Industrial Division

Full line of multi-trade craftsmen including plumbers, welders and millwrights available to handle all plant maintenance, shut downs, and additions. R, S, and U stamp certified by the ASME.



Alpolic Shop

Those steel and concrete surfaces usually aren't the most colorful. Thanks to a new composite material -- Alpolic -- Bay Mechanical's industrial division is adding more color to its construction projects, including the new terminal at the Norfolk International Airport.

"The new terminal will be a very pretty place. Alpolic is a creative, colorful way to cover structural members, such as horizontal beams and vertical columns," Minton says. "It's quite elaborate -- a heavy coating of enamel surrounds the aluminum that wraps around columns, beams and canopies. And alpolic stands up to the elements when used outside."

As with much of Bay Mechanical's work, the company began working with the material by accident, Minton says. "We were working as a sub for another company and they asked if we could do it."



Marine Division

Yet another focus of the industrial division is its marine work. "Ventilation on large carriers and tankers is our specialty," York says. "It's an arena where we have proficiency."

Bay Mechanical fabricated watertight ventilation on the recently christened U.S.S. Ronald Regan. "The ductwork for these systems is made from very large steel plates," York says. Some are 19-foot-by-6-foot pieces -- larger than for any other surface vessel.

"While the U.S.S. Nimitz, Enterprise and Harry S Truman were being refitted for nuclear fuel, we overhauled their ventilation systems. The sea's salt air had rusted away the old ducts."

Although most of Bay Mechanical's marine work is for Newport News Shipyard, "other shipyards -- Tecnico, Aepco and Collonas -- come to us for items that have a high degree of difficulty," York says. As with the alpolic work, Bay Mechanical's work for the shipyards was serendipitous.

York had been the shop foreman for another mechanical contractor that worked with Newport News Shipyard.

"When the company went bankrupt, I found myself without a job," York says. Because of Bay Mechanical's reputation, York approached its president. "Only one other company in the area was capable of building the ventilation systems, and somebody had to do it. And I had a two-year history with the shipyard."

The opportunity came when Bay Mechanical first entered the industrial environment, and the marriage between York, the shipyard and Bay Mechanical proved to be a good one.

"The remarkable things is that Rod decided to take a gamble on something he wasn't familiar with. He said, 'OK, let's try it out. Let's see if it works.' He said that without knowing me or the product."

The company fabricated and assembled this full size airplane used for fire training at Norfolk Airport.