Business Spotlight: Sebago Metal Fabrication

By Briana Bizier

Whether you’re looking for a unique gift, an upgrade for your truck, or a more convenient way to
reach the water, Sebago Metal Fabrication has the answer! The sister company to Sebago Docks, Sebago Metal Fab of Naples builds aluminum docks for use all over New England. But this company makes much more than just docks.

From custom metal signs to staircases to new truck beds, Sebago Metal Fab can make it all. “We do

pretty much anything,” James Sullivan, of Sebago Metal Fab explained. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Many of the outdoor structures they build are made of aluminum, which is lightweight, relatively easy to maneuver, and comes with a fifteen-year warranty. “If you have a staircase, once it’s there, it’s there forever,” James says. “If a wood staircase gets out of level, there’s not much you can do about it. But our stairs, you can take them apart and move them, or just take a few bolts out and re-level them.”

In addition, an aluminum structure doesn’t rust or rot. In James’s words, “it's never going to not look nice.” And, if the idea of a gleaming silver staircase leading down to the water doesn’t appeal to you, the metal can be powder-coated with one of 50,000 different colors.

Sebago Metal Fab, which has been doing metal work for over ten years, services a very broad area. The metalworkers travel as far as northern Maine, or south to Martha’s Vineyard, where they frequently work with the trustees of Martha’s Vineyard. Recently, Sebago Metal Fab even constructed an outdoor staircase for a famous movie star (although I’m not at liberty to disclose which famous movie star).

The same aluminum used in docks and outdoor staircases can also be used to make handicapped accessible ramps for homes or businesses. “The handicap ramps are modular,” James explained, “so they’re not a permanent structure. They can be moved around.” These can also be powder-coated in one of those 50,000 different shades to match the house or the trim.

Because aluminum is lightweight and rust-proof, it can be used to make a new bed for a pickup truck. Replacing a rusted truck bed through a dealer costs several thousand dollars and, with all the salt our roads use in a Maine winter, the new truck bed will be just as likely to rust. An aluminum truck bed, in contrast, will never rust, and it’s easy to customize. The bed can have flat sides for hauling equipment, or fold-down sides, or even collapsible ramps to help load snowmobiles and four-wheelers.

“So, you can come here and buy a truck bed that’s going to outlive the truck,” James said, with a laugh. And, if the custom truck bed does outlast your vehicle, the bed can always be placed on the next truck. “If you work your trucks hard, and they’re always getting beat up, you can buy one truck bed and put it on every truck you own,” James says. “You’re protecting your investment."

If you’re looking for something a bit more artistic than a new truck bed, Sebago Metal Fab now owns a CNC Plasma Cutter for making customized metal signs for homes and businesses. “It does things we could never do by hand,” James explains.

These metal signs make a fantastic and unique gift for the holidays or other occasions and can be made from any material, from aluminum to stainless steel to copper, or even different layers of different metals. Signs with family names have been very popular, as have signs for camps, pictures of farm animals, and dogs. These creative signs can even include lighting. For the Fryeburg Fair, James tells me, Sebago Metal Fab made a backlit sign with color-changing lights.

“The signs are a treat to make for sure,” James declared. “We like to make sure everyone is 100 percent happy with what they’re getting, and we try to make it as personal as possible."

They also use the CNC Plasma Cutter to make decorative panels for staircases and fireplaces; their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/sebagometalfab, showcases several beautiful scenes on these decorative panels, including a tree, a forest, and even a family of loons.

“We’re a pretty small, tight-knit group here,” James told me. “We like what we do, and we like who we work for. We try to make as many people happy as we can.”

“Anything you can dream of,” he added, “we can make it here.”

It takes approximately two weeks to turn around custom signs so order early to have items in time for Christmas. To put in your order or learn more call 207-653-3766 or visit www.sebagometalfab.com. You can find them on Facebook.