Success Story

Houston Area Urban League (HAUL) Entrepreneurship Center client Arthur Dirden of A D Welding is awarded a $117,000 Contract from Port Houston for a remodeling project.

A D Welding, Inc. was established by Arthur Dirden in 2017. Initially devoted to welding, Mr. Dirden soon discovered a need for construction-related services and pivoted to construction because of its opportunity for minority-owned businesses. His business expansion now concentrates on electrical, carpentry, concrete, and metal fencing.

In order to grow, Arthur met with Mark Praigg, a HAUL SBA CNPP Business Consultant. Mr. Dirden had met Tishia Coleman with the Houston Department of Housing and Community Development, who encouraged him to apply for Section 3 Certification, owing to the opportunities with that program and residential construction.

Mr. Praigg met with Arthur over the course of four months to work through the challenges of Section 3 Certification. A major obstacle was System Award Management (SAM.gov) certification through the Federal government as a prerequisite for obtaining Section 3 certification.

Based upon the technical assistance provided to A D Welding, Section 3 Certification was granted to the company on January 13, 2023. A D Welding was subsequently awarded a construction contract in the amount of $50,050 from Ipsum GC LLC, specifically because of receiving Section 3 certification.

“I don’t know where I’d be without assistance from the HAUL SBA CNPP and Mr. Praigg’s support. Not only did he help me with Section 3 Certification and contract acquisition, but he also connected me to Don Kerl, an architect, and a Construction Estimator, who is helping to open doors to many opportunities in the construction field as well as providing much-needed counsel.”

Business Advisor Mark Praigg also connected AD Welding to other resources, including:

• State of Texas Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Certification
• Port Houston Vendor Registration