KEY Fabrication

A group of horse stall gates stands in the machine shop of KEY Fabrication in Bonduel.

720 S. Cecil St., Bonduel • 715-758-2113

Karl and Elvesta Yoder have set up shop in their Bonduel machine shed to fabricate stall gates and fence and corral panels and have been rounding up business for the past two years.
The shop location on Hwy 47 (S. Cecil Street) just south of Hwy. 29, and their new sign have helped.
Yoder learned the craft working for his dad while growing up in Iowa.
“My dad owned a shop like this,” Yoder said.
He spent some time in construction, but returned to this work.
His top products are continuous fence panels and horse stall gates.
The fence panels are 20 feet long and about 50 inches high.  Customers can choose from 5-, 6-, or 7-bar styles.
“We do custom gates, too, in a custom length if somebody needs it,” Yoder said.
The horse stall gates feature an open area in the bottom that will be filled with wood or a poly product, and steel bars across the top.
He also can fabricate custom orders, like the dirt screener he recently finished for By The Yard of Bonduel that was waiting for pick up outside the shop. It will separate out unwanted material from dirt for the landscape company. It’s the second one he has made for them. For this one they added vibration to keep the dirt moving.
“It’s motor-operated and it vibrates. If somebody wants some real clean dirt, they should contact Matt with By The Yard,” Yoder said.
Figuring out how to make it work well was the hardest part, but Yoder says he enjoys the challenge.
Orders come in by phone or customers stopping by.
“Depending on what they want, either they would come out or I go out to their house. For horse stalls, I like to go out and see the project myself and get the measurements. That way I know what’s going on and I know where they want feeders and doors to get in and out,” Yoder said.
For panels, he is usually able to just get the order ready for pick up, but he can also install if customers want the panels welded on steel posts. He stocks the steel for post pipes which can be cut as needed.
He does cutting and welding on a large table. He learned to weld from his dad.
He prefers to go to the site for horse stall orders.
“If I do horse stalls, I do a drawing of the barn. I stand in the aisle, if I’ve got stalls on both sides, and do the drawing exactly where every horse stall is. I lay it out how they want it,” Yoder said
He sells Stori feeders, water buckets, and food scoops. The feeders can tilt out to put feed in or he can put a swinging door in the gate grill to access the feeder.
The design of the gates and fence panels were something he had learned from his dad. He now does most projects on his own, but gets advice from his dad when he wants help.
“If you’re trying to figure something out, sometimes it helps to have two brains instead of one,” Yoder said.
He also has a drill press, iron worker, a saw, and hand tools to create the panels. Once they are done, they are coated with a high gloss black paint from Sherwin Williams, but customers can request other colors. Customers can also have their orders finished with a powder coat paint. Those are sent to a subcontractor and cost a bit more.
His wife Elvesta helps in the shop.
“She’s good at cutting stuff out for me,” he said.
“I should be by this time,” she said.
They met at the wedding of one of his cousins, and that’s what brought him to Wisconsin.
Tariffs have had a small impact on supply costs. Fence pipe has increased a bit, and the panel price has gone up as well.
“You still have to keep it affordable, but the panels were a hot item this spring. I’ve sold more panels this spring that I did before,” he said.
Customers usually pick them up when they are ready, or Yoder has drivers he uses for delivery.
Turn around on orders is quick, depending on the size of request. It’s about two to three weeks for horse stalls and less for the panels. The screener took about two weeks.
“I don’t like other people waiting on me if I can help it,” he said.
He also works for Lakeshore Mini Barns, so he is not at home all the time. He said the best way to contact him is to call to set up a time to meet.
Besides the panels, he also does repairs and projects as small as steps on a truck. He has done corral panels too.
“Satisfied customers bring more customers,” he said.