Built to Own the Full Scope
Ironworks Trade Co. exists because too many steel projects get fractured across three or four subcontractors. We built a company where one crew handles detailing, fabrication, welding, and erection — start to finish, under one roof.
How We Got Here
Marcus Delgado started Ironworks Trade Co. twelve years ago after spending a decade watching steel projects fall apart at the seams. Not because the welding was bad or the drawings were wrong — but because three different companies were touching the same scope and none of them were talking to each other. The fabricator blamed the detailer. The erector blamed the fabricator. The GC blamed everyone. Marcus figured there was a simpler way to run it.
He opened a shop, hired welders he had worked with on previous crews, and started taking on structural packages that other shops would split across two or three subs. The pitch was simple: one company, one crew, full accountability. If something went wrong, there was one phone number to call and one person who would fix it.
That model worked. The shop grew from a 4-person crew in a rented bay to a 23-person operation running out of a 15,000 sq ft facility with in-house engineering, plasma cutting, and mobile field rigs. The approach has not changed. We still own every step — from the first connection drawing to the last bolt torqued on-site. That is the whole point.
Twelve Years of Steel
Founded in a 3,000 sq ft shop with a 4-person crew. First contracts were handrail and miscellaneous steel for local general contractors.
Expanded to the current 15,000 sq ft fabrication facility on the south side of San Antonio. Added a second overhead crane and plasma table.
Brought engineering and detailing in-house. Started producing our own connection drawings and shop drawings — cut turnaround time by two weeks.
Crew reached 15. Won our first municipal contract with San Antonio Water System. Proved we could handle public-sector timelines and documentation.
Completed the largest project to date — a 120-ton structural steel package for a distribution center. Full scope from detailing through erection.
23-person crew. Over 200 commercial projects completed across Central and South Texas. Added mobile welding rigs for expanded field capability.