WHERE ARE THEY NOW : BAPE
Incorporated in 2020 , Bay Area Pipe & Equipment , Inc . ( BAPE ) is a small , familyrun business providing HVAC and plumbing supplies , working union prefabrication shop , and more recently , licensed plumbing and pipefitting services .
CEO Joshua Kitching ( Josh ) spent 14 years honing his pipefitting skills working as a journeyman and then foreman on major local projects , including UCSF ’ s Community Research Center and Parnassus , the Academy of Arts & Sciences , Salesforce Tower , and the Chase Center .
Contractor Tools first profiled BAPE in our Spring 2022 issue . At the time Josh and his business partner Mara were navigating the Contractor Accelerated Payment Program ( also featured in our Spring 2022 issue ) with the help of Merriwether & Williams , a HUB International Company ( MWIS ). They were
also preparing to expand their services to include licensed plumbing and pipefitting .
We checked in with Josh and Mara to see how the company has fared in the past 2 years , what challenges they ’ ve overcome , what projects BAPE is currently working on , and what lessons they ’ ve learned .
“ We ’ ve been doing a lot of fabrication for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission ’ s Biosolids Digester Facilities Project , so that ’ s been keeping us very busy ,” reports Mara . To make the construction process easier and more efficient for the five different mechanical contractors working on the project , BAPE fabricates , assembles and labels plumbing equipment and supplies into packages that are organized by floor , tank and section , so everything they need is right on site .
Joshua Kitching |
Mara Kitching |
Justin Kitching |
Mere Kitching |
Sales , BAPE |
Owner , BAPE |
Fabrication BAPE |
Owner , BAPE |
Photo opposite : 20-inch stainless steel header with 5 branch tees fabricated by BAPE
FIRST QUARTER 2025 CONTRACTOR TOOLS - 25