Knowing Quality Through First-Hand Experience

John Foster has helped put up a lot of steel buildings during 30 years of running a crane rental business for the commercial construction industry.

So he knew first-hand all the things that can go wrong during every phase of the process. Foster says he has seen it all - from faulty diagrams and late deliveries to incomplete orders and hidden over-charges.

Any mistake can potentially bring a project to a screeching halt. And mistakes are something the Lathrop, Mo.-based Foster worked hard to avoid when he needed to build a new structure to house his cranes.

After researching his options and performing due diligence on every steel building company he could find, Foster chose Allied Steel to provide his new building. He says he's glad he did.

"I would give Allied Steel a 10! Everything they did was right on the money," Foster says. "Everything they said they would do, they did. You can't ask for more than that, and believe me, that's not always the case."

Foster said he needed an 18-foot tall building that was 60 feet wide and 120 feet long. When he talked to his Allied Steel representative, he was told there was a 60-by-100-foot building available that met his height requirements. Foster was pleased that Allied worked with him to meet his needs by adding an extra 20-foot bay to the structure.

He ordered the building in January 2004, with an arrival date scheduled for the first week of April. Foster says that all of the parts for the building arrived on one truck from Iowa , exactly on time. "I was real happy with that," he says.

Having helped build dozens of steel buildings over the years, Foster was particularly concerned with the accuracy of the plans and the marking details on the steel sections.

"A lot of times the pieces are not numbered, which makes it tough to figure out which section goes where," Foster says. "The Allied building came with easy-to-read plans that were accurate - and every part was well marked. That makes all the difference."

Foster says he had a crew of three people working on helping him construct the facility. He says his team appreciated the specific instructions detailed in the plans.

"Allied sent us a print design that showed us exactly where to pour the concrete," he says. "This helped my guys read the plans easily and get to work without a lot of delays."

The building, with six garage doors and plenty of room for his cranes, will someday serve as the anchor for an industrial park Foster wants to develop. He says he could not use the building for this purpose if it wasn't a high-quality structure.

"I do the craning on a lot of buildings, Butler buildings and every kind of building you can think of," he says. "Our new building gives me the quality I have to have and the process could not have been easier."

Foster adds, "I hope to get my next building from Allied Steel, I'll tell you that."