El Dorado Inc.

Materials and Processes recently traveled down to Kansas City once again to tour El Dorado Inc.  Our tour guide was Josh Shelton, who has been a part of the company since 1999, and a principal there since 2002.  El Dorado Inc. is now a small business of 23 employees that provides urban planning and design.  Their customers range from big companies, to small residencies.  They get most of their business through community involvement and word of mouth, but have completed work on a national level.  They specialize in angular tubes.  Some of the processes Josh Shelton mentioned included cold saw, the drill press, and tig and mig welding.  All of their coating and painting is done out of house.  Their shop was pretty small compared to what we were used to seeing during other tours.  El Dorado employees use the shop for prototyping, just to show that what they want to accomplish on a bigger scale can be done.  I have a high respect for this company.  They are so close knit.  Their office space is completely open.  Really, it’s hard to get any alone time in this place. They welcome ideas and input from all employees.  They produce amazing things, but also find time to bond with a beer in the shop at the end of the night.  I also gained a ton of respect for Josh Shelton for the couple of hours I knew him.  At the end of the tour, he stated the great importance of working hard in school, making great work, and making connections in the design world to get the job you are dreaming of for after school. This whole trip really inspired me.