On April 10, 2026, NASA’s lunar fly-by mission, Artemis II, made history when it successfully splashed down into the Pacific Ocean after traveling farther from Earth than any other crewed mission before it. Artemis II is part of NASA’s larger Artemis moon exploration space program, which is comprised of an impressive collection of hardware, including the Space Launch System, the two-stage launch vehicle that carried the astronauts safely to space, and the Orion spacecraft, which safely carried them around the moon and back.
To date, the Artemis program has required the fabrication of a wide range of hardware. The Orion space capsule is a manufacturing feat on its own, but additional hardware commissioned by NASA has been equally impressive, including the production of rocket engines, rocket boosters and two mobile launchers, the ML-1 and ML-2.
The list of fabricators that can handle the manufacturing of these critical assets is a short one, but it includes PVS Structures. A quick cruise through the company’s website reveals some pretty incredible projects where the Artemis ML-2 is just one of many. PVS was also involved with the production of the Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power plants in Georgia and South Carolina, the Y12 Uranium Enrichment Project in Tennessee, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Research Support Facility in Colorado and the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization campus in Washington.
Tyler Owen, CEO and president of Owen Holdings, the parent company of PVS, says it’s hard to choose a favorite project but that the ML-2 project holds a special place in his heart as does a smaller project at his alma mater, the University of Colorado.
“I’m most proud of the work we supplied to the ML-2 project as well as the AP1000 projects,” he says. “These were unbelievably challenging environments where our team overcame any hurdle they were presented with and persevered despite massive headwinds. Our body of work shows that our team is more familiar with NQA-1 nuclear compliance than any other firm in the United States, if not the world.”
Making history
Located in Iowa, but interestingly on the west side of the Missouri River, PVS has been around for a long time – long before astronauts catapulting around the moon was a thing. Founded in 1885 as Paxton & Vierling Iron Works, the company began its own journey in the heart of the country, forging its legacy by producing the streetlamps that first lit up Omaha and providing the iron for the Midwest’s early warehouses.
More than 100 years later and now a division of the family-owned Owen Industries Holdings, PVS has grown to be “the biggest little fabricator in the U.S.,” as the company describes itself on its website. The apt label comes from its ability to provide the personalized touch of a family business alongside the industrial might of a fabricator whose work has become world renowned.
Operating out of a massive 400,000-sq.-ft. rail-serviced facility in Carter Lake, Iowa, PVS is defined by the staggering scale of its projects and technical precision it provides customers. These capabilities are possible thanks to 39 acres of material storage and a range of state-of-the-art fabrication equipment. This robust infrastructure is what allows the PVS team to serve as a single-source provider for the many complex projects they work on – offering everything from sophisticated engineering all the way through high-end finishing.
Rather than specializing in a single niche, PVS acts as a versatile powerhouse for critical infrastructure, including massive industrial complexes, high-rise commercial shells, complex bridge work, and intricate structures for the energy and manufacturing sectors. Throughout its many decades in business, the company has embraced the craftsmanship of its early days while adopting the high-tech aspects of modern manufacturing.
Early diversification
Around the same time PVS first started as a small local foundry, the U.S. railroad industry had picked up some major momentum. The Transcontinental Railroad had just been completed, motivating the young company to diversify into the fabrication business, producing components for the growing railroad infrastructure. The decision to diversify early on is ultimately what led to the status PVS carries today – an international fabricator that handles some of the biggest projects humanity will ever see. Owen attributes the company’s longevity to it being family-owned and always being willing to diversify as it did in its early years.
“The stability and commitment that comes from being family-owned has driven us to explore new and more diverse markets to ensure both profitability and steady work,” he explains. “When the commercial market tanked in the 1980s, we moved heavily into industrial fabrication. When the DOT bridge market tanked in the late 1990s, we invested more heavily in the railroad bridge market.
“Regardless of the economic conditions, though, we’re always striving to find customers that need high quality,” he adds. ”We aren’t able – or willing, quite frankly – to compete with low-price fab shops. Instead, we’re fortunate to have a network of sister companies that helps us offset downturns in the fab economy. When we’re down, their cycle is typically up; it’s a nice balance.”
