Hilton Convention Center

Job Facts
Tons of steel: 35 tons
Owner: Regional Contracting Services
Contractor: Harmon Inc.
Project Manager: Larry Lough
Sub Contractor: B&B Welding Company, Inc.
Erector: Harmon, Inc.

When you do good work, you build strong relationships. And strong relationships beget more business. So it went with the new Hilton Convention Center, a massive glass curtain job in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The contractor, Harmon Inc, solicited competitive bids from the best steel fabricators in the Mid-Atlantic. Ours wasn’t the lowest. But sometimes, the lowest bid isn’t the best bid.

Despite our estimate, Harmon tapped us for the job anyway. And for a good reason: Harmon has worked with B&B for twenty years. “We have a history of doing fine work with Harmon. It goes way back,” says B&B’s Dennis McCartney. “Harmon trusts us.”

With both a tight job site and frequent disruptions to the building phases, this project required great flexibility. Harmon knew we could roll with the punches and deliver a job on time and on budget.

B&B did not disappoint.

Built in five stages, the Hilton Convention Center sports a stunning glass curtain wall supported by 35 tons of architecturally exposed tubular steel. The 8 x 4 x 3/8 inch vertical tubes ranged in length, the largest spanning 35 vertical feet. B&B fabricated the tubes as well as the stud plates that were welded to the embeds. Assembled on the site, the tubes slid atop the stud plates, revealing no visible connections.

Not long on the job, the phases were scrambled. Erection during phase 2 came to a halt with a delay in the concrete. We quickly re-grouped and plunged our guys into phase 3. Additionally, we had to share tower crane access. It took a mix of diplomacy and insistence to ensure our delivery schedule.

The entire job demanded Architecturally Exposed Structural Steel (AESS) certification. Of course, our AESS experience runs deep. We’ve mastered the best practices of AESS from painting to packing to putting them together on-site. At the Hilton site, we faced a particular challenge to maintain the straightness of the tubes after all the final welding. In addition, we had to grind and clean the tubes of all blemishes from the welding process.

How did we do? You can judge for yourself. Take a walk through the Baltimore Hilton’s lobby and main promenade and you will see our work — 150 steel tubes calling out for inspection. Take a look. We think you’ll like what you see.