Valmont

Valmont began manufacturing steel pipe and tubing in 1959. "We found that it wasn't always easy to get the pipe we required when we needed it and at the right price. So we decided to make our own," Daugherty said. The first product was six-inch pipe. From that beginning, the company saw an opportunity to not only manufacture pipe for its irrigation systems, but also to develop markets throughout the United States for original equipment manufactures (OEMs), steel service centers, and for use in both private and public projects.

In the 1960s, Valmont's development and use of high-speed, resistance welding for tubular products led directly to the manufacture of tapered tubes for outdoor lighting, traffic signals and other applications. A production line was designed which continually cut, formed and welded at high speeds and with very low labor requirements. Valmont expanded into the manufacture of large tubular structures for the electrical utility industry during the 1970s.