Lambertson owners target growth

The new owners of Lambertson Industries say they purchased the nearly 60-year-old company to grow its existing lines of stainless steel products for the food service industry, as well as for the opportunity to introduce new stainless steel products to the market.

Jason Weiss and Joe McCaslin last week announced their acquisition of Lambertson Industries and plan to add nearly 30 new sales, metal fabrication, welding and engineering jobs over the next 18 months, Weiss says. The company could add as many 52 jobs over the next five years and add $62 million in economic impact to the region, says the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada.

Lambertson currently employs about 25 workers at its 50,000-square-foot facility at Tahoe Reno Industrial Center. Weiss says as production increases Lambertson will add a second shift of workers.

Weiss, who financed the purchase by selling his interests in a California-based steel company, says Lambertson can increase its productivity through the manufacture of custom metal products that can't be cheaply outsourced overseas.

"Anything that is labor intensive we are going to get into," he says. "If it takes any sort of ingenuity and creativity, the United States is it. There are some pretty intelligent folks around here, some engineers and sheet metal workers who can build great things.

"We are a 60-year-old company with a new face that want to grow the company," Weiss adds. "Lambertson, because of the downturn in the economy and other factors, had forgotten how to grow."

Brad Bottoset of the business brokerage Liberty Group of Nevada assisted McCaslin and Weiss with their purchase of Lambertson Industries.