Kennett Square, Pa.-based Metalwërks announced it is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The company was founded in 1968 as Metal Sales and Service Co. on behalf of Jean Maure Scharr, director, and operations began in 1969 in Chadds Ford, Pa. The original business was the sale of non-ferrous metal goods to fabricators and OEM companies in the Delaware Valley.

By 1973, the company had moved to Wilmington, Del., and shop equipment was added to begin shearing and forming operations. The company became a distributor for Reynolds Metals Co. roll-formed roofing and siding profiles in a variety of finishes and profiles. Metal Sales offered cut-to-length siding, shop drawings and brake-formed trim packages.

Throughout the 1970s, the company continued expanding, bringing new members onboard in the drafting and fabrication departments, enhanced fabrication. Additions to the company’s customers included power plant erectors, the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Sun Ship and Penn Ship, DuPont Co., and other heavy industrial accounts along the Delaware River in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

In the early 1980s the Metal Sales added more welding and forming capabilities to enable the custom fabrication of aluminum and stainless steel, heavy-gauge plate products. At that time, Stephen Scharr, co-owner, business development at Metalwërks, entered the company in a full-time sales and estimating role targeting Maryland, Delaware and Central Pennsylvania markets.

Peter Scharr had a full-time sales and estimator position targeting Philadelphia metro and Northeast Pennsylvania accounts, and Paul Scharr worked on job cost, inventory, estimating, and Southern New Jersey sales. The Metalwërks brand of products was introduced. In 1989, Jean and Betty Scharr retired and the Scharr brothers took over ownership and management of Metal Sales and Service Inc.

From 1995 to 2000, the Kennett Square building where the company was housed expanded twice to accommodate growth. Notable projects during these years included the Baltimore Convention Center, Neiman Marcus stores at King of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania and Paramus, N.J., The Penn State Research Park, and PNC Bank Operations Center, which was certified LEED Silver.
In 1998, Arcwall 2510 was developed to clad the Columbus International Airport and, later, the Reginald Lewis African American Museum in Baltimore. The system was developed into Omniplate 2510. In 2003, the Metalwërks production facility expanded to Elkton, Md. In 2004, the company’s first website was launched. In 2016 and 2017, the entire production facility shifted to an expanded facility in Elkton.