Frank possessed a creative curiosity and applied himself to finding a solution to the time consuming problem of constructing concrete steps for the many buildings he erected. It occurred to him that if the steps were cast as a single unit, installation costs and time could be cut drastically.
In 1939 he created the first Unit Step form for casting concrete into steps.
The Unit Step concept spread rapidly across the country as contractors and home owners discovered the aesthetic and practical advantages of installing steps as a single integrated unit. Frank set up 67 franchise manufacturing plants between 1940 and 1960.
Frank Kogl passed away in 1960. Glen Lister (photo at right) purchased the business from Frank's estate in 1962 and incorporated it as the Unit Step Form Co.
Glen made improvements to the form design to cut labor costs and increase the quality of the steps cast in the forms.
In 1976 Walt Smith purchased the form company and in 1984 sold it to the current owners: Rick Smith and Rick Nelson.
Many improvements have been made to the original form design because of the company's constant goal to make Unit Step forms a labor saving, profit making process for precasting
quality concrete steps.
to Unit Step Home Page