Florida’s oldest steel erector and fabrication business, about to hit its 70th anniversary, isn’t slowing down. On the contrary, it is growing and has a huge project in the works and more coming down the pike.

Tampa Steel Erecting Co., probably most well known to the public for building the steel frame for Epcot’s Space Ship Earth in 1982, has a new $3.5 million 34,000 square-foot building under construction, is in the process of hiring 39 new employees and plans to soon be in on a massive undertaking dubbed the “I-4 Ultimate Project.”

For now, the company, started by Robert Clark Sr. in 1945 and now run by his son, Robert Clark Jr., his brother John Clark and son-in-law Jeff Ames, is so busy completing a twin arch bridge over the Trinity River in Dallas, that it needs more space and more employees.

“We are adding an additional fabrication bay in order to increase our available work space to facilitate delivery, on time, in Dallas and to prepare for upcoming projects in Florida,” Ames said. “The building, which is really to provide a covering for our new cranes, is going to cover about 34,000 square feet and be 80 feet wide and 375 feet long.” The new overhead cranes are capable of hoisting 50 tons and 25 tons to lift the monstrous girders going on the Dallas bridge.

Construction on the new building should be complete by February, Ames said.

“This little company here in Brandon is having a tremendous impact,” said Michelle Bauer, vice president of marketing and communications for the Tampa Hillsborough County Economic Development Corp. The economic agency helped expedite permitting for the new building to get the project on a fast track. “This is not an industry that Tampa is known for,” she said. “Right now, we are experiencing all this growth in the IT sector and in manufacturing and here we have Bob Clark’s company right there with them.”

And there is more to come. Ames said once the Dallas bridge project is complete — in about another year and a half — Tampa Steel Erecting will be working on expanding Interstate 75 north of Miami and south of Alligator Alley. Then, it’s on to the real monster, the I-4 Ultimate Project — or the widening and rebuilding of 21 miles of the interstate in the Orlando area, which includes about 100 bridges and will take years to complete. Many of those bridges will be built with steel.

“This is an exciting time in the history of our organization,” which employs 90 people at present, said Robert Clark Jr., the company president. “Our focus on steel bridge construction continues to pay off and the major contracts that we’re securing across the country as a result are fueling our growth and enabling us to create more jobs here. Hillsborough County has been tremendously supportive during this process and we’re proud to be strengthening our commitments to this community.”

The new positions, with an average wage of $54,000, will fill key manufacturing roles that will allow the company to meet the increasing demand for the steel it fabricates for major transportation and building projects, Bauer said.

“The success of Tampa Steel Erecting Co. is a significant point of pride for Tampa and Hillsborough County and a testament to the adaptability and competitiveness of our manufacturing sector,” said Ronald Vaughn, chair of the economic agency and president of the University of Tampa.

Hillsborough County Commission Chair Sandra Murman said the continued growth of Tampa Steel Erecting “highlights the role Hillsborough County is playing in creating an environment that attracts investment in the vitally important manufacturing sector and in helping local businesses to grow and prosper.”