About us

The Metal Shop was started in 2002 by Duane Swift after spending 30 years in the Navy and working for another exhibit company the opportunity to start a small business was offered. From very humble beginnings of one drill press and MIG welder Duane was off and running. Since that date, the company has remained small but has gone from those meager tools to machinery assets of over one million dollars. We have expanded our manufacturing space four times and currently have 35,000 square feet of manufacturing space and approximately 15 employees.

Our team has a passion for fabrication. As one of the largest metal fabrication shops in the Midwest, we have made a continuous effort to improve our services and facility to meet the needs of today’s industry.  We offer a full range of services from design consultation to large scale production fabrication.  

With our fully equipped facility, highly skilled and experienced staff, tradition of hard work and resourcefulness. With our can-do spirit you can be confident in choosing us as your metal fabrication and machining resource partner.  We take pride in our work and believe that our actions reflect the character, principles, and values at our core.

With over 50 years of fabrication experience, The Metal Shop has amassed a diverse range of skills and knowledge drawn from a variety of industries, ranging from mold-making and machining to professional racing. However, our specialty is the fabrication of custom trade show exhibits working in cooperation with Catalyst Exhibits.

Catalyst relies on the capabilities The Metal Shop offers. We help many of their designs come to life. With the equipment The Metal Shop has, Catalyst's designers have more freedom to create new and exciting projects. Working in this industry gives us the ability to do things quickly and accurately due to the very tight work deadlines. Rest assured your project will be given the same attention to time and detail as our exhibit clients.

The Metal Shop has set course of growth to expand into markets which can use our many years of experience and our never say no attitude. We are actively seeking new partners to work with. We hope to have 50% growth within the next 2 year time frame. This can be accomplished by partnering with companies who have the vision and determination to innovate. With our history of growth over the past 10 years, we are confident that we can reach our goals even in tough times.