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Wednesday, March 05 2025 / Published in monumental staircase, steel stair

How to Make a Floating Staircase Defy Gravity

Details matter with a modern floating staircase.

Suspended, cantilevered treads, continuously welded tube…

Details matter when you want to float a steel staircase with marble and glass railing. The new Milwaukee Northwestern Mutual office tower features a monumental floating staircase. This a-typical monumental steel stair floats alongside a perfectly patterned marble wall (created by another contractor.)

Notice the Details

The attuned eye will notice a seamless connection from glass to stairs to structure. If you’re going to create a showcase piece, even the smallest details matter. To create a “gapless” floating staircase a 30-year veteran stair expert (yep, 30 years…he started in the industry at age 15) went beyond codes and cared about how it’s going to look. This type of expert brain sleeps restlessly to figure out how to close the gap for a seamless finish. The stairs make you feel like you’re floating and rising into one of the grandest buildings of Milwaukee.

How to make an architect’s floating stair vision a reality:

  • Cut a 6” hole in the roof to lower an install cable
  • Build a custom engineered erecting tower and platform
  • Ship the steel stairs in prefabricated sections to minimize costly onsite labor time
  • Minimize the install footprint, so you don’t interfere with other trades
  • Use a unique erecting sequence and build the floating staircase from the top down to accommodate the custom marble and stone work
  • Weld and polish the stainless steel hanger rods in the field for a precise finished look
  • Stay ahead of material procurement challenges

The accolades of vision go to the architect, Midwest Stairs & Iron just makes vision happen. Give us an architect’s vision, and we’ll take it a step further to perfection. The process begins with the architect’s initial design, like a monumental marble floating staircase. Midwest Stairs & Iron’s takes the concept and makes sure the designs become flawless in real life. We’ll weigh things like the pros and cons of pre-fabricating in the shop for best results and best value. This means figuring out means and methods, changing schedules, and thinking with experience. Maximum effort on the front end means maximum results.

Albert Paley

Monumental is Not a Matter of Size

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Project Coordinator

Personality Traits

  • Must love spreadsheets, systems, planning, and sitting at a desk most of the time
  • Level-headed
  • Personable
  • Ability to balance stressful conditions, stress tolerance
  • Strong communication skills (phone, email, in person)
  • Adaptability
  • Whatever it takes, get it done
  • Strong emotional intelligence

Key Abilities

  • Project Coordinating
  • Problem Management
  • Flexible to Change
  • Customer Relationship Management
  • Manage Frequent Interruptions
  • Critical thinking and problem solving skills
  • Planning and organizing
  • Conflict management
  • Strong construction or manufacturing intelligence

Job Responsibilities General Summary

  • Run multiple projects
  • Serve as customer liaison
  • Responsible for the overall direction, coordination, implementation, execution, control and completion of specific projects ensuring consistency with company strategy, commitments and goals
  • Plan for and resolve unexpected delays, production issues or schedule recovery options
  • Develop and monitor project budgets
  • Review and find replacements for discarded or rejected products, materials, and equipment not meeting specifications
  • Supply production capabilities and labor estimates to aid in bids and customer proposals
  • Keep track of calendars
  • Support the planning and implementation of project
  • Facilitate the definition of project scope, goals and deliverables
  • Define project tasks and resource requirements
  • Develop full scale project plans Assemble and coordinate project staff
  • Manage project budget
  • Manage project resource allocation
  • Plan and schedule project timelines
  • Track project deliverables using appropriate tools
  • Provide direction and support to project team
  • Constantly monitor and report on progress of the project to all stakeholders
  • Present reports defining project progress, problems and solutions Implement and manage project changes and interventions to achieve project outputs
  • Project evaluations and assessment of results

Apply Now

Project Manager

Personality Traits

  • Must love spreadsheets, systems, planning, and sitting at a desk most of the time
  • Level-headed
  • Personable
  • Ability to balance stressful conditions, stress tolerance
  • Strong communication skills (phone, email, in person) Adaptability Whatever it takes, get it done
  • Manager of chaos
  • Strong emotional intelligence

Key Abilities

  • Budget Management
  • Project Coordinating
  • Problem Management
  • Flexible to Change
  • Customer Relationship Management
  • Manage Frequent Interruptions
  • Critical thinking and problem solving skills
  • Planning and organizing
  • Decision-making Influencing and leading
  • Delegation
  • Strong construction or manufacturing intelligence

Job Responsibilities General Summary

  • Run multiple projects
  • Serve as customer liaison
  • Responsible for the overall direction, coordination, implementation, execution, control and completion of specific projects ensuring consistency with company strategy, commitments and goals
  • Plan for and resolve unexpected delays, production issues or schedule recovery options
  • Supply production capabilities and labor estimates to aid in bids and customer proposals
  • Provide project direction; generate product design changes and workspace layout modification to existing production standards to achieve optimum quality and efficiency
  • Facilitate the definition of project scope, goals and deliverables
  • Define project tasks and resource requirements
  • Develop full scale project plans
  • Assemble and coordinate project staff
  • Manage project budget
  • Manage project resource allocation
  • Plan and schedule project timelines
  • Provide direction and support to project team
  • Constantly monitor and report on progress of the project to all stakeholders
  • Present reports defining project progress, problems and solutions Implement and manage project changes and interventions to achieve project outputs

Apply Now

Estimator

The Estimator is part of the Sales Department. The Estimator is responsible for providing accurate pricing, and forward-thinking of projects.

