Champion Bridge Co. Is Now Doing Business as 'Champion Steel Works'
- 23 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Champion Bridge has operated in Wilmington for more than 150 years, but its leadership says the company’s name no longer reflects its work. Owner and president Noah Dell said the company will begin doing business as 'Champion Steel Works' while keeping its legal name, Champion Bridge Company.
“We’ve been Champion Bridge since 1872,” Dell said. “But the reality is we haven’t built bridges for... close to 75 years.” Dell said the company began transitioning away from bridges in the 1930s. “By the 1950s and into the 70s, we were pretty much all onto structural steel fabrication,” he said.
The move away from bridges was driven by practical constraints, Dell said. Bridge work relied heavily on government agencies, smaller bridges shifted toward concrete, and Champion’s landlocked site limited the size of components it could fabricate. “A short piece for a bridge would be 80 feet long... and we can’t get 80 feet into our building,” he said.
Today, Champion Steel Works fabricates structural steel for commercial and industrial projects as a subcontractor to general contractors. “[Contractors] give us a set of drawings from an architect and engineer and say, ‘We want to build this job,’” Dell said. The steel is fabricated in Wilmington and shipped to job sites, with installation handled by subcontracted crews.
Dell cited the new Kettering Health project in Wilmington as an example of current work. “That big skeleton, that structural steel is the kind of stuff that comes right out of our shop,” he said. While projects like these are their business, Dell still enjoys supporting local walk-in customers and community projects like the Xidas Park pergola, General Denver's railing, Wheelies' bike rack, and others.
Dell grew up in Wilmington and returned after college, joining Champion full-time in 2014. Over the years, the company passed through an employee stock ownership program before consolidating ownership as partners retired. “My dad was the last man standing in 2016,” Dell said.
In recent years, Champion has grown through staffing and equipment investments. “This year we’ll fabricate probably 40% more steel than we did last year,” Dell said. The name change is about clarity, growth, and not being overlooked by new customers who need 'steel' fabrication, not 'bridge' construction.
Learn more about Dell's story on episode 83 of the Real Change Wilmington podcast.