In 1974 Charles “Bee” II’s son, Charles “Chuck” Shepherd established Metro Steel and Pipe Supply, Inc. on the property adjacent to Leesburg Welding, where he built a 35,000 sf building. His steel warehouse and distribution business serviced numerous industries across central Florida. In addition to selling raw materials, Chuck purchased equipment to cut, shear, bend and roll steel products according to customer needs. This was the beginning of the “value-added” processing.