Jeff Thompson

Review of Swift Steel

I've been coming to Swift Steel since 2010 and try...

I've been coming to Swift Steel since 2010 and trying my best to like this place. They do have a fairly large selection of steel, and it is the largest supplier in Central Oregon. So they really have the market in the area.

Pro's:
Lots of mild steel (hot roll and cold roll), some stainless, steel sheet, small bits of aluminum, fencing rolls, extruded sheet, culverts, torch cut material, etc. The guys in the yard are hardworking, friendly, helpful and very knowledgeable.

Con's: Unfortunately this place is kind of a dump and it seems to be getting worse. Year after year I'd visit and there is always trash on the ground, flattened boxes, metal strapping, misc trash and black soot everywhere. When the workers aren't busy they should be CLEANING! It shouldn't be asking too much to keep this place marginally clean. Most steel yards I've been to across the country kept their yards much cleaner. There are also piles of metals scattered throughout that don't seem to have any purpose other than just being thrown down and someone being too lazy to pick it back up. This company obviously does a lot of business and makes good money, so it amazes me they can't present the product in a better light. I don't mind getting dirty and grubby when working with metal but this site pushes the limits when you enter into the hangars. Now that the ugly cutting building has been damaged by snow (winter 2016') they have been forced to push all the sheet material into the main hangar. Maybe this will be a wake up call to the owner to start investing some money back into his operation!

Other cons: there is a slew of women working the front desk and they ALWAYS seem to be in some degree of foul mood. Maybe it's just a steel yard thing, but it doesn't seem like asking too much to be greeted in a kind way. Sometimes you feel like you're twisting their arm to get them to do their job. Is it that hard to be helpful!? You also see the owner walking around the property but he only seems to greet and be nice to the bigger clients. If you're not his personal friend or spending less than ten grand you're not getting his attention.

As of Feb, 2017 It's hard to know if this business is going out of business or perhaps gearing up for remodel. As it looks right now I'd say it's going under. I hope they clean this place up. It's dirty, disgusting, dated, and untidy. I have to imagine it's equally unimpressive and uninspiring to designers, contractors, fabricators, metal workers and artists who flock here for materials.