Key Abilities

  • Forward thinker
  • Adept in mathematics (primarily geometry, spatial relations)
  • Work with technical/mechanical numbers, such as those on architectural drawings
  • Good at follow thru
  • Conceptual thinking
  • Verbal and written communication
  • Ability to prioritize
  • Building relationships
  • Manage tight deadlines
  • Major responsibility of accurately forecasting the budget for a project Identify problems, provide solutions
  • Keen analytical skills
  • Budget development (ability to work numbers backwards and forwards)
  • Vendor relationships
  • Reporting skills
  • Decision making
  • Documentation skills
  • Experience with metal shapes and sizes

Job Responsibilities

  • Review architectural drawings for items that need pricing
  • Analyze blueprints, specifications and other related documents to prepare time, cost, material, equipment and labor estimates
  • Resolve discrepancies by collecting and analyzing information
  • Present prepared estimates with collected data in a formal quote
  • Create Schedule of Values
  • Responsible for accurately calculating and projecting total costs
  • Ensure that we know everything required to successfully bid and win the project
  • Identify ways to improve project costs, or ways to improve overall end use of project
  • Prepares work to be accomplished by gathering information and requirements; setting priorities
  • Prepares budget by studying plans; updating specifications; identifying and projecting costs
  • Bid compilation (e.g. may require writing, mathematical, presentation creating skills, fill out forms)

Communications

  • Work with General Contractors, Engineers and Architects Follow-up to ensure that bids are received
  • Work with the Project Management teams to follow-up on bids and budgets to close the business
  • Professional relationship building is key
  • Be friendly and known as the person to get it done
  • Networking (predominantly with architects and general contractors)

Tools: Proficient in basic computer software programs, such as Microsoft Office, basic internet search engines and applications. data research programs such as BidClerk; 80% sitting at a desk, with a computer doing administrative/detailed work 20% on the phone with prospects and clients

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TEKLA Software Drafter / Detailer

Job Description: Be a TEKLA Software Drafter / Detailer for Midwest Stairs & Iron, a rapidly growing company. You get to be part of the design process with architects and engineers. Be involved in all facets from submittal drawings to fabrication drawings. You get to forward think about how things work with the finished result and with how the finished piece will impact other construction trades.

Job Purpose: Basically, make heads and tails to fabricate what the architect wants, what constructing the building needs, and what the engineer needs us to calc out. It’s more than just lines, it requires thinking backwards and forwards.

Duties:

  • Plans mechanical drawings by reviewing sketches, descriptions, specifications, and supporting documents; conferring with engineers and architects.
  • Prepares mechanical sketches and drawings by rendering sectional, auxiliary, and multiviews, sub-assemblies, pictorials, dimensions, and developments; producing two- and three-dimensional orthographic projections using computer aided design (CAD) and pictorial techniques; producing three-dimensional (3-D) models including 3-D and spherical coordinates.
  • Prepares supporting information by developing bills of materials; standard parts, and fasteners.
  • Modifies drawings by analyzing, resolving, and incorporating changes.
  • Documents work by recording data and drawings; updating databases.
  • Complies with legal requirements by adhering to codes and regulations.
  • Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading technical publications.
  • Accomplishes organization goals by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.

Skills/Qualifications: TEKLA Software, Drafting, Drafting Tools, Design Skills, Conceptual Skills, Presentation Skills, Functional and Technical Skills, Thoroughness, Analyzing Information

Benefits: Pay goes with experience…ability to jump right in, gets you more. Insurance Vacation 401K

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Steel Welder

Job duties and training will include:

  • Join steel metal pieces together with the use of MIG welding techniques
  • Learn different welding types and what works best for the application, and what makes for a quality weld in looks and safety
  • Study shop blueprints and learn how to translate what is drawn to the fabricated piece
  • Be able to coordinate working space with the working space of others
  • Stand up to 10 hours a day Be able to lift at least 50 lbs Good vision to keep a steady eye on the weld
  • Tape measuring skills for accurate measure of material, know the importance of waste prevention
  • Know the limits of the machine Understand average time requirements for production and learn skills to get to that point
  • Grow to an advanced point of working with little to no supervision

Apply Now

Aluminum Welder

Job duties and training will include:

  • Join aluminum metal pieces together with the use of MIG welding techniques
  • Learn different welding types and what works best for the application, and what makes for a quality weld in looks and safety
  • Study shop blueprints and learn how to translate what is drawn to the fabricated piece
  • Be able to coordinate working space with the working space of others
  • Stand up to 10 hours a day Be able to lift at least 50 lbs
  • Good vision to keep a steady eye on the weld
  • Tape measuring skills for accurate measure of material, know the importance of waste prevention
  • Know the limits of the machine Understand average time requirements for production and learn skills to get to that point
  • Grow to an advanced point of working with little to no supervision

Apply Now