This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Practically every morning during the past 30 years, Universal Industrial Sales founder and owner Martin Snow would get up at 4 a.m. so he could head off early to work.
To hear his wife, Melanie, tell it, working at the company that Snow founded when he was just 18 years old remains a big part his life.
"He is really a workaholic," Melanie Snow said. "He worked very, very hard through the years."
All that hard work paid off.
Universal's products, which include highway guard rails, bridge railings and the structures that hold overhead metal signs, are found on the highways and byways that run throughout the country as well as parts of western Canada and Mexico. The Utah Department of Transportation said Universal is a major supplier to the big construction companies that work to build and maintain the state's roads. "We also do some business with them directly," UDOT spokesman Adan Carrillo said.
Universal's customers describe the company as a reliable, top-notch supplier that is willing to go above and beyond what is required to ensure that they're happy with the products that are being delivered to them.
"I'm sorry they were the victim of an ICE raid," said Jess Haro of Haro Supply Co. in San Diego. "I hate to hear that they're having any kind of trouble at all. I just hope that they're going to be OK."
Bill Smith of Dirt & Aggregate Interchange Inc. in Fairview, Ore., pointed out that there are really only two main suppliers of guardrails and Universal is one of them. "They're just a great company to do business with all around."