Dennis McCartney drmc@bandbwelding.com President, Chesapeake Design Service, Inc. hen Ernest "Pop" McCartney bought B&B Welding Company, Inc. some 30 years ago, he had no idea how far his son Dennis could take the business. What started off as a small welding job shop could have continued as a small job shop. Or, it could have gone the way of so many other smaller welding shops-extinct. But that's not what happened. Since Dennis and Peggy bought out Pop's interest, B&B Welding, under Dennis' guidance, has evolved into a fully automated, multi-million dollar structural steel fabrication company. Dennis is the first to admit that he had no grand business plan. Instead, he had the foresight to invest heavily in new technology. He saw the benefits of AISC quality certification-B&B Welding became the second shop in Maryland to gain certification (the first in Baltimore). He made the jump from welder to steel fabricator by slowly investing in new equipment. In 1990, the company bought its first Peddinghaus Anglemaster. Today, the shop is full of sophisticated CNC equipment. Dennis is a builder. "When I go to White Marsh Mall," he says, "I could get a stiff neck just looking at how the trusses are bolted together. I look up and think, 'Man I'd like to detail that job.'" In 1989, Dennis started a structural detailing business, Chesapeake Design Services, Inc. Dennis conceived the idea for the business after attending a software demonstration. "What I thought was way in the future," he says, "They were already doing." In typical entrepreneurial fashion, Dennis recalls: "I knew that if I had a need for shop drawings, then everybody else must need then too." So, Dennis decided to take a calculated risk and invest $80,000 in detailing software and hardware. Today, Dennis is president of Chesapeake Design. His office is on the same campus as B&BWelding. He splits his time detailing jobs for B&B Welding and for outside clients. Obsessive compulsive, technologically savvy, always looking for smarter ways to get a job done, Dennis' newest venture is in Electronic Data Interchange. Through B&B's web site, he now has the ability to electronically share data with engineers and architects. They send him stick drawings; Dennis translates and details them; and he sends them back to the engineers with the value-added shop drawings. Who knows what the future holds for B&B Welding, bridge building? If "Pop" McCartney were to see how B&B Welding has grown, there's no doubt he'd be smiling. "He'd give his stamp of approval," says Dennis. "God's been good to us, that's for sure." What does Dennis like about fishing? "The catching part," he says. "Every day's a good day for fishing, but you remember the days you catch fish more than days you don't."   © 2001 B&B Welding Company, Inc. company | projects | facilities | contact