Reliable Hardware & Steel

What Reliable Hardware & Steel does

Reliable Hardware & Steel is a family-owned metal service center and custom fabrication shop headquartered in Santa Rosa, California, operating continuously since 1978 under proprietor Dale Collins. The company combines a retail hardware and fastener supply house with a full-service fabrication shop, stocking milled materials (steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, expanded metal, perforated metal, specialty alloys) and a wide variety of fasteners (Allen Drive, galvanized, metric, stainless including 316 marine/food grade, rivets, TEK/self-drilling, and specialty/odd-ball items). Its fabrication capabilities center on a FlowJet Mach 500 water jet cutting table (78" x 156" bed, one of the largest in Sonoma County), certified welding, threading, shearing, press brake bending, tube rolling, cable swaging, and drilling/tapping. The customer base spans large contractors and construction companies as the primary segment, plus individual enthusiasts, marine and food service buyers, and art studios requiring precision cutting.

The company's business model is a hybrid retail-and-services operation. Revenue is generated from (1) walk-in and over-the-counter sales of metal materials and fasteners with no minimum quantity requirements, (2) custom fabrication and processing services quoted per project, (3) certified welding for inspection-related projects, and (4) job-site delivery service with same-day or next-day options. Distribution is direct through a single physical storefront at 3240 Dutton Avenue, Monday through Friday 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Pricing is quote-based for fabrication and processing work, with special-order fulfillment of unique fasteners at a 99% same-day or next-day rate. Marketing is implicitly driven by 47 years of local reputation and word-of-mouth within the Sonoma County contractor community.

The value proposition is a one-stop shop combining raw materials, finished fabrication, and specialty fastener sourcing under one roof. Technical differentiators include the breadth of in-county fastener SKUs (largest rivet and metric fastener inventory in Sonoma County), the scale of the FlowJet water jet table, and the depth of in-house talent (150 years of combined team experience, 60+ years of collective welding experience, and Flow-certified water jet technicians). No external funding, no M&A activity, and no digital or e-commerce channel beyond the company website are present; the business is privately held and founder/family-owned.

Name

Reliable Hardware & Steel

Legal name

Reliable Hardware and Steel

Website

https://reliablehardwareandsteel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Reliable Hardware & Steel is a family-owned metal service center and custom fabrication shop in Santa Rosa, California, serving Sonoma County contractors, enthusiasts, marine/food buyers, and artists since 1978 with materials, fasteners, and certified fabrication services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Metal Fabrication Services

NAICS

Machine Shops (332710), All Other Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (33299), Other Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3329), Cutting Tool and Machine Tool Accessory Manufacturing (333515), Saw Blade and Handtool Manufacturing (332216)

SIC

Wholesale-Metals Service Centers & Offices (5051), Sheet Metal Work (3444), Metalworkg Machinery & Equipment (3540)

akta.pro primary industry

Steel Service Centers & Processing (Slitting, Cut-to-Length, Blanking, Leveling) (IMAKABAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Metal Forming & Fabrication Machines (Presses, Bending, Shearing, Stamping) (IMAHADAC)

Keywords

• Metal fabrication services
• Industrial hardware supply
• Water jet cutting
• Custom welding services
• Metal fasteners retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Rosa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Metal Materials Sales: One-stop metal service center stocking steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, expanded metal, perforated metal, and specialty alloys. Sells plate steel up to 2-1/2" thickness, channels, angles, tubes, bar stock, rods in 20' lengths. Schedule 40 & 80 pipe, well casing, and CMP steel culvert available.
2. Fasteners and Hardware Sales: Supply house for tools, fasteners and hardware. Wide variety including Allen Drive, galvanized, metric, rivets, stainless, TEK/self-drilling, and unique/odd-ball fasteners. Drill bits, taps, dies, and specialty items.
3. Custom Fabrication Services: Full-service custom fabrication including certified welding (stainless, aluminum, steel). Plan take-offs and project quoting from engineered plans. Services range from home remodels to equipment repair to large structural steel components.
4. Water Jet Cutting Services: Precision water jet cutting for parts production and art. Capable of cutting various materials up to 8" thick with .030" tolerance. Accepts templates, sketches, or DXF files.
5. Metal Processing Services: Shearing services (up to 10' lengths, 30 GA to 1/2" plate), brake/bending (up to 10' length, 3/8" thickness), tube rolling, threading, cable swaging, and drilling/tapping.
6. Delivery Services: Job site delivery service available with same-day or next-day delivery options.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Family-owned metal service center and fabrication shop in Santa Rosa, California, providing custom metal fabrication, water jet cutting, welding, threading, shearing, and brake/bending services. Combines manufacturing capabilities with a retail hardware supply house selling metal materials, fasteners, trailer parts, and cable/wire rope products to contractors and individual customers across Sonoma County since 1978.

