Building Information Modeling (BIM) offers unique opportunities to understand and experience the interaction of building systems during design and pre-construction.

The Eckman team uses the capabilities of Autodesk Revit and NavisWorks alongside traditional 2D drawings to carry out complete constructability and systems coordination reviews as a design evolves. Our BIM Coordination Team is adept at utilizing this powerful software in combination with their thorough knowledge of the construction process in order to identify possible clashes in building systems early in the design process.

Eckman’s Preston Hunter is one of the 21 men and 19 women chosen for this year’s class of the New Hampshire Union Leader’s 40 Under Forty. He is one of the “up-and-coming residents who are helping make New Hampshire a great place to live. They include people who have faced down incredible challenges and others who are being honored because of their selfless giving.”

Preston is Eckman’s Director of Business Development, and has been with the firm since 2005.  He is an alumnus of the Derryfield School, where he is a member of the school’s board of trustees and chair of the Buildings & Grounds Committee. Preston is also very active in the Manchester Young Professionals Network, where he is Chairman of the Board.

Previous recipients include well-known names such as Chris Carpenter of Bedford, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Olympic skier Bode Miller, U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Congressman Frank Guinta, and Attorney General Michael Delaney. There have been more than a few heroes, including  U.S. Army Capt. Ryan Welch and Merrimack firefighter and former N.H. Army National Guard Commander Daniel Newman.

This year’s class, the eleventh, will be honored at a reception hosted by the Union Leader and the Business and Industry Association of NH on Tuesday, March 13 at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester.

Read the Union Leader story

Eckman is working with Building On Hope (BOH) once again. The Manchester-based community organization of volunteers works with builders, architects and designers to provide physical improvements to facilities associated with non-profit service groups.

The Manchester home of Girls, Inc. has been selected as the 2012 project for BOH; their facility in a former church building on Varney Street will be completely renovated. The center offers a myriad of services for local girls and their families. In addition to daily programs focused on education and personal development, 50 or more girls are provided with a hot evening meal in a safe, nurturing environment. Girls Inc is “The leading organization devoted to girls that handles challenging issues facing them every day: personal safety, economic literacy, media messages and health concerns.” Eckman Construction is proud to help this important organization.

As a part of the Construction Management team, Eckman will coordinate the donation of materials and labor. Work will start with groundbreaking on April 27, and a dramatic reveal of the finished project is scheduled for May 13–which is also Mother’s Day.

Building On Hope website

Girls Incorporated NH website

Job description:

Candidate will be responsible, under the direction of management staff, for coordination of project building systems within digital models while working in AutoCAD, Navisworks and Revit. Candidate will also be responsible for Assistant Project Management duties which include scheduling, submittal processing, subcontractor coordination and project closeout. Working knowledge of Micrsoft Office programs (Outlook, Word, Excel) is required. Working knowledge of AutoCAD, Revit, Navisworks and Primavera Contract Management is preferred. This position is based at Eckman Construction Company’s office in Bedford, NH.

Please submit resume and salary requirements to careers@eckmanconstruction.com

A beam signing ceremony was held recently to celebrate the completion of steel erection for the new York Hospital Building on Route 1 in Kittery, Maine.

All project team members took part in the ceremony; pictured above are Andy English of Lassel Architects, Eckman Project Manager Brian Baroody, Matt Allen of JSN Associates, York Hospital’s Steve Camlin, and Clerk of the Works Brad Goodale. The public was also invited to the ceremony, and were able to sign a ground floor steel column.

When completed later this year, the facility will include a walk-in care center and diagnostic laboratory and imaging services, as well as Kittery Family Practice and other physician offices.

Tony Spagnuolo, President of Eckman Construction,  passed away on December 13, 2011 after a hard-fought battle with cancer. He was a graduate of Wayland High School and in 1980 he earned a degree in Civil Engineering from Princeton University summa cum laude.

He joined Eckman in 1986, and was co-owner of the firm with Mark Walsh since the Eckmans’ retirement. He was most proud of the projects he completed at St. Anselm College, Franklin Pierce University, and the Bedford Middle/ High School.

Mark Walsh said, “Tony was extremely intelligent and hardworking and he expected others to keep up…Several employees have commented to me about how much they learned about the business from Tony.”

Hal Eckman, founder of Eckman Construction, died suddenly and too soon on December 8, 2011, in Palm Beach, Florida.

A 1968 graduate of the University of New Hampshire Whittemore School of Business, Hal founded Eckman Construction in 1974, which he co-owned with his wife Amy until 2008, when they sold it to some key employees and retired. Hal was deeply involved in community life, including serving on the boards of The Easter Seal Society of NH; the Manchester  Chamber of Commerce: the Economic Development Committee;  the Manchester Airport Access Road Task Force; and was a candidate in 1992 for the U.S. Senate.

“Hal Eckman built a major business, was a significant part of New Hampshire and left a construction company known for its quality and care,” said Brad Cook in the New Hampshire Business Review.

Mark Walsh said of Hal, “They say a good way to be successful is to surround yourself with good people. Hal looked at the big picture and hired the best talent he could find to handle the details. He used to say he wanted the guys that could ‘play any position well’.  Many of these key employees hand chosen by Hal still form the nucleus of the company today.”

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Neighborworks Greater Manchester held a ribbon cutting for the Townhomes at Mallard Place in Hooksett on November 21.

Eckman constructed the 16 townhomes, which were designed by Jordan Design, at the corner of Whitehall Road and Bypass 28. Congressman Frank Guinta, as well as staffers from Senator Shaheen’s and Senator Ayotte’s offices were on hand to help the nonprofit group celebrate their latest addition to the region’s affordable housing. Also attending were representatives from the Town of Hooksett, HUD, NHHFA, and TD Bank.

The first tenants are moving into Union Crossing in Lawrence. Eckman’s rehabilitation of the former Southwick Clothing factory on the banks of the Merrimack River is featured in this article from the November 13 Lawrence Eagle-Tribune.

read the Eagle-Tribune story

Photo by Amy Sweeney, Lawrence Eagle-Tribune