By Rick Madewell
Assistant Editor

In mid-October, the Osceola County Commission honored a longtime area business with quite an achievement — a proclamation.

St. Cloud Welding & Fabrication Inc., in operation since 1976, received the proclamation from Commission Chairman Fred Hawkins Jr. declaring Oct. 18 as St. Cloud Welding & Fabrication Inc. Appreciation Day in Osceola County.

President and owner Bobbie Jean Lollis said the business began with only two employees and grew to 40. That number has dwindled somewhat with the economy, she said, and the business now employs 26.

Lollis admitted keeping the business going could sometimes be rough.

“Being in construction and having to bid for most of your work is always tough if you want to make a profit, but it is easy if you want to do the jobs for charity and not survive,” Lollis said. “It is tougher now with the economy the way it is. SCWF is fortunate to be diverse in the projects that it does.”

Lollis said she wasn’t exactly sure why her business was honored.

“I am sure there are other businesses that have been here longer and may be more deserving,” she said. “But I do hope it is that we have been in business in Osceola County as long as we have and do we pay our employees well.”

County Commission Chairman Fred Hawkins Jr. knows exactly why Lollis and her business were honored.

“St. Cloud Welding & Fabrication has quietly been one of the larger employers in the private sector of St. Cloud. They have expanded to work not only all over the state of Florida but the Southeastern United Sates and, on a few occasions, out of the country,” Hawkins said. “In doing all this work, they still call St. Cloud home and are headquartered there. This is a trade industrial business and there are not many of these types of operations left in Osceola County.”

Lollis keeps much of her family involved in the business: Dell, a son, is vice president; and a granddaughter is an office worker.

The work done at the business is very diverse, Lollis said.

“We do any and everything,” said Lollis, who explained that the fabrication of steel is taking steel and building it to job drawings and specifications, then cutting or bending it, rolling it then welding it.

“The  steel can be welded or what they call ‘bolt-up,’ depending on your drawings and specifications,” she said. “We do pipe welding — the pipe can be plastic, stainless or aluminum; we do water filtration systems; we do packaged boiler sales and repairs.”

Lollis said she is very satisfied with her business’ current location in St. Cloud — 3724 Hickory Street Road — and that, as of now, there are no plans to expand.

Considering the nature of the business, Lollis and her crew must abide by certain safety measures.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules and laws govern St. Cloud Welding and Fabrication on issues concerning hazard items, rigging, confined space, personal protection equipment, fall protection and scaffolding, to name a few. Lollis said the business’ safety manual is about 175 pages.

The business, Lollis said, receives a large amount of service calls on welding repairs, boilers (packaged hot water heaters used by hotels and other businesses) and general repairs There are, she said, between 175 and 200 new and repeat customers per year.

And business, she said, should only get better.

“I foresee the future for SCWF getting on the growth track as soon as the economy starts to grow,” she said.