Jeffrey Osbourne, Owner

In 2008, Jeffrey Osborne had a lot of multi-family rental properties in high crime areas. HVAC equipment was being stolen, vandalized and damaged. He was having problems with his insurance company and it was costing him a fortune to replace the equipment. Osborne decided he had to do something and started Kimberly Steel Solutions, which makes protective steel cages for HVAC equipment, wiring, control panels, computer equipment and more.

Kimberly Steel still serves government and private multi-family buildings, but Osborne became interested in the telecom tower industry.

“I was regularly getting calls from tower companies, but unfortunately, it was usually after something on a tower site had been damaged or stolen,” Osborne said. “Now we build cages for general contractors and also modular building companies who deal directly with the large telecom companies. We also work with many companies in the telecom industry.”

Kimberly Steel, which is headquartered in Foley, AL, makes some standard cages for specific HVAC equipment, and those are kept in stock. But most of the cages are designed by Osborne himself and based on the needs of each client.

“We design and fabricate everything in house,” Osborne said. “We ship all over the United States and Canada, and the cages are installed by general contractors or the site’s maintenance people. Our business with the tower industry is growing.” Instead of paint, a dry powder baked-on finish made for harsh conditions such as salt water, cold and strong winds is used. The dry powder also prevents rusting and chipping, Osborne said.

“The cost of a protective cage is one-third of the cost that it takes to replace a unit,” Osborne said. “It’s cost effective to protect with a cage.”

To learn more about the company, go to: http://protectivecages.com