This Butler County steel fabrication company has been around 40 years: A look at what it makes

Co-owner: ‘We are a custom shop and we want to make it right the first time.’
Richie Lee welds at DBS Stainless Steel Fabricators in Hamilton. The 40-year-old business specializes in cutom stainless steel products for the restaurant industry. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

Richie Lee welds at DBS Stainless Steel Fabricators in Hamilton. The 40-year-old business specializes in cutom stainless steel products for the restaurant industry. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

The next time you order a three-way at Skyline Chili, a pizza at Dewey’s or an ice cream cone at Graeter’s, you may have a Butler County business to thank.

Not for the chili, pizza slice or the cone, but for the stainless steel countertops in the restaurants.

DBS Stainless Steel Fabricators, celebrating its 40th year in business, specializes in custom stainless steel products for the Tri-state area and beyond.

The company, located on Standen Drive in Hamilton, offers a wide range of services that encompass restaurant equipment, industrial parts, and residential countertops, said Nick Bauer, who co-owns the business with his brother-in-law, Sam Robuck.

He said DBS understands the “demanding nature” of the restaurant industry and offers a wide selection of solutions from chef’s counters to wall panels and corner guards.

Co-owner Nick Bauer shows a job in production at DBS Stainless Steel Fabricators in Hamilton. The 40-year-old business specializes in cutom stainless steel products for the restaurant industry. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

icon to expand image

Credit: Nick Graham

The company also has built laundry baskets for the locker rooms at Paycor Stadium with the Bengals logo.

Earlier this week, numerous employees were busy working inside the shop on numerous special order products for area businesses. Due to the extreme heat that is magnified in the shop, they have started their shifts earlier in the day, Bauer said.

The company was founded by several local guys, including Bauer’s father, Nick. When that division closed, the group opened DBS. Bauer and Robuck, Badin High School graduates, purchased the company 10 years ago.

Bauer credited some of the company’s success and longevity to how former and present employees pass down their knowledge and previous designs.

Plus, he said, DBS “bugs the crap out” of customers by constantly asking questions.

“We are a custom shop and we want to make it right the first time,” Bauer said while standing in the middle of the shop where employees were welding and sanding. “We don’t want any issues.”

DBS has nine employees, including the office staff. Bauer described the business as a “family” where the ultimate goal is making products that are built to last.

After graduating from Badin High School in 1996, Bauer worked at P&G for five years. When his job was eliminated, his father hired him at DBS to use his drafting background.

Most of the business referrals are by word of mouth, said Bauer, who created a web site this year.

“We just keep working, plugging along,” he said.


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In this “What Do They Do There?“ feature, the Journal-News will profile a local business on Fridays. If you have a suggestion, please forward the business name and address to Rick McCrabb at rmccrabb1@gmail.com.

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