Bayless Manufacturing of Valencia ranks No. 27 on the list of biggest metal fabricators based on revenue, according to a new report by a trade journal.

The Fabricator – a publication of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Intl. – polled 1,500 of its   readers who identified their companies as being part of the fabricated metal product sector. Topping the “FAB 40” list of the 40 largest was Mayville Engineering of Wisconsin, with 2011 revenues of $180 million.

The publication noted that it had to take the companies’ word for their revenue figures.

Bayless tied for 27th with $15 million in 2011 revenues and expectations of $20 million in 2012 – consistent with its previously announced plans to expand the business by 25 percent this year.

The only other California metal fabricator to make the top-40 list was Superior Duct Fabrication of Pomona, which reported $17.5 million in 2011 revenues.

Bayless has been growing like a weed. Founded by Earl Bayless in 1978, it now occupies 115,000 square feet of space in three buildings on Avenue Hall in the Valencia Industrial Center.

In April the company announced it had invested $2 million in several large, state-of-the-art pieces of equipment including a 4,000-watt fiber optic laser cell and two computer numerical control (CNC) press brakes.

CNC machine on Bayless shop floor

At the time, Bayless said is “currently running two shifts for a total of 20 hours per day production with 200 employees, which is a 25 percent increase over their 2008 pre-recession employment level and a 285 percent increase since the recession.”

Bayless said a positive banking relationship and Santa Clarita’s state designation as an enterprise zone “assisted the company in the investment of equipment and hiring of employees.”

Bayless provides sheet metal fabrication, precision machining, laser cutting and powder coating for aerospace, automotive, entertainment,  medical, telecommunications and other businesses.