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2016 FAB 40 preview: Preparing for a bigger market pie

Watch, hear, or read the news this election year, and you’ll get a dire picture. Talk to business owners (in my case, in custom metal fabricators), and you may get a different picture. The current picture isn’t terribly bad; many shops diversified their revenue streams enough to avoid significant drops in revenue for 2015. And perhaps most important, predictions for the rest of 2016 and beyond are generally bright.

That’s a quick preview of this year’s FAB 40, slated for release in June. (For last year’s FAB 40, click here.) Every year The FABRICATOR publishes submitted year-end revenue numbers of 40 of the top custom fabricators in the United States. This years list shows 2015 revenue numbers and 2016 projections. It’s a voluntary list, of course, and so not comprehensive, but it does offer a rare window into the mostly privately held businesses of this industry.

Overall, revenue is flat, but most (though certainly not all) predict better growth ahead. What has made current conditions so challenging, according to company sources, is the fact that so many fabricators are on the revenue hunt in stronger sectors (such as transportation automotive) to make up for shortfalls in the weaker ones (oil and gas, energy). This in turn has led to more pricing pressure.

The overall market pie hasn’t grown, but its ingredients have changed, which means a lot of fab shops have needed to adapt and up their sales efforts. What everyone wants, of course, is a larger pie. And judging by some of the revenue predictions fabricators have for 2016 and beyond, the revenue pie may well be getting a lot bigger.

About the Author
The Fabricator

Tim Heston

Senior Editor

2135 Point Blvd

Elgin, IL 60123

815-381-1314

Tim Heston, The Fabricator's senior editor, has covered the metal fabrication industry since 1998, starting his career at the American Welding Society's Welding Journal. Since then he has covered the full range of metal fabrication processes, from stamping, bending, and cutting to grinding and polishing. He joined The Fabricator's staff in October 2007.