Dean Steel Erectors (DSE) is a Virginia-based subcontractor providing expert steel erection, crane rental, welding, and structural steel connection services. What started out in 1973 as a one-man welding machine quickly evolved into a large steel operation with over 50 employees, a fleet of equipment including five cranes, and licenses to operate in ten states. “It’s escalated for sure,” says David Fisher, “and we’re still family owned.” Led today by the daughter of founder Willie Dean, DSE is upheld by the values that come with being both a family-owned and woman-led business.
A safety-first mindset, a commitment to quality, and a duty of care to its employees and their families – these are just some of the values that come to light as I get to know, from the perspective of David Fisher, this well-established and longstanding steel machine. A structural steel company at it’s core, DSE’s work can be described in short as erecting the skeleton of a building. But this description simplifies a metal-heavy process that in practice requires a great deal of skill, experience, and attention to detail. Beyond steel erecting and crane rentals, DSE is also a certified welder, structural steel connector, and a decking and shear stud installer. “Steel columns, beams, bolting and welding things together; that’s where we shine,” David says, before taking me through the process from fabric to finish. “The heavy stuff is the columns and the beams and the
girders, massive pieces of steel that arrive in trucks to the job site where our men work to offload them with cranes and forklifts. We then use equipment to hold them in while we bolt or weld them in place. Once the big bones are up, we fill in the gaps between girders and beams with joist bars that lace through, and then on top of that we place the sheets of metal decking. They might pour concrete for floor slabs and things like that on top of the decking, but we’re just dealing with the metal. Then we’ll do the peripheral stuff like the bent plate and the angle that runs around the building, smaller handpieces that we can hold and weld in place. Sometimes we shoot shear studs on top of the beams with the decking to hold everything in place. The smaller stuff comes after the big equipment and the big metal pieces are done.”
None of this work, however, is undertaken without first creating a Safe Plan of Action for every job, reflecting DSE’s non-negotiable commitment to the safety of its employees and customers. This is true of its crane rental service too, which offers long and short term rental and a 24-hour, 365 day-per-year emergency service.
While DSE has made its home in Harrisonburg, Virginia, its footprint spans across state borders. No job is too logistically or geographically challenging for DSE, a company that finds fulfillment in perpetual movement. “Harrisonburg is where Willie lived and that’s where our office is,” David says. “But we have found enjoyment and fulfilment in serving not just Virginia, but all across the forty-eight continental states. We’ve gone across the entire country, all the way to California. We consider it a company milestone that we can serve the country at large.”
“But we have found enjoyment and fulfilment in serving not just Virginia, but all across the forty-eight continental states. We’ve gone across the entire country, all the way to California. We consider it a company milestone that we can serve the country at large.”
The quality craftsmanship that DSE has become known for can be seen across its diversified portfolio of commercial and industrial projects. “Warehouses, courthouses, schools, and the like. That’s what we do,” David says. Whether working with large fabricators or small local contractors, on single-day projects or ones that span months, that signature DSE craftmanship remains top priority. DSE’s standout projects come in the form of local treasures like the Augusta County Circuit Court, and extend all the way across the country to a self-storage building in South California. “The Augusta County Courthouse was a good one,” David says. “It’s local, and that’s meaningful to us because, besides the logistical ease of it, we can all see it go up.” The erection of the new
courthouse marked a local effort to build a lasting community landmark and to provide safe and secure court facilities to Augusta County. “It was a nice sizable project and a great local effort.”
Earlier this year, DSE took its operations further afield to Los Angeles to erect a large self-storage building called Banner Self Storage. “That one was unique because it was in downtown Los Angeles, surrounded by skyscrapers seven storeys tall. It was kind of a logistical nightmare, but our project managers worked hard to make sure everything worked out. It was significant because we were all the way across the country and trying to deal with the big city and everything that comes with it.” Another project, Project White Diamond, took DSE to Pennsylvania where they had to manage the challenges of erecting a 1.3 million square foot building during the thick of the global pandemic. “It was a huge project to work through with added regulations in place, but a success overall, which we were very grateful for.”
Much of DSE’s work comes from repeat customers, many of whom have been trusting DSE for decades to erect their buildings safely, securely, and to the highest quality standards. “You’ve probably heard of Frito Lay?” David asks, highlighting not a single project but DSE’S ongoing relationship with the manufacturer, marketer, and seller of snack foods. A subsidiary of PepsiCo, Frito Lay is a household name globally when it comes to potato chips. “Throughout the years and the decades we’ve done numerous projects for them.”
Putting up building after building is routine in the construction industry, and since this is something that everyone in the field can lay claim to, it is not where DSE finds its true fulfilment. Instead, like the family values its rooted in, DSE finds fulfilment in taking care of its employees and their families. “We have no crazy plans for expansion right now. What we prefer to focus on, at the moment at least, is the families we support. Looking at the construction industry, you put up buildings, you put up more buildings, and it’s not always super fulfilling, but what we do find real fulfilment in is looking after our employees and their families. Without this company, who knows where some of these guys would be. We’re so grateful that these good, hard-working men can provide for their families with five or six children, because of what we do at Dean Steel.”
DSE values its long-serving and highly-experienced team, many of whom have been with the company for decades. With the same energy and care, it also fosters the potential of the future generation. It recognises that real synergy can be achieved when seasoned professionals share their knowledge and fresh minds bring a new perspective. The result is a dynamic workforce driven by experience and innovation to create a more efficient, adaptable, and forward-thinking construction operation. “We try to treasure the experience we already have. Like Tom,” – David’s manager – “who has worked here over twenty years. Our longest running employee has been here for over thirty years. We treasure the experience, but we’re also trying to mentor new talent and usher in the nextgeneration of workers to continue our commitment to safety, excellence and providing for our employees and their families.”
Looking ahead, the future of DSE is not defined by an endless pursuit of bigger and better, but rather by a commitment to its community, its employees, their families, and the industry at large. Under the leadership of Willie’s daughter and with two of his grandchildren now part of the team too, the family line continues and with it the strong sense of family that has always been the foundation of Dean Steel. It seems DSE have cracked the code to success and longevity by understanding that while the construction industry is at an all-time high, the challenge is less about securing project and more about ensuring a stable, long-term, and happy workforce to see them through.
