INDUSTRIES WE SERVE
Thompson Fabricating has built safety ladders since 1953 and has supplied aluminum handrail systems to water and wastewater treatment plants for decades. In 2025 Thompson acquired JTI JOVE, the originator of JOVE® pipe and duct supports, now offered as TF-JOVE® alongside Thompson’s aluminum and stainless access products.
The product lines stay consistent. What changes is the alloy, finish and configuration required to survive the environment.
WHY ONE PRODUCT LINE WORKS ACROSS EVERY INDUSTRY
A ladder meets the same OSHA and ANSI A14.3 requirements on a clarifier and on a cracking unit. A handrail meets the same IBC loading in a pump station and a data hall. The design requirements stay consistent; material and finish are selected for the service.
01
Codes Stay Consistent
OSHA 1910, ANSI A14.3, IBC and ADA apply regardless of what the facility produces.
02
Loads Stay Consistent
Tested structural requirements do not change because the surrounding process changes.
03
Material & Finish Change
Mill finish, anodize, powder coat, galvanized steel, 316L, C276 or duplex are selected against exposure.
04
Everything Is Built to the Job
TUF RAIL®, TUF LADDER® and TF-JOVE® systems are configured and fabricated to project requirements.
ONE STOP SHOP
The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.
WHAT WE MAKE
The same core TFCO and TF-JOVE® product lines appear across municipal, industrial and commercial facilities.
OSHA, IBC, factory-industrial, public access and ADA configurations.
Gastight, odortight, watertight and heavy-duty aluminum access hatches.
Grating, cover plates, TUF GATE® stop gates, weirs, troughs and bar screens.
Walkways, catwalks, platforms, structural framing and auxiliary steel.
Custom-built aluminum fixed ladders with fall-protection options.
Apex® posts, fall arrest systems, self-closing gates, crossover stairs and ships ladders.
Load-rated supports, guides, anchors and riser supports for metallic and non-metallic piping.
01 / INDUSTRY
Our home market—and the environment TUF RAIL® was developed for. Constant moisture, hydrogen sulfide, chlorine and daily washdown make corrosion resistance a core design requirement.
Aluminum handrail, ladders, hatches and stop gates eliminate a coating system to maintain, while TF-JOVE® supports engineered for FRP and HDPE keep the support from becoming the weak point in piping designed to last for decades.
DESIGN FOCUS
TUF RAIL® handrail • TUF LADDER® fixed ladders • crossover stairs • TUF HATCH® access hatches • grating & cover plates • TUF GATE® stop gates • weirs • troughs • bar screens • TF-JOVE® pipe supports
02 / INDUSTRY
Chemical plants combine the most aggressive chemistry in industry with the widest material range—dual-laminate and FRP process lines, specialty alloys and atmospheres that expose weaknesses in conventional coatings.
C276, 2205 duplex and 316L are selected against the service rather than simply the initial material cost, especially where a failed support would interrupt a live process unit. For stairs, platforms, TUF RAIL® handrail and grating, aluminum’s natural oxide film holds up in most plant atmospheres with no paint to maintain; stainless is furnished where caustic or strong-acid exposure rules aluminum out.
DESIGN FOCUS
Aluminum & stainless stairs and platforms • TUF RAIL® handrail • TUF LADDER® fixed ladders • crossover stairs • grating • TF-JOVE® non-metallic & alloy pipe supports • pipe racks & support steel
03 / INDUSTRY
Power plants need safe access to turbines, cooling equipment and elevated piping. Thompson’s aluminum stairs, platforms, TUF LADDER® ladders and TUF RAIL® handrail are light enough to install without heavy equipment and never need painting, and Apex® retractable anchor posts provide tie-off at ladder exits.
Pipe rolls, roll stands and PTFE slide plates allow movement without dragging the structure with the line. Anchors are placed deliberately and sized from thermal and pressure loads together.
DESIGN FOCUS
Aluminum stairs, platforms & crossovers • TUF RAIL® handrail • TUF LADDER® fixed ladders • grating • TUF HATCH® access hatches • TF-JOVE® pipe supports, rolls & slide plates • pipe racks & support steel
04 / INDUSTRY
Large-diameter, low-pressure FRP duct behaves differently from pressure piping. Thin walls relative to span make distortion a concern, and the duct is often carried across open ground on structural steel.
