Story #17 - Hill & Bell
/Story #17 is the story of how Hill & Bell employees came to SSM and expanded our Facility Services.
catherine “kitty'“ bell, 2004
June 2004 | Spotts, Stevens and McCoy Expands Facility Engineering Services
SSM announced in June of 2004 an expansion to its Facility Engineering services with the addition of seven staff members, formerly with Hill & Bell Associates (HBA) of Pottstown PA. The addition of this team of individuals expanded SSM’s capabilities into the high tech building market, including R&D laboratories, data centers and telecommunications facilities and also expanded SSM’s geographic market from the Mid-Atlantic region to the Eastern United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
At the time, HBA was positioned for dramatic growth over the next 12-18 months and sought to be a part of a larger organization with the resources to satisfy that growth.
bruce bell, 2004
SSM and HBA had been working together as partners. The more the two did together, the more it was clear of the synergies between the firms and the benefit of the full range of services to offer both client bases. It was a natural fit to formerly roll the HBA firm into SSM firm via SSM hiring their people and assuming their clients.
The transition of technical staff included: Bruce Bell and Catherine “Kitty” Bell. Mr. Bell joined SSM as a Director in the Facility Engineering department; Ms. Bell as a Senior Project and Client Manager. In addition, Ralph Nevel, P.E. joined the firm as a Senior Electrical Engineer; Jack Fisher and David Eidle as Senior Designers; and Andrew Wengerd as a Mechanical Specialist.
In regards to the transition, Kitty Bell said “SSM’s complimentary service offerings, established position in the marketplace, and strong reputation were factors in our decision to join the firm. But what really made this firm stand out was the high comfort level we felt with the culture here.”
The transition was a successful one as many of the former HBA employees continued their employment with SSM, many until retirement. In October of 2021 Kitty Bell retired from SSM as the Vice President of Facility Engineering. Bruce Bell continues to provide expertise to our clients as a Senior Mechanical Engineer in our Facilities Division alongside Andrew Wengerd, Manager of Mechanical Engineering and David Eidle, Senior Designer.
Over the years, the transition of employees from Hill & Bell Associates into the SSM team played an exponential role in expanded services, expertise, and experience for our clients and communities. Our Facilities division, including Structural, Mechanical, and Electrical engineering and design is a team unmatched by most other firms in our region. The expertise, coupled with the capabilities of our multi-disciplinary firm makes SSM the best single-source solution for any engineering challenge, no matter how many facets
