Shamrock Steel, Inc.

S hamrock Steel’s success as a small player in a niche market is the result of determination, business savvy, good old hard work, and – just maybe – a wee bit of the luck o’ the Irish. Regardless, this is one entity that is literally turning heads. Now entering its 21st year of operation, Shamrock Steel has become a go-to provider of tank heads, circular blanks, and custom steel plate shapes for companies from coast to coast, all supplied from its head- quarters in Birmingham, Alabama. Sean McGahan is the affable Owner and President of Shamrock Steel, Inc.. Busi- ness View Magazine recently spoke with him about how the firm has survived and thrived with just a slim product line, and its role today as a trusted name in the tank head sector. The following is an edited transcript of that conversation. BVM: What was the impetus behind the formation of Shamrock Steel? McGahan: “I was lucky to have parents that encouraged me to be my own boss from an early age. I look back at an essay I wrote in maybe 2nd or 3rd grade where I wrote, ‘I want to be an entrepreneur.’ I don’t think I even knew what that meant – obviously, I was being brainwashed, but in a good way! My dad had a tank head company years ago, and I worked for him right out of school and got some great experience there. Then he sold that company, which I encouraged him to do because I wanted to try different things. I worked for a scrap metal company, first, then started my own little advertising business. After three years of that, my wife said, ‘You need to make more money.’ She was right, it wasn’t working out. And that is when I called Ken.