By Arneth Vincent

With the start of a new year, comes the start of a new business. Heading north on 395 through Clayton, you can’t miss the beautiful new building on the corner of Williams Valley Road.  Alpine Metal, run by Joel Burkholder with the help of his sons, manufactures metal roofing, siding, trim and all metal hardware.

The plans and construction for this massive building began in April of 2024. Burkholder got the business up and running at the beginning of this year with the help of his two sons, Paul and Joshua, and a close family friend, Lauren. They are now open for business and contracts! 

Burkholder and his sons come from a background of working in construction in Olympia, where the family lived for 22 years before moving to Clayton three years ago. They wanted a change in jobs, and knowing friends in other states with metal businesses, they decided to dive into the metal world. 

The Burkholder family loves mountains and climbing, hence the word Alpine in their business name and mountains in their logo. 

The demand for metal has grown greatly as there are many benefits to building with it. For one, it’s fireproof. It is also recyclable (unlike roof shingles or asphalt shingles) and a very durable material. Due to the fire hazard in this region, metal buildings are becoming more popular.

Since moving to Stevens County, the Burkholder family have come to greatly love the area and the community. They wanted to bring new business to Stevens County, while offering good quality, reliability, integrity and most of all, showing and establishing their business in honor of God’s glory. They purchased the property a few years ago and left it untouched until Burkholder deemed it a good spot to start their new adventure. 

Alpine Metal plans to have a grand opening in spring with a set date and time still to be determined. They will be forming metal to the customer’s needs, and offer a variety of colors — currently there are 20 rolls of colored metal coils.

 With the rise of computerized and better quality paint, metal can now be painted with patterns and prints such as camouflage, brick or wood panels and tree bark. The metal is coated with a galvalume, which is considered more durable than galvanized. 

Galvalume is cold-rolled steel that is hot-dipped in aluminum and zinc alloys. This process produces a durable, corrosion-resistant coating that is widely used in the metal roofing industry.  

 

Any metal scraps will be recycled, but if you are in need of small pieces, stop on by! Alpine Metal is more than willing to help you in your projects. Their goal for Alpine Metal is to be a one-stop shop for all your metal needs — including screws, gloves, insulation, barn doors, cutters, and all metal hardware and roofing compartments. They also hope to offer same-day service, guaranteeing quality in a timely manner as well as delivery service.