A Century of Work
115 Years in Steel, 40 Years in Software
1905
Edward Soule, a graduate of UC Berkeley, begins work as an engineer for John B Leonard in San Francisco.
1906
Edward Soule witnesses the devastation of the San Francisco earthquake. Prior to the disaster, the city had primarily been built with unreinforced masonry and wood frame construction. John B Leonard, Edward Soule's boss, is among a select group of engineers with previous experience using reinforcing steel in construction. Soule learns how to oversee the placement of reinforcing bars (rebar) during construction.
1910
Edward begins taking on jobs independent of John B Leonard, unofficially starting the Edward L Soule Company. He rents a lot between 3rd and 4th Street, establishing an office with two assistants for engineering projects. His first awarded job is the Pacific Coast Syrup Company. The business earns nearly $16,000.00 in its first year.
1911
Edward L Soule Company, a single proprietorship, is officially formed. The company begins taking contracts for field placement of reinforcing bars. Shortly afterward, the company purchases secondhand equipment to start fabricating some of its own rebar. Edward L Soule Company becomes one of the first companies to combine the fabrication and placing of reinforcing steel in a single contract within the United States.
1912
The company is awarded contracts from Eureka, CA to San Jose, CA, including the San Francisco Bay Area.
1918
While America is engaged in World War I, the company starts to receive large orders to export steel, requiring additional export managers and salespeople. By 1920, the Edward L Soule Company sells over $1 million of steel, primarily to Asia.
1923
The Edward L Soule Company purchases the American System of Reinforcing, which begins Soule's 90-plus year history in the Southern California region. The company moves the San Francisco operations to a larger facility at 1750 Army St.
1927
The Soule Steel Company is formed from the merger of the Edward L Soule Company, the American System of Reinforcing, and the Concrete Engineering Company of California. Edward also buys the controlling interest of the Concrete Engineering Company of Omaha.
1930s
The Soule Steel Company builds an office and a plant in Portland, Oregon to further expand the business. In opening the new branch, Soule becomes a major player in the West Coast steel market. To overcome the financial struggles of the Great Depression, Soule introduces his version of the all-steel house at the 1939 World's Fair in San Francisco. It is a major success.
1940s
The Navy, needing landing crafts for the troops fighting in the Pacific Theater, selects the Soule Steel Company to build the LCMs (Landing Craft Mechanized). By 1942, all three of the Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland plants are rolling out Naval crafts, resulting in the company growing to more than 1,200 employees. In 1944, the Soule Equipment Company is created to distribute and service LeTourneau heavy-moving equipment.
1959
To better serve its growing customer base, the Soule Steel Company opens a steel mini-mill in Carson, CA, achieving 100,000 tons of annual production. Branch offices open across Dallas TX, Fresno CA, Phoenix AZ, Salt Lake City UT, San Diego CA, Seattle WA, Spokane WA, and New York NY.
1960s
The company continues to expand, opening offices in Santa Ana CA, Ventura CA, and Chicago IL. The Soule Steel Company's block logo with triangles top and bottom is first introduced. In 1961, the company celebrates its 50th anniversary. Soule Steel Company now melts, rolls, and fabricates reinforcing steel, manufactures, distributes, and installs steel buildings, builds Naval crafts, distributes and services heavy-moving equipment, and employs more than 1,600 people.
1968
Two days before his 89th birthday, Edward passes away. His three sons, Howard, Lee, and Stanley, having been involved in the leadership of the business for years, continue to lead the company.
1970s
Soule Steel Company introduces multiple new products and services. Stanley (Sandy) Soule Jr., future founder of Soule Software, graduates from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Sandy serves in the United States Air Force, advising senior leadership on cutting-edge satellite and communication technologies. In 1977, Sandy Soule becomes the manager of Steel Mill Operations, designing many of the IT systems the company uses.
1980 to 1984
A global recession and numerous factors lead to the closure of the Soule Steel Company. Electricity costs skyrocket over 150 percent. The steel import market undergoes a major shift, with roughly 25 percent of all steel now produced overseas.
1985
On April 16, 1985, the Soule Steel Company shuts down all operations. Building on his rebar industry and software experience from Soule Steel, Sandy Soule starts the Soule Teleprocessing Corporation just north of Silicon Valley in Northern California.
1986 to 1994
Soule Teleprocessing introduces standalone Estimating, Detailing, and Tagging programs designed to run on newly available personal computers. Programs start as MS-DOS based, later rewritten for Microsoft Windows 3.1.
1995 to 1996
Sandy's son Kevin graduates from UCLA with an undergraduate degree in engineering and begins working full-time at Soule Teleprocessing in January 1996.
1997 to 1998
Contract Management launches as the first rebar software to cover Estimating through Contract Billing and Job Costing in a single database, handling multiple locations and divisions simultaneously. Soule Teleprocessing begins attending the World of Concrete tradeshow and introduces the platform to fabricators across the country.
1999
Soule Teleprocessing Corporation is renamed to Soule Software to better reflect the transition from mainframe-based telephone line computing to Windows desktop and server-based systems.
2000s
Soule Software experiences rapid growth across the US and Canada. The Inventory and Purchase Order module and Bluetooth barcode scanners are introduced, propelling Soule to become the first to simultaneously track real-time inventory bundle usage and shop productivity across multiple shops.
2010 to 2020
Soule Software develops the first rebar customer portal, followed by web-based Fabrication and Field Placing KPI dashboards. On average, the company ships more than 200 new features per year throughout the decade.
2021
Soule Software opens an East Coast office and welcomes Roger Look to the team. With 30 years of experience running rebar fabrication and placing divisions, Roger brings deep industry knowledge to support Soule's growing customer base.
2022
Soule Software adopts a new logo reflecting the company's origins in the Soule Steel Company.
2023
Soule Software releases RFID bundle tracking to speed up inventory counts. Proof of Delivery enables fabricators to digitally confirm deliveries on-site and eliminate paper-based BOL processing.
2024
Soule Software expands its operational and support presence worldwide, hiring talent and opening offices in Las Vegas and India.
2025
Soule Software introduces Power BI Dashboards, giving fabricators and placers direct access to real-time production, delivery, inventory, backlog, and financial data.
2026
Soule Software introduces Remnant Tracking, allowing fabricators to scan bundle ends and automatically reconcile remnants back to inventory.