Worldwide Steel Buildings' growth spurs $500K expansion

To keep up with growth, Worldwide Steel Buildings expanded its Peculiar manufacturing facility in April, more than doubling the company's production capacity.

Sales are up 20 percent year to date, and revenue has more than doubled since CEO Jeff Snell bought the company with business partner Gordon Harton in 2016, Snell told the Kansas City Business Journal.

Worldwide, a custom steel building manufacturer, invested about $500,000 in the 15,000-square-foot expansion, which also includes the cost of additional equipment such as a second roll former for creating the frame of a structure. Previously, the company used the same machine for purlin and girt materials, which meant the machine had to be shut down for about two to three hours as employees switched out materials. Now the machines can run simultaneously, eliminating down time.

The expansion also led to the addition of three employees in welding and machine operator roles, bringing the total head count to 60.

Several factors are driving the company's growth, Snell said, including a thriving economy and referral sales, which have doubled in the past year.

Its high-quality product stands out among competitors in two key areas: for its ability to withstand extreme wind and snow loads, and for customers' ability to erect buildings themselves. Snell compared the metal building kits to a large Erector Set that includes easy-to-follow instructions that can be as simple as bolt part A to part B.

"You can't really build a barn out of a big stack of lumber, but with our systems, you get specifically made parts that bolt or screw together," he said. "That's attractive for a lot of people because they can save money on labor and do it themselves."

Another growth driver is Worldwide's online 3-D building designer tool that allows customers to design a building to their specifications and then submit it for a quote.

"You wouldn't believe how much of a game-changer that's been for us," Snell said. "I'd say 50 percent of our leads start with that 3-D designer."

Worldwide added several new features to the tool this year, including the ability to add a mezzanine, wrap-around porch and weathervane accents. Another add-on is the ability for prospective customers to view the inside of their building to better gauge aspects such as door placement and bay spacing.

Although Worldwide designs buildings for a variety of uses, including recreational and agricultural, it's starting to see bigger play in what Snell described as "barndominiums." The steel homes are attractive to baby boomers and young families because it gives them a wide-open space for creating a custom interior and design. Unlike traditional home construction, steel buildings don't require the same interior walls for support, he said.

"This is a new market that's huge," Snell said. "We think it will account for 40 percent of our growth in the next three to five years."