Southwestern Suppliers was founded in 1959 by Hans Koch. Mr. Koch immigrated from Germany to New York in 1949. He began his career in the cement industry before moving to Florida and working in steel. Mr. Koch was a savvy business man with an eye for development. When he decided to start his own steel business in Tampa, Florida, southwest Florida was still developing. Mr. Koch knew Tampa wouldn’t stay that way for long thus, Southwestern Suppliers Inc. was born and more 50 years later it is still family owned and operated- servicing the entire state of Florida and beyond.