Product overview

Reliable Hardware and Steel is a family-owned full-service custom fabrication and welding shop serving Sonoma County since 1978. The company operates as a one-stop metal service center combining manufacturing capabilities with a retail hardware supply house. The core service portfolio includes water jet cutting (FlowJet Mach 500), certified welding, threading, custom fabrication, cable services, shearing, and brake/bending. The product line centers on fasteners and metal materials, with the largest in-county inventory of Allen Drive, Galvanized, Metric, Rivets, Stainless Steel, TEK/Self Drilling, and Unique Fasteners. Additional products include Drill Bits, Taps/Dies, and bulk metal materials (Steel, Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Copper, Expanded/Perforated Metal, CorTen, DOM Tubing, Pipe). Delivery service supports the full product and service range.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Metal Fabrication Custom metal fabrication services producing metal components and assemblies to customer specifications for contractors and individual customers across Sonoma County.
• Water Jet Cutting Services Precision water jet cutting services using FlowJet Mach 500 and FlowJet Mach 2 systems, operated by Flow certified technicians for contractors, marine, food service, and art customers.
• Welding Services Custom welding services for metal components and assemblies, supporting construction, marine, food service, and trailer fabrication customers.
• Metal Threading Services Multi-machine metal threading operations including tapered threading for fasteners, pipes, and custom components.
• Metal Shearing Services Metal shearing services for cutting sheet metal and plate stock to specified dimensions.
• Press Brake / Bending Services Press brake bending services for forming metal sheets, plates, and structural components to specified angles and geometries.
• Cable and Wire Rope Services Cable and wire rope services including cutting, swaging, and supply of associated hardware and fittings.
• Custom Trailer Hitch Fabrication Custom trailer hitch fabrication services producing hitches to customer specifications for trailer and towing applications.
• Trailer Repair Services Trailer repair services for customers in Sonoma County requiring maintenance and component repair on trailers.
• Metal Materials Supply Retail supply of metal materials including aluminum, steel, and stainless steel sheets, plates, and bars for contractors and individual buyers.
• Fasteners and Hardware Supply Retail supply of fasteners and hardware including Allen Drive fasteners, galvanized fasteners, rivets, drill bits, and related hand tools and hardware.
• Trailer Parts Supply Retail supply of trailer parts and components for trailer maintenance, repair, and custom builds.
• Local Delivery Service Job site delivery service of materials, hardware, and fabricated components across Sonoma County for contractor customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 150 years of combined experience across the team
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Xometry: Xometry is an on-demand manufacturing marketplace connecting buyers with custom fabrication, CNC machining, water jet cutting, and welding capacity. It overlaps with Reliable's custom fabrication and water jet capabilities but operates a digital platform model that competes for the same contractor and small-batch industrial buyer demand.
• Bay Area Machine Shops (local job shops): Local independent machine shops and fabrication job shops in Sonoma, Marin, and Napa counties offer competing custom welding, fabrication, and CNC cutting services. They overlap with Reliable on custom fabrication work but typically lack its combined metal retail + fabrication + certified welding breadth under one roof.

Direct peers

• Metal Supermarkets: Metal Supermarkets is a franchised metal service center network offering cut-to-size steel, aluminum, stainless and other metals with no minimum order requirements, walk-in service, and quick turnaround. Most directly comparable to Reliable's service-center-plus-fabrication model in concept, though it operates a franchise model across many geographies rather than family-owned locally.
• Speedy Metals: Speedy Metals is an online metal service center offering cut-to-size steel, aluminum, stainless, tool steel and other alloys with next-day shipping. Comparable to Reliable in product mix and small-quantity/cut-to-order positioning, but competing through e-commerce rather than local walk-in service.
• OnlineMetals: OnlineMetals is an online metals service center selling small quantities of metal materials (steel, aluminum, brass, copper, plastics) with cut-to-size options and direct-to-consumer fulfillment. It competes with Reliable for hobbyist, prototyping, and small-quantity metal buyers, particularly those willing to order online rather than walk in.
• K&S Precision Metals: K&S Precision Metals supplies small-quantity brass, copper, aluminum, steel, and other metals to hobbyists, model makers, and craft customers. It competes with Reliable for the DIY/enthusiast and garage-project customer segment, especially through hobby retailer distribution channels like hardware stores.

Broad incumbents

• Fastenal: Fastenal is a large publicly traded industrial supply and fastener distributor with on-site vending and direct-to-customer service for contractors and OEMs. It overlaps with Reliable's fastener and hardware SKU categories and increasingly serves the same Sonoma/North Bay contractor base through regional branches.
• McMaster-Carr: McMaster-Carr is the dominant broad-line industrial supply company in North America, offering an enormous SKU breadth including fasteners, hardware, raw materials, and tools with same-day shipping. While not a metal service center, it competes directly with Reliable's fastener and hardware SKU categories and has structurally reshaped buyer expectations for SKU breadth and convenience.
• Grainger: Grainger is a broad-line industrial MRO distributor with a massive fastener, hardware, and tools catalog serving maintenance, construction, and commercial customers nationwide. It competes with Reliable across fastener and hardware SKUs and provides the scale and digital ordering capability that Reliable currently lacks.

Regional players

• Industrial Metal Supply Co. Industrial Metal Supply is a West Coast metal service center chain with locations in Southern California, Phoenix, and Northern California offering aluminum, steel, stainless and specialty metals with cutting services. Comparable service-center-plus-fabrication model with greater scale and broader geographic footprint than Reliable.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Reliable Hardware & Steel