TrueNorth Steel’s story began in 1945 when Ole Rommesmo Sr., a Norwegian immigrant, launched his first company called Fargo Tank. He initially started manufacturing steel storage tanks for the oil and agricultural industries. With only five employees, that original team manufactured tanks in the evening and sold and delivered tanks during the day.
In the decades that followed, the business grew through acquisitions, creating a diverse portfolio of steel products and capabilities while extending the company’s reach across North America. The businesses were known by several different names individually until 2011 when the founder’s son Ole Rommesmo, Jr., who now leads the business, integrated the steel businesses into a single organization: TrueNorth Steel. TrueNorth Steel carries the company’s more than 75 years of history into the future by continuing to serve its customers with construction solutions and quality steel manufactured products.
TrueNorth Steel specializes in custom fabricated steel solutions and serves several industries, including agriculture, construction, mining, road and bridge construction, stormwater management and energy.
The company’s local project portfolio includes Block 9, the 32nd Avenue I-29 bridge replacement, and Sanford Medical Center. Its California structural steel projects include Culver City Studios (Amazon Prime Studios), Avengers Land at Disneyland Park, the pedestrian bridge for the corporate office at Google headquarters. In South Dakota, TrueNorth Steel’s structural steel projects include Ross Shaft Sanford Underground Research Facility and The Monument Rapid City Civic Center.
The company is also involved with stormwater management for the Fargo Diversion Project and recently went nationwide with our TrueNorth Steel Bridge™ division of the company.
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“Owner Ole Rommesmo, Jr., treats every one of his employees the same, he invests in our wellbeing and constantly gives back to his team and the community to show his support and appreciation for how driven and dedicated we are to the success of the company, according to Marketing and Communications Coordinator Savannah Ward. “TrueNorth Steel has been a family-owned business for more than 75 years, passed down from father to son; companies of this size and capabilities tend to sell so we are proud to be family owned.”
TrueNorth Steel employs 490 employees and its core values include integrity, safety, confidence, humility, focus, commitment, and knowledge. Due to the pandemic, a private, in-person event for employees, vendors and customers was postponed, but the company milestone will be celebrated in 2022.
