Reis manages sales and business operations for Marks Design & Metalworks, a Clark County company that manufactures stainless steel tanks and brewing systems for brewers and distillers nationwide. Company owner Ryan Marks started the business as a side project in 2008, and is already firmly established as one of the premier tank fabricators in the country.
“Ryan decided to follow the American dream,” explains Reis. “He decided it was his time to take a leap of faith and he jumped, just went full throttle at it.”
The company began as an offshoot from a small machine shop Marks opened in 2008. What started as a two-person operation now has 23 employees. Marks also recently expanded the company, moving from a 14,500-square-foot shop in Washougal to a 26,000-square-foot shop in Vancouver.
Brewery tanks and systems are created out of stainless steel, which is cut, formed, and welded to the capacity the client specifies. In addition to single tanks, Marks specializes in building entire brewing systems that can serve a brewer or distiller from the beginning of the process all the way through to the end. Marks got his start as a metal fabricator in 1990, at southern Utah’s St. George Steel. He moved back to the Pacific Northwest in 1994 and worked for local companies where he built his skills and knowledge base and learned the ropes of managing a business.
“The brewing industry right now,” says Reis, “is definitely a growing industry. And we are one of the major tank producers. There’s only one other company on the West Coast that can do what we do, as far as capacity.”
Marks creates brewing tanks that range from measurements of seven barrels up to 500 barrels.
“And that’s huge,” says Reis. “That’s as big as some buildings you’d see in downtown. None of the other manufacturers can touch what we do, as far as quality, creativity, design and innovation. We’re like the ‘extreme’ tank builders, the Ferrari of the tank industry, we like to say.”
Marks builds tanks and brewing systems for clients across the country. Some of their clients have included Ballast Point Brewing Company in San Diego, Portland’s Fire on the Mountain, Seattle’s Big Derby Distilling, and Gilgamesh Brewing in Salem.
According to Reis, Michigan is seeing a surge in craft brewing and is a very “hot” area right now. Marks is working with Michigan’s Chelsea Alehouse, opening this year.
“We’re really excited about that,” says Reis. “It’s a big deal to get into Michigan.”
The company prides itself on being an American supplier for an American industry, and Marks works diligently to source his own materials domestically, too.
“Ryan believes in domestic manufacturing,” says Reis, “and he believes in giving back to the community.”
At the end of June, Marks Design & Metalworks will sponsor its first charity event. The North American Organic Brewers Festival is a natural fit for the company, and will benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Oregon Food Bank.
