The history of metal fabrication is one of the oldest elemental skills known to man-kind and spans over hundred of years. Humans have been honing their ability to shape and fabricate with metal for almost as long as we have recorded history. Some ancient culture even regarded the ability to work with metal a spiritual skill that was revered by others.
Metal objects that were shaped and molded, such as this copper pendant in northern Iraq, have been found from as far back as 8,700 BCE. There have actually been copper mines around the Lake Michigan area found from as far back as 4000-5000 BCE.

Throughout time, the ability to work with metal became more and more important to advancing civilizations. Metal working was the pinnacle of technological advancement across the globe. Advances in metalworking techniques became more and more common place as metalsmiths were more common. Metalsmiths were incredibly important in every society.
When humans entered the Bronze Age, around 3,300 BCE, they discovered new ways to meld down metals and combine certain metals to produce metals such as tin. Bronze was the first hard metal in the world and was used to create armor and weapons such as shields and swords.
The ability to become dominant civilization hinged greatly on the ability to create items out of metal, generally weapons and other tools of war.
“the global sheet metal market was valued at $265 Billion Dollars (USD)”
As humans started to modernize and metal fabrication became a part of nearly every structure, the demand for more industrial metal sheets rose significantly. In 1615 the first industrial plant began producing lead and tin plates. Once the Industrial Revolution takes hold, humans had the ability to produce sheet metals through the use of the hydraulic press. In 2018, the global sheet metal market was valued at $265 Billion Dollars (USD) so it seems that the need for such fabrication has only grown throughout the tides of history.
Now, in the modern era, we have the ability to do so much more with metal. We can make many different composite metals and combine them in new and interesting ways. As we move further into the digital age, we see automated systems such as 3D printing move towards 3D printing components and structures with metal, coined “Digital Forges“.
Here at Scovan, we know our metal. We are experts at structural fabrication and modularization assembly. We approach every project with decades of metal fabrication experience and even though we no longer need to hammer down copper into sheets it’s always good to know how something started. It’s this dedication to our industry that made us the #1 Fabricator in Western Canada (Gemini Fabrication, now Scovan) and we can’t wait to show you our passion and expertise!