Diamond B Constructors, INC. (DBC) has come a long way from selling wood scraps for home heating and cooking. But perhaps that's not surprising, given that the roots of the Bellingham company date back to 1909.

DBC, now one of the leading mechanical contractors in Washington, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

The company employs approximately 250 people year-round. Located near Bellingham International Airport, the DBC complex includes a 15,000-square-foot building for structural and HVAC fabrication and a 12,000-square-foot facility for pipe fabrication. DBC typically completes about 150 projects per year.

DBC started in what is now the 1900 block of Franklin Street as the fuel department of Bloedel Donovan Lumber Co. Scraps from its mill were delivered to local residences in horse-drawn wagons for cooking and heating. The company name that was adopted in 1943 dates back to its origins, when the Bloedel Donovan lumber brand was a "B" inside a diamond.

The company evolved with time. The fuel it sold changed to coal, then oil. DBC then started installing heating equipment and soon developed into a complete plumbing and heating company serving homes, schools and public buildings. The projects grew more complex and DBC began focusing on the commercial and industrial construction industry.

Four generations of the Johansen family have contributed to the leadership of DBC. Paul H. Johansen started with the company in 1925 and became a co-owner of DBC Fuel. Paul A. Johansen launched the piping side of the business upon returning from active military duty in 1946. The current president and owner, Paul S. Johansen, joined DBC in 1962. Steve Johansen began working for the company in 1992 and is now a member of its management team.

Another longstanding member of DBC's leadership team is Pete Chapman, who started with the company in 1993 and now serves as its senior vice president and general manager.

Paul S. Johansen attributes the growth and success of the company to all those who have worked with him and contributed so much to the business. "Without the dedication to quality and hard work of so many qualified people, the company's growth and longevity would not have been possible."

DBC's recent projects include schools, hospitals, refineries, treatment plants and power-generation plants throughout the western United States.

They include:

• Fabrication of stainless steel pipe spools for the construction of waste treatment and immobilization facilities at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Richland. DBC's pipe fabrication shop started work in 2003 and currently has fabricated more than 100,000 linear feet of pipe into more than 6,000 pipe spools with diameters ranging from a half-inch to 10 inches.


• The mechanical portion of the 60,000-square-foot Cascadia Elementary School, which the Ferndale School District opened in 2008. DBC also has finished work on the mechanical portion of the new Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish and the expansion of Bothell High School.


• A $15-million contract to provide mechanical construction services for the 200,000-square-foot expansion of Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon. DBC also has worked on expansion and remodeling projects at St. Joseph Hospital in Bellingham and Providence Medical Center in Everett.