Hodge Companies Add Workers, Partnerships
NEW WATERFORD, Ohio – The Hodge Companies, based in New Waterford, is expecting to add employees in 2019 as it completes a significant expansion project to one of its subsidiaries.
Hodge Companies is made up of three divisions – Steelcon, Hodge Construction and Amron, says controller Jessica Hodge.
Hodge Construction was established in 1995 as a general contractor and provides field services for industrial and commercial construction.
Steelcon was founded in 2002 to provide engineering and steel fabrication services, while Amron was created in 2015 to conduct nondestructive and destructive materials testing.
Last year, the three companies added 15 employees and plan to hire another 25 in 2019, Hodge says.
Meanwhile, work continues on a 35,000-square-foot addition to Steelcon’s building in New Waterford. “It nearly doubles the shop’s capacity,” Hodge says. The expansion will house a 90-foot blast and paint booth. It is scheduled for completion by the third quarter.
Steelcon maintains accreditation through multiple organizations and has won praise by third-party auditors on the quality management system put in place by the company’s management team, Hodge says.
Various software programs are used to support Steelcon’s engineering services, and this year the company intends to add computational fluid dynamic software to enhance its capabilities. Engineers at the company are licensed in nine states with the goal to obtain licensure in several additional states in the coming year.
Hodge Companies late last year added a new entity to its portfolio: FH Equip. As of now, FH Equip provides transportation services exclusively to partner companies but there are plans to expand its customer base in late 2019, Hodge says.
The company also secured opportunities in the oil and gas industry through a partnership with Youngstown-based Brilex Group.
The new joint venture, Barcon, provides design, fabrication and refurbishment services to natural gas production and processing equipment, Hodge says.
Meanwhile, Amron invested in two computed-radiography units in 2018, she says. The technology enables faster turnaround on inspections and reporting to clients.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
