This post is also available in:
English (Inglés)
Dennis Dechant was inducted into the STI/SPFA Hall of Fame in 2025. We recently had an opportunity to talk with Dennis about his career in the steel pipe industry and advice he would give to the next generation.
STI/SPFA: How did you get started in the industry?
Dennis Dechant: I was a young guy, and I was offered $0.25 an hour more to become an estimator at a pipe company. And I knew nothing about pipe or anything, but it was $0.25 an hour. Back then – I checked it – the minimum wage was $2.00 an hour, so $0.25 was a raise. And so, I went to this company, and it turned out to be a very small company, but very progressive, and an excellent move for more than $0.25.
One of the things that they did that I found out now is very, very, very smart was they said everybody in the engineering department at noon on Friday, stop work and go out in the plant, talk to the people in the plant, learn what they’re doing, and find the job you estimated. And so, you got a feel for the whole gamut of everything going on. They were just that kind of a company.
When I was up there about three years, they put me in sales. I’m an engineer, and sales wasn’t what I was planning on being. It looked like a weird move, but they identified me as somebody who they thought could be a good technical marketer.
STI/SPFA: What advice would you give to the next generation?
Dechant: I’ve always tried to associate with smart people who are ethical, and I’ve met a lot of very, very smart people who made me look smarter. I wasn’t concerned that I was going to have to worry about it later, and that’s the proudest part of my job.
If I could give some advice to some young people, surround yourself with smart, ethical people and then pay attention to what they’re saying.
STI/SPFA: What do you want your legacy to be?
Dechant: My real legacy is all the people I’ve known and what we’ve accomplished as a team. So, I like to think of this as a team award, not an individual award.
I’m about a thousand-piece puzzle and [I’ve been married to] my wife 49 years almost now, so she’s a chunk of puzzle pieces. My family’s a chunk of puzzle pieces.
But all those other people I knew, even though, like I say, they may not be major people that I spent thousands of hours with or anything, they made me think of something. They made me do something different. And I hope I have a legacy that I’ve done the same for them.
STI/SPFA: What has STI/SPFA meant to you?
Dechant: STI/SPFA is the face of steel pipe and tanks, and so they represent what we do. This is an organization of competitors. We work hard, we fight hard, and then whoever wins is the winner, and you go have a beer.
