What started as a way to keep Josh Singleton’s staff employed during the economic uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic has turned into a successful family-run custom fabrication business that turns metal and more into artwork, signage, furniture, and other unique projects for the community.
Singleton, who has more than 25 years of experience in the commercial door and hardware industry and owns Metawood Inc., was bracing for a way to keep his staff working 40 hours a week during the pandemic when he purchased a CNC plasma table, which cuts designs through metal.
However, it wasn’t long before he learned that the pandemic would bring one of the busiest times for Metawood Inc. The plasma table sat unused for a few years before his wife Amanda Singleton and son Ryan West convinced him to give it another try.
A simple, metal Christmas tree design that Amanda purchased in October 2023 gained traction and started what is now known as Metawood Design Company. At first, the family started making flat goods and then transitioned into more intricate fabrications.
Ryan handles all of the CNC plasma cutting and quoting, while Josh completes the majority of the fabrication work. Amanda handles much of the administrative work, and she also helps with designs.
“The three of us wear a lot of hats,” Josh said.
![]()
Ryan West uses an angle grinder to smooth the metal edges of
kiosks that will be placed along the Burke River Trail.
MADISON LIPE / THE PAPER
“What we focus on now is just custom fabrication, so when somebody comes in and wants something done, we work with them to produce a product that they’re happy with and make exactly what they want,” Josh said.
Customers still request smaller custom pieces, but Josh and Ryan have worked on various larger projects, including wooden slab displays that will house Grow With Drexel President Dan Hoyle’s “A Community of Hands” stained glass art installation in downtown Drexel. The pair has also been fabricating information panels and kiosks associated with the Burke River Trail.
Throughout Burke County and surrounding communities, Metawood Design Co.’s work shows up in many commercial spaces. The family has completed projects for Cranford Hospitality, which is another family-owned business that owns several restaurant brands throughout the Hickory metro area. At Cranford Brothers BBQ, they built the outside privacy paneling, columns, and hidden electrical work for the outdoor seating area.
Metawood Design Co. has also completed several public projects, including signage for the Old Rock School in Valdese, and is currently working on another project for the town that will repurpose old bowling pin decks into tables for the bowling alley.
A small piece can take about 20-30 minutes to finish, while larger projects can take days or months. For a project like handrails, it could take a day and a half to build them and a few hours to install them, Josh said.
Though often misinterpreted, the name Metawood doesn’t come from a spinoff of metal and wood but instead uses “Meta” to mean “beyond wood.”
“Everybody for years knew me as the door doctor, the door magician, and so I wanted people to know that we do more than wood, that we also do welding and metal work, so that’s where Metawood came from,” Josh said.
Early on, Amanda established relationships in the eastern part of the county in towns like Drexel, Rutherford College, and Valdese, and the company has seen projects and continuous relationships come from those towns.
“I think the public is really just now starting to know who we are,” Amanda said. “The phone rings more, we get more emails.”
Currently, the company gets booked out about four to five weeks in advance, but it can usually fit in smaller, simple projects during that time.
Josh’s personal favorite project is creating trophies for community events because of how creative he can get. From shooting to cornhole, he designs something unique for each winner to take home, adding that a cornhole trophy featured a board and metal bags.
“God has given me the ability to use my hands like I do, and the knowledge to learn,” Josh said. “It’s all because of him.”
He added that he hopes companies like Metawood Design Co. will inspire younger generations to pursue skilled trades as older generations continue to cycle out.
“We need more welders. We need more fabricators. We need more electricians. We need more plumbers,” Josh said. “I’m proof that you don’t need a college degree to use talents that are given to you.”
