Thompson Metal Fab, Inc.

Thompson Metal Fab was founded in 1937 by Mr. and Mrs. Pudge Thompson of Portland, Ore., and initially manufactured milk cans for dairy farms and equipment for food-processing industries.

With the arrival of World War II, however, the company started doing heating-duct work for defense housing and manufacturing facilities. When the Kaiser Shipyards got up and running in the Portland-Vancouver area, Thompson Metal Fab began providing boilers, hatches, doors, scuppers, ducting, and other steel items for World War II Liberty Ships.

After World War II — and amid a great resurgence of building and development across the United States — Thompson Metal Fab diversified again and began making equipment for the forest products, grain, cement, sand and gravel, asphalt, aluminum, steel, water treatment and chemical industries.

By the late 1960s and early 1970s, Thompson Metal Fab was recognized as one of the best companies in its field in the Pacific Northwest. This was due, in part, to its ability to provide a wide range of metal fabrications — and for many different industrial uses.

Impressed by the track record, Harder Mechanical Contractors acquired Thompson Metal Fab in 1973.

Over the next three decades, TMF expanded into the oil, gas, bridge and transportation markets, and enlarged its Vancouver facility to 160,000 square feet.

History In 2003, Thompson Metal Fab separated from Harder Mechanical Contractors and became a fully independent veteran-owned small business.

The company has experienced substantial growth since then, providing products throughout North America. Following a path that has marked its eight decades of existence, TMF also has entered new markets, such as nuclear, high-tech and renewable energy.

Thompson Metal Fab takes great pride in our region’s ability — through a myriad of resources and materials, a talented workforce and a strong transportation network — to play a significant part in the global economy. As a result, we feel that it is important to give back to the community that supports our efforts. TMF is honored to work annually with the following local groups and programs:

• Washington State Division of Children and Family Services
• Share Homestead
• Loaves & Fishes Centers, Meals on Wheels
• Junior Achievement
• CDM Long Care Services
• Daybreak Youth Services
• Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association
• Association of Women in the Metal Industries (AWMI)
• Columbia Springs
• Humane Society For Southwest Washington
• American Cancer Society – Relay For Life
• YWCA Clark County
• National Historic Trust

In addition, Thompson Metal Fab is happy to help support the local arts community.

The Wendy Rose sculpture, located in the James and Joyce Harder Memorial Plaza, named after the family that acquired Thompson Metal Fab in 1973, honors the women who entered the work force during World War II and who worked tirelessly at the Kaiser Shipyard.

The stainless-steel sculpture, overlooking the Columbia River and next to a walking path, was created by a group of local artists, Women Who Weld. Wendy Rose is dressed in work clothes and a red-glass polka dot scarf. She is seen stepping from home into the industrial work world, and crossing a dam in the process.