Quality Stainless Tanks is a family-run tank manufacturing company specializing in custom fabricated stainless-steel tanks for a number of industries, primarily beverage. Based in Windsor, Calif., the company prides itself on delivering expertly crafted products that build on decades of experience supporting the wine and beverage industries.
Owner Rick Dapelo started building tanks in 1977, working at the since-defunct Valley Foundry in California’s Central Valley and heading out on field jobs that had him building wine tanks all over the state. Finding Sonoma County a promising location for a new venture, Dapelo started Quality Stainless Tanks in 1995, focusing on custom builds. The company now has 25 employees and it produces 200 to 300 tanks annually for clients in the wine, beer, spirits, cannabis, food, and pharmaceutical sectors.
QST also added a stock tank program about eight years back, developing standardized tank designs that range from 500-gallon portable tanks up to 13,000-gallon storage tanks. These are made during the company’s off-season and kept on-hand for customers who need tanks in a hurry and can’t afford the longer lead times needed for a custom fabricated vessel.
QST takes a hands-on approach to designing tanks, guiding customers through the design process to best address their needs with current technology. Sales Manager Scott Dapelo (Rick’s brother): “I would say, 95 percent of the items that go into our tanks we make from raw materials here in Windsor ourselves.” Aside from rubber door gaskets and the plastic balls on spin handles, the company makes pretty much everything else in-house. “It gives us the ultimate control over the quality, availability, and dependability,” says Dapelo.
In addition to stainless-steel tanks, QST offers repair, modification, and upgrade services, as well as tank-related products such as cooling and heating panels, juice/seed screens, tank stands, racking arms, and other custom parts.
