Based in San Jose, California, Silicon Valley Mechanical is laser-focused on efficiency as it grows to meet rising demand for specialized and prefabricated HVAC sheet metal solutions. Its ability to still prioritize the wellbeing and sustainability of its workforce while multiplying the business it does every year has earned the shop the SNIPS NEWS Sheet Metal Fabrication Contractor of the Year award in 2023.

The nearly 30-year-old mechanical contractor got its start in residential and commercial markets, with about $14 million in revenue in 1994. But it has since moved out of residential HVAC contracting almost entirely, now focusing on schools, commercial space, and data centers to the tune of more than $370 million in projected revenue this year.

SVM hasn’t moved locations though, as its 20,000-square-foot shop in 2014 has since grown to four shops — totaling 205,000 square feet — through the purchase of neighboring properties near the heart of San Jose.

“Our work styles have changed throughout the years and to be able to adapt and be successful has been has been a bit of a struggle. But we are successful and we have and continue to adapt,” said Jeremy Day, vice president of operations.

Day said prefabrication is increasingly driving their business, leading to less field work and more assembly at the sheet metal shop.

“Every job that we get on the schedules are very condensed, and everything that we're trying to do, we're trying to get in there and get out within a week or two and then get on to the next job,” Day said, adding that with that environment, “prefabrication is completely taking over.”

Efficiencies and automation

With an eye on using the expansive mechanical shops for manufacturing, not storage, Charlie Hall, sheet metal shop manager, said SVM practices lean manufacturing principles.

"I'm not a big fan of overproduction. If I'm going to spend a bunch of energy fabricating duct, I want it delivered to the site — we want on-time deliveries,” Hall said, adding that his team expedites jobs through the shop with every piece of duct installers need individually labeled and wrapped to a cart for quick loading.

Working closely with Tim Snowden, SVM’s superintendent, and Don Juan De Guzman, SVM’s BIM director, Hall is able to get insight from all aspects of the sheet metal trade to incorporate field expertise and advanced construction tech to drive lean manufacturing choices.

Bay by bay in the manufacturing facility, supplies ranging from Ductmate sheet metal pins to Duro-Dyne DYN-O-COAT edge coating spray cans are inventoried as close to the relevant sheet metal workers as possible with supply carts.

SVM is also taking a proactive approach to reducing constraints in their manufacturing process. Hall said his team keeps their Mestek Machinery Laser-Max 1.5 running almost constantly to cut sheet metal for further processing at their Vicon coil line, elbow forming and spiral duct forming machines, and more.

To alleviate this constraint, SVM has purchased an automated BLM Group LS7 laser that can cut up to an inch and a quarter thick sheets of metal. There’s racks on either side of the machine, where suction cups automatically pick up loaded material, or burn sets, put them on the table, and then move the cut material to the other rack before continuing on.  

“We could be running this 24 hours a day, and since it’s automated, you only need one person,” Hall said, noting that one person loads jobs and puts stickers on each piece.

Workforce leader

While Silicon Valley Mechanical is a lean manufacturer, its efforts to educate the next generation of sheet metal workers are plentiful.

Day said at least four of his staff work at the local JATC as educators. SVM also exposes high school students to the industry through their participation in the Heavy Metal Summer Experience. Several have gone on to serve as pre-apprentices in SVM’s 700-plus-strong labor force and throughout Sheet Metal Local 104.  

One of SVM’s most standout projects was their work on the Local 104 training center in Livermore, California. Here, apprentices are able to work on pretty well any system they can expect to see out in the field within a controlled environment.

“Having the ability to see all these different systems really gives them a leading advantage,” Day said.

What’s next?

Through legislation that leverages private funding for data centers, chip manufacturers, battery manufacturers and more, sheet metal shops across the country are rearing a new peak in great works projects.

For its part, the Silicon Valley region has growing specialized segments like biotechnology. SVM worked on the Life Sciences Project in San Carlos for example, with construction wrapping up this year. This project follows a series of other life science projects SVM has brought to completion, cementing their reputation in the industry.

Day recalls one challenging life sciences project: “We had a ton of rooftop equipment that all tied into main headers, and it was all stainless steel welded duct, and it had to be at a 6-inch water gauge,” Day concluded. “For a shop that didn’t have a lot of experience in that, and for us to still be able to do it and do it quickly, it definitely opened some doors.”