Retirement isn't for everyone. It certainly wasn't right for Lee Albright.
After a 30 year career, Lee walked away from the reinforcing steel business and headed off into retirement. Two years later, she was bored. So she called her longtime friend and former colleague Rich Rabay with a proposition. They should start a company of their own together. Lee didn't want to retire; she wanted to be her own boss.
LA Steel Services opened its doors in March, 2015, and Lee has no regrets about coming back to work. "I love the business and loved it ever since I got into it," she says.
Lee's first job was in reinforcing steel. She began as a sales assistant for a post-tensioning company and quickly rose into a management position, in an industry that at the time had very few women in high-level roles. "Find good teachers," Lee recommends to anyone considering a career in construction. She was fortunate to have mentors willing to teach her more about the trade.
And for those who might want to start a company of their own? "Know what the numbers mean," Lee says. Her experience managing large, complex reinforcing steel projects gave her the insights necessary to successfully found her own firm.
LA Steel specializes in building bridges. The company just completed their work on the Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project in San Diego and have worked on various other bridge projects in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties. The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) furnishes and installs reinforcing steel throughout the Project, including the rebar used in the Bridge Deck shown above.
The upcoming Arch Ribs will be even more complex and require sequencing coordination with the entire SSW team. There will be a lot of rebar in the Arch Ribs, as well as inserts, couplers and design elements that all must perfectly fit into place.
The work may be challenging, but, at least for Lee, it sure beats retirement!