Around scrubbers, fans and duct runs, Thompson furnishes aluminum grating, TUF RAIL® handrail and access platforms that hold up in H2S-laden air, plus TUF HATCH® odor-tight and gastight hatches for wet wells and vaults. For complex systems, the scope extends into stress analysis, support-system design, auxiliary steel and fabrication.
DESIGN FOCUS
Aluminum grating & platforms • TUF RAIL® handrail • TUF LADDER® fixed ladders • crossover stairs • TUF HATCH® access hatches • TF-JOVE® FRP duct supports • auxiliary support steel
05 / INDUSTRY
Oil and gas facilities combine carbon and alloy piping with outdoor exposure, often coastal and often at scale. On long pipe-rack and stanchion runs, the finish decision drives maintenance for the life of the asset.
Aluminum crossover stairs, platforms, TUF RAIL® handrail and grating give crews safe, corrosion-resistant access around compressors, tanks and process skids, including coastal sites. Standard figure numbers, adjustable stanchions and saddle supports can be hot-dip galvanized or stainless depending on exposure, with off-standard heights and specialty alloys fabricated without adding a second vendor.
DESIGN FOCUS
Crossover stairs • access platforms • TUF RAIL® handrail • TUF LADDER® fixed ladders • grating • TF-JOVE® pipe supports & adjustable stanchions • pipe racks
06 / INDUSTRY
Data centers need safe access around chillers, generators and rooftop mechanical yards, and their mechanical systems move chilled water at scale through dense multi-line runs and large headers.
Aluminum crossover stairs, adjustable platforms, TUF RAIL® handrail and grating get crews over piping and up to rooftop equipment with no coating to maintain, while insulation protection shields spread hanger load so the vapor barrier stays intact. Everything follows the same OSHA and IBC requirements as the rest of our work.
DESIGN FOCUS
Adjustable platforms • crossover stairs • TUF RAIL® handrail • TUF LADDER® fixed ladders • grating • TF-JOVE® pipe supports & insulation shields • trapeze assemblies.
INDUSTRIES WE SERVE
The codes, the loads and the physics don’t change between facilities — only the alloy, the finish and the chemistry. That’s why the same access products and pipe supports work in a municipal treatment plant, a chemical plant and a data center.
01
Water & Wastewater
Aluminum handrail, ladders, hatches, grating, stop gates and FRP pipe supports (fixes “Handling”)
03
Power Plants
Aluminum stairs, platforms and grating, plus supports for thermal movement
Not sure which applies? Send drawings, a specification, or a description of the service — we’ll tell you what the material and configuration should be.
INDUSTRIES FAQ
Answers to common specification, testing and procurement questions across the industries we serve.
What industries do you serve?
Water and wastewater, chemical, power, odor control, oil and gas, pulp and paper, manufacturing and data centers. The product line is broadly consistent; material, finish and configuration are selected against the environment.
Is the same handrail used in a treatment plant and a data center?
Yes. TUF RAIL® is designed to the loading requirements of OSHA, IBC, ADA and applicable state and local codes. The finish may change—mill, clear anodize or safety-yellow powder coat—but the structural requirements do not.
Are your products tested?
Yes. Engineering calculations are verified by in-house testing and independent laboratory testing. TUF LADDER® rungs are tested at 325 lb applied and released 200,000 times for fatigue resistance, with deflection not exceeding L/360.
When is a ladder fall-arrest system required?
Fall arrest is typically furnished for ladders exceeding 24 ft. Under OSHA 1910.28(b)(9)(i), new fixed ladders over 24 ft erected on or after November 19, 2018 require a ladder safety or personal fall-arrest system; all fixed ladders must be equipped by November 18, 2036.
Can I get the access package and the pipe supports from one supplier?
Yes. Handrail, ladders, stairs, hatches, fall protection, grating, gates and pipe supports can be coordinated through the same shop and submittal package.
Where are your products made?
Fabrication is performed at Thompson Fabricating’s facility in Tarrant, Alabama, in the Birmingham area.
