Art Wilson could have gone with a hometown company when he needed a new storage facility for his business.

Wilson 's Carson City, Nevada-based company, Nevada Gypsum, was growing and required more space. So he researched his options for a new warehouse building, and took a long look at buying one from a local manufacturer.

In the end, however, Wilson decided to buy his building from Allied Steel.

"Even though the other manufacturer is located right here in Carson City, I just felt better about the quality and price of Allied Steel," said Wilson.

Wilson says the building was originally slated to be 101 feet by 52 feet - but with a few add-ons the structure ended up being 180 feet long. He says the eave of the building is about 50 feet tall.

"We needed a great big building that could house a huge part of our operation," Wilson said. "Right now it houses the pelletizing room. That's where we grind the gypsum and put a 'binder' into it to create the pellets used for gypsum in agriculture."

Gypsum helps loosen clay and compacted soil to improve water percolation and air penetration. The pellets help soil drainage and provide nutrients to boost turf and garden productivity.

Wilson says the reason he decided to go with Allied Steel is because a local builder friend, Hank Huron, told him: "That's a good building to go with."

He spent about 90 days researching both his need for a new building - and his options for acquiring one. He finally placed his order with Allied Steel in May of 2001, but waited more than a year to erect the structure.

The building components all arrived at the same time in the Fall of 2002, and Wilson said it made him feel comfortable to know that the building was manufactured just 90 minutes away at a California plant.

Wilson had the slab for the foundation poured in October of 2002. Huron and his crew of six men worked on the building. Wison says they completed the building in less than three weeks.

Allied provided the architect for Nevada Gypsum to use. The architect helped navigate the blueprints through the various Carson City planning boards and zoning commissions.

"As long as I had my drawing stamped as having been approved for use in my area of Nevada, we were good to go," Wilson said.

That included passing stringent requirements to withstand life in the earthquake zone Nevada Gypsum is based on - as well as the area's snow- and wind-load requirements.

Wilson said, "Everything went fine, I would definitely buy from Allied Steel again. If I can buy at the same price, I'll buy."

In fact, he already has.

He says he recently bought another building from Allied, this one to be used for an electrical warehouse.

"What more can you ask for?" Wilson said. "You can't get better than a building that fits your budget that is well built, delivered on time and designed exactly the way you need it. I have no complaints whatsoever."