to keep our roots here in Knox County because I love this community,” he added. “It’s a great place to raise your family and a wonderful place to do business.”

The Mayor and Russell further discussed the history of the company, the need for trade-based jobs and how art and manufacturing meet in the middle inside the metal fabrication industry.