Extreme Iron Works -  Small Town Fabrication Business Gains Patents with Torchmate 4800 - And Grows a Business 

From Carpenter to the Ultimate Fabricator

Extreme Iron Works is a small-town fabrication business located in Gretna, Nebraska, just 30 minutes outside of Omaha. Owner, Dave Cotton, has decades of experience in the construction and steel industries. He took on the responsibility of working hands on with carpentry and the fabrication of arch, and structural steel 25 years ago. Using his passion and talent, he founded Extreme Iron Works in 2016. With the help from his son, Kyle, he designs and constructs everything from structural foundations of wood and steel, to beautiful pieces of art.

For years Dave’s main focus was carpentry work, but he always had dreams of expanding his offerings. He finally took the leap in 2018 when he purchased a Torchmate 4800 CNC plasma table. Extreme Iron Works now has the capabilities that Dave had been itching to achieve and he hasn’t looked back since.

Striving to Becoming a Step Above the Rest

Dave knew there were gaps in his local market and with the Torchmate machine, he would be able to capitalize on those gaps. “I wanted to offer customers custom metal fabrications such as brackets that have their initials cut into the steel. I wanted to target high end lake homes and similar customers. One example of a recent project we built is an 8 foot tall water feature. It looked like a doorway into the client’s water garden. We created a LED-lit rainfall effect that flowed down the water feature,” Dave explained.

Those type of custom projects are what sets Extreme Iron Works apart from the rest of the competition. It took a lot of practice and learning for Dave to expand from carpentry to metal fabrication. He chose a Torchmate table over other CNC plasma table brands because he knew Torchmate has dependable technical support and provides the necessary resources to help customers learn the table as quickly and simply as possible. “Dave said, Torchmate support is a 10 out of 10. My table is four years old and they still take their time helping me just like since day one.”

Now, Extreme Iron Works runs their Torchmate three to four hours almost every day. “The Torchmate 4800 delivers a new level of customizable projects for my customers. I just built a custom cannon that shoots a tennis ball almost 200 yards. Also, custom office signs have been booming for the business. We are constantly cutting signs for other businesses and easily getting $4,000 a piece. That would not have been possible without the Torchmate,” said Dave.

Acquiring U.S. Patents with the Torchmate 4800

“Since 2018, I have acquired 2 United States nonprovisional patents using the Torchmate 4800,” Dave told us. The first patent Dave acquired was for a custom doorlock safety device he calls the Bulldog. “It is an interior swing, personal door lock made to fit the profile of every commercial building door jamb. This includes schools and office buildings and provides safety in an emergency situation. The device latches onto the frame of a door in the bottom corner of the handle side, and will prevent anyone from entering the room in the case of an emergency,” Dave wrote.

The second patent Dave acquired was for his custom concrete embeds invention. These concrete embeds provide users innovative advertising opportunities. Extreme Iron Works can create any logo or sign and embed the metal into concrete. They design and size everything using the Torchmate CAD software.

Then, using a truss system, each letter has a tab they weld on in Torchmate CAD. Lastly, rebar is welded through the project when it is complete. “Sidewalks, entryways and precast walls each provide excellent opportunities for this product to display any private sign or advertisement. The concrete embeds are available Galvanized or Electroplated to match any desired style. Neither of these patents would have been possible without our Torchmate machine. Not to mention all of the other business we have obtained because of the projects we can now produce using the table,” said Dave.

Thank you to Extreme Iron Works and Dave for telling their story. On behalf of everyone at Torchmate, we are thankful for each of our customers’ business and are happy we are contributing to your successes.

Check out Extreme Iron Work’s social channels. On their Website, they display a wide variety of custom signs, concrete embeds and many other fabrications. Customers can place orders for custom or personalized projects. Additionally, Extreme Iron Works posts new content on all of their social media platforms. Visitors will find behind the scenes photos and videos about how the company manufactures such unique products. To view their social content, place an order, or for more information about the business, please visit their Facebook, Instagram & Website pages.

Check out Torchmate CNC Plasma Tables here and see how you can start growing your business!

Please click here to download this article as a PDF.