SOUTHERN SHEET METAL
By Ron Spencer, Historian
Founded in 1904 by J.W. Tidwell Southern Sheet Metal
Works, Inc. is one of the oldest and most respected sheet metal fabricators in
the state. Originally named Southern
Cornice Works, the company initially was located at the intersection of Second
Street and Boulder near downtown Tulsa.
Established at the beginning of the Oklahoma oil boom, the enterprise
supplied the surrounding oil fields with "everything in sheet metal."
The company's first move was to 116 S. Cincinnati,
which is the present location of the Performing Arts Center. The fabrication of water tanks and storage
tanks was giving way to the fabrication of ventilators, the main way to cool
buildings at the time. Southern Sheet
Metal designed and patented roof ventilators.
The fabrication of the patented counterbalanced revolving ventilator was
the main business. A few of these can
still be found on old buildings and barns across Oklahoma and other parts of
the nation.
The next move came in 1946 when heating ductwork was
becoming a potential business. The
company moved to its present location at 1225 E. 2nd Street. The addition of two sons, J.W. Tidwell Jr.,
and Kyle Tidwell had prompted the move and the growth into the HVAC
fields. Air conditioning was just a
fledgling business, but the foresight of the Tidwell's led Southern Sheet Metal
to the forefront as a leader in this field.
In 1953 the purchase of the Hart-Mun Furnace Company brought John
Mitchell (Life Member ASHRAE) to Southern Sheet Metal. John Mitchell would later become Vice
President and General Manager. J.W.
Tidwell Jr., Kyle Tidwell, and John Mitchell would lead Southern Sheet Metal Works
through the first of many ductwork projects.
The following is a list of some the many projects Southern has been
involved in: Sinclair Research (Children Medical Center), Phillips Building at
Bartlesville, Building 6 and 7 at Phillips Lab, Amoco Lab Building, St. John
Medical Center, Saint Francis Hospital, Jane Phillips Hospital, Skelly
Building, Amerada Building, Pan-Am South, East Central High School, Education
Service Center, 1st Tower Building, State Federal Saving and Loan, Hewgley
Terrace, PSO (old Central High School), Woodland Hills Mall, Southroads Mall,
Promenade Mall, American Airlines hangars, GRDA Plant, Kimberly Clark plant and
many others.
In the early 1970's the third generation member of
the Tidwell family, Michael Tidwell joined the company and became president of
the firm. The firm was in a growth
period of hi-tech climate control systems.
As the technology grew so did the corporation's production of
industrial/commercial ventilation, dust collection, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning
and hi-tech clean air systems. To keep
pace with the technology and growth, the physical plant size has grown from the
original 10,000 sq. ft to the present 35,000 sq. ft. The addition of computerized cutting equipment in the shop and
computerized office equipment has helped the company keep pace with today's
technology.
The company has not forgotten its roots as a
manufacturer of sheet metal products, and today is still manufacturing custom
sheet metal parts for companies around the world. It is known for the stainless steel craftsmanship it puts into
every part that is ordered today. Its
fabrication of stainless steel, copper, nickel, brass and all other alloys of
sheet metal and the fabrication of PVC and plastic products is known as the standard
in the field.
The retirement of John Mitchell and Kyle Tidwell and
the promotion of long time employee Ronald F. McGill (ASHRAE member) to Vice
President and General Manager and Michael Tidwell as president and CEO, sets
the company into the 21st century with a proud heritage of eight decades and
the ability to progress with the future.
The new millennium has brought new expansion. They have just completed a 5,000 sq. ft
addition to the plant bringing the total to 40,000 sq. ft. The new projects include extensive work at
Ford Glass Plant, Saint Francis Hospital remodel and the addition to the Broken
Arrow Site, and the 3 million-dollar Sabre Data Center still in progress with
an expected completion of August 2001.
As before the company is
looking forward to what the future will bring.
They have set up a web account and now receive inquiries through the
Internet from far away countries as well as local customers. This was done with the goal to continue to
be a leader in the sheet metal industry.
Ron Spencer can be reached
at ronoss@aol.com