How Fluid Power Support Is Innovating the Metal Fabrication Industry From the Rural Midwest

When the concept of “innovation” comes up, it evokes big-city images of Silicon Valley, New York City, or Austin, Texas. One region that rarely makes the list is the rural Midwest. The lack of attention is understandable. According to the Center of Rural Innovation (CORI), while 12% of US firms are rural, they get just 1% of venture capital funding. However, one could argue that the pandemic changed things where talent and innovation can happen anywhere in the United States. More acquisitions and investments from bigger name investment firms doing company rollups see how valuable these companies can be and they don’t require the same time of overhead of something like a big city firm. 

Despite the lack of attention and infrastructure, one Midwest company is managing to rewrite the script as a leading metal fabrication facility. Fluid Power Support (FPS) is located in Mexico, MO with an industry-changing goal: balancing innovation with Midwest values. FPS is combining cutting-edge technology with small-town values, and in the process, it is showing the business world what it looks like to be a rural Midwest business that can compete with big-city players.

Combining Cutting-Edge Technology and Midwest Values

Fluid Power Support was founded in 2000. The 25-year-old company started in hydraulics consulting, but before long, it saw a new market need and expanded into metal fabrication. Over the years, it has built a state-of-the-art metal fabrication facility that employs over 100 people and incorporates a range of technological innovations.

FPS’s vision is to meet the challenges of the modern world while keeping an eye on the future through innovation and sustainability to change communities and the world for the better. In the company’s words, its mission is to: “Shoot for perfection through continuous process improvement.” 

FPS lives those out through a business philosophy of continual improvement and adaptability coupled with small-town honesty, respect, integrity, and fairness. This intense commitment to efficacy and innovation by the tenured leadership has enabled FPS to cultivate a deep sense of commitment and trust from a diverse portfolio of clients across various industries.

Embracing Innovation

Where FPS truly stands out is its commitment to innovation. This is more than a token investment, budget line-item, or singular project. The metal fabrication company’s entire headquarters is designed to take advantage of the power of technology and advancement.

Examples of these investments are easy to find. With a tube laser and three automated flat lasers, the company can deliver high-precision and efficient cutting on all metal components. Its automated robotic arms can perform robotic welding at a consistent, high-quality standard that increases efficiency and strength, even with custom builds. Fluid Power Support has made similar investments in many other industry-specific areas, such as CNC (Computer Numeric Control) automated machine cutting, precise power folding equipment, and abrasive blasting and power-coated systems for superior, corrosion-resistant finishing. 

The Customer Impact of Offering High Tech in the Midwest

While technological efficiency and higher capacity make it possible to compete with larger competitors, how does this investment in the future impact FPS’s current clientele? How are Midwesterners seeing benefits from a local player that has a competitive advantage over competitors in bigger cities on price, quality, and speed? 

The company’s hefty technological investments are already paying off through data-driven improvements in operations. For instance, the company is seeing as much as 60% efficiency gains in certain areas of its activity. This increases capacity, leading to faster turnaround times and the ability to handle urgent projects — all of which are key offerings that allow this Midwest, small-town company to compete with larger organizations with big-city operations. These big city operations have hefty overhead where being in rural America allows the company to pass the savings on to their customers. 

Fluid Power Support’s growing portfolio of innovative tools, machines, and processes allows its clients to benefit from faster production, higher quality, and flexible custom solutions. If someone has a larger-scale project, they don’t have to turn to a bigger metal fabricator a thousand miles away in a big city, either. They can keep that business local. This creates a dual advantage of access to advanced tech combined with the intimacy and understanding of local, personalized service.

Looking Ahead With Expansion Potential

The other advantage of having pre-established technological advantages is that it has set up FPS for impressive expansion potential in the years to come. The company is poised to grow beyond its current base and is already eyeing untapped markets in areas like Kansas City, St. Louis, Columbia, Springfield and beyond.

As it prepares to expand, it will continue to lean on the regional advantage of offering big-city capabilities with small-town service. “We are just tapping the surface of the growth opportunities in the metal fabrication industry,” said FPS CEO Mark Korman. “With new innovative technology and a strong team, we are able to serve customers in a way where they get quality products quicker than anyone else in the industry.”

The potential for expansion is reinforced by the ongoing importance of the Midwest as an American manufacturing hub. According to Economic Leadership’s Midwest Manufacturing Trade and Foreign Investment Review (released in June 2025), the Midwest economy’s leading contributor is manufacturing ($828 billion valuation), accounting for 15% of the region’s GDP and employing 4.3 million workers.

The demand is there, and FPS’s momentum promises to lead to accelerated growth as it takes advantage of the opportunities that surround it. As it does so, the metal fabricator will continue to redefine perceptions of what rural manufacturing looks like, setting a new standard in the process and proving that innovation can thrive anywhere.