Artistry Meets Entrepreneurship
by Noah Nelson
Simply Fabricated, or SimFab for short, was established here in Bend in 2016. The metal fabrication shop specializes in all forms of welding and fabricating, supplying the area’s builders, contractors, and homeowners with expertly crafted metal accents and structural pieces that add strength and flare to any project.
Led by Cody Hawes, SimFab specializes in a wide variety of metal workings, from gates, guardrails, and firepits, to lighting fixtures, home accents, structural steel, and architectural landscaping, pulling a property together while increasing its overall value.
Cody is the person you want in charge of a fabrication shop like this. His passion for craftsmanship started out in his middle school shop class, where he first fell in love with it. His background growing up on a farm gave him plenty of experience trying to fix everything that didn’t work from a very young age. Cody moved up in high school and began work at a trailer fabrication shop, and he’s been a professional in the industry ever since.
“I officially quit my job on July 17th of 2016. My thought was, ‘Well…It’s never going to happen if I keep making excuses as to why I can’t start now or why it won’t work out for me.’”
–Cody Hawes, Founder, SimFab
To be a metal fabricator at the level of Cody and the team at SimFab, one must also have the eye of an artist—to be able to see the finished product before the metal takes its final shape, and to be able to bring another person’s vision to life. Fortunately for Cody, he has always been an artist, recalling from a young age that he constantly found himself drawing as a hobby.
“I tried my hand at going to The Art Institute of Portland but realized my art wasn’t with pen and paper, but with steel,” Cody says.
Cody describes himself as a mix between, “the entrepreneurial-type and an artist.” Working in the industry for other businesses, he constantly felt as though he had reached his glass ceiling, being as high up in the company as he could get. Still, he was working on side jobs out of his garage for nearly two years before deciding to take the leap and begin his own fabrication shop.
“I officially quit my job on July 17th of 2016,” he says. “My thought was, ‘Well… It’s never going to happen if I keep making excuses as to why I can’t start now or why it won’t work out for me.’”
And with that entrepreneurial attitude, SimFab was born in 2016. Between the business side of things and the metalworking side, Cody says that his real passion lies, “in creating beautiful art out of a pile of raw steel, but also, the challenge it brings figuring out how to do things I have never tried or that seem undoable.”
While many other businesses and industries suffered under the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, Cody and SimFab found themselves in a surprisingly opportune time. While still taking precautions to stay safe and healthy, Cody and the team were actually quite busy during COVID.
“We always make sure to ask as many questions as is necessary to ensure that we have a complete understanding of the customer’s goals and vision. Many people have no idea how many differences are possible between seemingly similar products, and that’s ok! We understand how to get people through this process in a kind and stress-free way.”
–Cody Hawes, Founder, SimFab
“We were way busier during that time because everyone else was home doing renovation projects because they had found some extra time on their hands” he says.
While SimFab has been successful, Cody is always preparing for future challenges, whether that might involve dealing with growth, a changing industry, or something else entirely. Cody says that they are working on getting new systems in place to help handle their increased scaling and workload. The goal seems to be to stay ahead of themselves and their own growth, allowing for quick and quality customer service and final products, even if the team keeps getting busier as time goes on.
“We are always trying to adapt and learn to help us stay ahead of the game, and ahead of our own projected growth,” he says.
So what exactly has SimFab done so well that has garnered them their success? According to Cody, it comes down to attention to detail, a very important factor when it comes to producing a client’s custom vision and making it real.
“We always make sure to ask as many questions as is necessary to ensure that we have a complete understanding of the customer’s goals and vision,” Cody explains. “Many people have no idea how many differences are possible between seemingly similar products, and that’s ok! We understand how to get people through this process in a kind and stress-free way.”
According to several happy customer reviews, this rings true; so true that it is common for customers to recommend SimFab over any other option available locally.
And for new customers? Take advantage of some “first-timer” deals that help the first project feel lighter on the wallet.
Cody works with a variety of clients, ranging from people who have a very specific vision that must be achieved, to people who have a more general idea of what they want, who place trust in Cody’s artistic vision and interpretation. No matter the amount of back and forth, the SimFab team is dedicated to getting it right.
“We are always trying to adapt and learn to help us stay ahead of the game, and ahead of our own projected growth.”
–Cody Hawes, Founder, SimFab
In terms of scope, SimFab typically works with residential projects and few commercial ones. Their team is not a massive one, and good work that requires keen attention to detail does not benefit from employees being stretched thin. Part of Cody’s success lies in understanding what he and his team can do well, which translates to extremely high-quality work for his clients.
Looking at his future in Bend, Cody is optimistic, “I want to have only a few more rock-solid guys and still keep everything local, while expanding my shop by about a third of the current space,” he shares.
In addition, Cody hopes to start producing some high-end products that will be available for nationwide shipping, including sculptures, furniture, and more.
