Customer Profiles
Steel buildings have become extremely popular across the U.S. for auto shops looking to grow their business and have more space to operate.
An “Auto”matic Tune-up: Immigrant-Owned Repair Shop Sees Company Grow with New Steel Building from Armstrong Steel
Colorado’s small business owners are the lifeblood of the American free enterprise system. When small businesses succeed, we as Americans all succeed. Local communities and local economies are stimulated as those small business owners inject goods and services back into society.
Local entrepreneurs come from all nations, races and religions. Colorado’s immigrant-owned businesses generate a whopping $684 million a year in revenue, according to research conducted by the American Community Survey. There are over 13,000 immigrant-owned small businesses in Colorado, according to a recent study conducted by the Fiscal Policy Institute, a research organization in New York, and that number is most likely growing everyday.
A prime example of a successful immigrant-owned Denver Metro business is Loris and Eddie Z’s auto shop located just north of Littleton, Colorado. Eddie finally decided it was time to build newer, larger space, and they wanted to use prefabricated building materials from local company Armstrong Steel Buildings.
Eddie and Loris came to Denver in search of opportunity. While it is true that 100 years ago, during the industrial revolution, immigrants were coming to the U.S. to fill general labor jobs to improve the economic position for themselves and their families, a lot has changed since then. These two business owners had a very specific idea of what they wanted when contacting Armstrong Steel to expand their business. They envisioned a clear span building with enough bays to accommodate the increasing workload their business has been experiencing.
As Iranian immigrants, Eddie and Loris are, without question, an American success story.
“The fabric of our nation is woven by the immigrant experience and its colorful patchwork is a living witness to America’s success. On the whole, America & Denver is reaping the benefits of our immigrant-friendly economic and civic structure,” says Eric Beavers, VP of Operations for Armstrong Steel.
Being familiar with construction, the Eddie knew the advantages of metal buildings and knew an Armstrong Building would be an extremely cost effective solution for what they envisioned. They contacted Armstrong Steel with their idea and Armstrong’s team of experts suggested a 70x60x14 steel building package, which included doors, skylights, gutters, downspouts, and insulation.
“Every time I’ve shown up to Armstrong Steel’s Headquarters in the Denver Tech Center to discuss a building project with the project managers they are accommodating, efficient, priced right and they take care of our needs.” says Shane M., a prominent Denver area general contractor who managed the project.
As the Zarooki’s business continues to grow, they plan to stick with Armstrong for any future expansion needs.
“We initially sent a building deposit to a well-known steel building company in Denver who we later learned had an established reputation for stealing people’s deposits and not delivering buildings. That was a huge mistake because we never got our building and they still have our money. Our first call should have been Armstrong Steel,” said Loris Z.
“Armstrong Steel is proud to contribute to building this land of opportunity for all persons living within our borders, especially those who came to our country in search of opportunity. Their hopes and dreams strengthen our own communities, and remind us that the great expanse of our country was built by hands from foreign lands,” said Ethan Chumley, Armstrong Steel’s Founder and CEO.