Critical certifications
The result of PVS’s early diversification and vertical integration is an impressive portfolio that includes stadiums, hospitals and a range of work for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The general public, however, might not always understand how complex some of these projects can be – especially from a quality and documentation standpoint. The in-house expertise required for this type of work takes years to develop.
“We’re one of the last, if not the last, nuclear-compliant structural steel fabricators in the United States,” Owen says. “We developed this expertise over years working in the industrial market and then in the nuclear construction world. We were allowed to participate in those markets because of our commitment to quality and attention to detail – the weld maps, dedicated weld wire, full traceability of materials and full compliance of government procurement work. That opened the doors to the non-compliant work we did on NASA’s ML-2 project, and it’s what will continue to benefit us in the ‘nuclear-adjacent’ space.”
The certifications and designations held by PVS place it in an elite bracket of American fabricators. In addition to ISO 9001:2015 certification, PVS holds AISC-certified fabricator status with advanced endorsements, including the Standard for Steel Building Structures (AWS D1.1), Certified Bridge Fabrication-Advanced (Major; AWS D1.5), Fracture Critical Endorsement and Sophisticated Paint Endorsement.
Specific to nuclear work, PVS has achieved a variety of quality assurance compliance standards, perhaps most notably, the ASME NQA-1 and 10 CFR 50 Appendix B. Both gold standards for the nuclear industry, the certifications allow the company to fabricate “safety related” structural steel for nuclear power plants and DOE facilities.
As described in a company video, PVS explains that “compliance isn’t just near perfection in physical form, fit and function; it’s full traceability of materials reflected in paperwork and exacting accuracy and attention to detail in all tiers of procurement from flow-downs to specification references.”
Vast capacity
Achieving compliance for projects like the Artemis II is an extensive and rigorous process, but so, too, is accumulating the actual fabricating chops required to produce NASA-level work. Over the years, PVS has grown its fabrication capabilities into a comprehensive suite of services with a focus on high-precision production and engineering.
Primary operations include laser cutting up to 2.5-in.-thick material and plasma/flame cutting up to 7-in.-thick material, as well as bending with more than 20 press brakes that have 750-ton capacities and lengths up to 20 ft. The facility is also equipped for drilling, sawing and complex beam coping alongside specialized welding services – both manual and robotic. PVS also offers specialized finishing, high-capacity shot blasting and enclosed painting booths for protective coatings.
Other in-house capabilities include coil leveling and stretching for 80,000-lb. coils up to 1 in. thick, dual powder coat facilities and the ability to manufacture patented portable track turnouts for the railroad sector, one of the company’s earliest customer segments.
When it comes to producing the massive, complex structures PVS has become known for, Owen says it takes a village in the form of the vast system of facilities the company has access to. While PVS is primarily based in Carter Lake, its parent company provides a broad network of talent across the country.
“For the ML-2 project, we managed a team of more than 20 subcontractors, including all of the submittals, RFIs and contract specs that were required by the customer,” he says. “We managed to do that successfully despite more than 5,000 RFIs and massive drawing changes. The project was similar to previous effort behind the Westinghouse nuclear projects, the Y12 enrichment project and the multiple buildings we provided for the Hanford waste treatment project in Washington.
“Our 400,000-sq.-ft. shop and 39-acre campus help us manage the self-perform elements,” he adds, “while our network allows us to build great teams of sub-fabricators that know they can trust us to deliver.”
Looking ahead
For a company that will soon celebrate its 150th anniversary, PVS is incredibly forward-thinking in terms of the high-end tech tools it has invested in over the years. Owen says company leadership is focused on delivering high-quality work and understands that doing so requires advanced technologies.
“Our metals division, Owen Metals Group, has been a leader in the OEM parts supply business due to our early adoption of high-kilowatt lasers, advanced forming capabilities, advanced powder coat abilities and homegrown software systems that allow us to share our work throughout the Midwest,” he says. “PVS has followed suit, knowing that the reduction in labor through advanced equipment allows us to react faster to changing schedules and beyond.”
As the company looks to the future, it will continue to employ the same tactics that have kept it thriving for so long. A rare combination of broad fabricating skills, specialized certifications and family-owned agility will further maintain its unmatched reputation as a go-to producer for some of the world’s most awesome endeavors.
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