“We benefited from the growth related to BRAC, health care and transit,” says Chris Odell, president of Gill-Simpson, which was founded in 1932.

Odell expects several large public projects, not tied to BRAC, will move forward, although the volume is decelerating. Therefore, Gill-Simpson is focusing on infrastructure work, data centers and renewable electrical generation, such as waste energy, wind and solar.

In 2009 Gill-Simpson installed the electrical systems for the 1.6-million-sq-ft, design-build, fast-track Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center of Excellence facility at Aberdeen Proving Ground and the 686,000-sq-ft, 20-story Mary Catherine Bunting Center at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore.

The company, with joint venture partner ARNIC of Annapolis, Md., served as prime contractor on a $44-million upgrade to the Baltimore Metro Fire and Security Management System for the Maryland Transportation Administration. The company brought on new resources to handle the growth and has become more proficient with prefabrication and building information modeling.

“That’s going to help us add value for the customer in the long run, and that will be a factor on the large-scale projects still out there,” Odell says. “No doubt [there’s stress in the marketplace], but we feel there are more opportunities ahead.”