Northwest Steel and Pipe

Northwest Steel & Pipe, Inc. is a family owned business that began in Tacoma in 1950 as a small scrap metal and salvage yard. The company was started by Jay Wax and partner Floyd Lamken, and was originally named Northwest Pipe & Salvage. The company purchased and processed scrap iron and metal and sold used and surplus steel to the public. In the early 1960's Jay and Floyd began to supplement their sales with new products purchased from local mills and from larger distributors. Jay and Floyd operated the company together until 1965 when they parted ways. At this time Northwest Steel & Pipe built a small 7000 square foot warehouse for its growing steel business. In 1970, Jay's son, Mike, joined the company. By this time the company had changed its name from Northwest Pipe & Salvage to Northwest Pipe & Steel. In 1973 Northwest Pipe & Steel moved to a much larger facility located at 3736 South Tacoma Way. With the added space, Mike and Jay started adding processing capabilities and expanding the company's inventory. By the late-seventies Northwest Pipe and Steel was a full fledged steel warehouse, with a growing inventory of new and surplus steel to go along with burning, shearing and sawing capacity. The 1980's and 1990's saw more growth and an expanded inventory in a broad range of steel products. Three new buildings were added to the South Tacoma Way location, bringing the total covered warehouse space to 85,000 square feet. New steel had become an overwhelming majority of the product mix. The company stopped selling used and surplus materials altogether, and to better reflect its range of products, assumed its current name. When Jay retired in 1987, Mike assumed full control and ownership of the company and its future. In the 1990's Mike's three sons, Jeff, Brian, and David began their careers at the company, assuming both management and ownership roles and responsibilities. They soon became the driving force behind Northwest Steel & Pipe's success. Today, with Mike's vision and Jeff, Brian and David leading the way, the growth at Northwest Steel & Pipe continues. Northwest Steel & Pipe now operates from a new, state of the art facility with 160,000 square feet of warehouse space on a 15 acre site. Northwest Steel & Pipe is a company with a strong history of customer service, a knowledgeable and motivated staff, and the processing capabilities to meet our customer's needs. With daily deliveries not only in the Seattle-Tacoma area, but ranging from Bellingham to Portland and all points in between, Northwest Steel & Pipe is positioned to be your steel supplier of choice. After 60 years in business, our goals are still the same, continued growth through dedication to our business and our customers. And after 60 years, we are just getting started.