Name of business: Steel Works

Type of business: Metal service shop

Location: 4724 S. Commons Rd., Turlock

Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 7:30 a.m. to noon Saturday; Closed Sunday

Contact information: 209-656-1976

Specialty: Metal fabrication

History of business:

The Ten Pin Fun Center has yet to open in Turlock, but the enormous silhouettes of bowlers perched on either side of the building has the community itching in anticipation.

Steel Works, a one-stop shop for metal work in the city, has been hard at work for several months preparing the four pieces of artwork that now decorate the outside of the bowling alley – a step away from the agricultural work the business typically completes.

“This is exciting to be a part of because Turlock hasn’t had something like this for a long time,” Steel Works owner Ed Padlo said. “I’m just thrilled.”

Padlo began Steel Works as a part time endeavor four years ago, and at the time, he was working as a supervisor in an almond processing plant. In November, he and his sons took the business fulltime and now are often creating elevators, conveyors and more for other processing plants. They’ve ventured into metal work for other businesses in the area, Padlo said, but nothing of this magnitude.

When one of Padlo’s sons saw that the Ten Pin Fun Center walls had gone up, he contacted developer Rod Scott to see if there was any metal work that the bowling alley needed during construction.

“He said, ‘actually, we’ve got these figures that we need fabricated,’” Padlo said. “We jumped on board.”

Scott and another designer drew the figures on paper, which were then put into a computer and cut out on a plasma table. The metal figures, which also include two sets of bowling balls and their pins on the front and back of the building, were created in several large pieces, then put back together again on the building’s walls.

Steel Works typically offers basic metal services like shearing, punching and forming, as well as specialized services including milling, turning and boring. Venturing out of their comfort zone and creating massive pieces like the Ten Pin Fun Center’s is what keeps the job entertaining, Padlo said.

“We’re not afraid to try different things,” he said. “We don’t want to get pigeon-holed into one category.”