Charles Shepherd moved his family to Leesburg, Florida in 1914 where he would later establish Leesburg Welding in 1920. Charles owned and operated this general welding and machine shop until he passed in 1952. After his father’s passing in 1952, Charles “Bee” Shepherd II took over the family business and continued in his father’s footsteps until he later passed in 2006.

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.

In 2001, Bryan Shepherd took ownership of Metro Steel after his father “Chuck” passed away. Continuing with the idea of distribution and “value-added” processing, Metro Steel continues to expand in both size and ability. Metro Steel is now located in Tavares, FL with 160,000 sf of space, and has expanded “value-added” capabilities by adding more CNC equipment, such as Laser, Plasma, Press Brakes, Machining, etc.