AMT Metal Fabricators

Area Served

About AMT Metal Fabricators

AMT Metal Fabricators was established in 1950 by Russell Turpen with the help of his business partner Ray Amick and short-term investor Phillip May. During the initial years, AMT built wood hardware for timber-framed buildings and worked general construction projects. These projects included the Alameda Tube, San Rafael Bridge, and De Anza High School. In the late 1950's AMT began to build steel frames for sea going Cargo containers. This product line ran from 1958 to 1966. In 1964, Russell Turpen acquired full ownership of AMT at which point the company had become the largest user of sheet stock on the West Coast and had over 120 employees building cargo containers. In 1968 when the cargo container industry went overseas with foreign governments subsidizing the building of these units, AMT switched its focus to modular buildings and started a new division, Quality Engineered and Designed Buildings, QED. In 1971, QED was awarded a $6,000,000 contract for US Air Force Barracks and Facilities in Guam, a considerable project at the time. It included the design, engineering and fabrication of the Barracks and Facilities structures. In 1973 AMT parted with QED and went back to construction of Fabricated Steel. Michael Turpen joined the firm full time after college in 1974, after working part time during summers and weekends for 10 previous years.The first large project Michael managed was the Embarcadero Bart Station where AMT Fabricated and installed all of the curtain wall steel for Homer J Olsen Co. on the project. During the next few years, AMT supplied 5 of the 7 contractors on the Cable Car Rehab project in San Francisco, built and designed batting cages, fabricate steel for Berth 5 and Howard Terminal for the port of Oakland, built the railings for Santa Monica Pier, and widen the Benicia Bridge with Caltrans.Michael Turpen became president of the Company in 1984. During this time, AMT obtained more refinery work and established direct contracts with Chevron