ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com)—
Almost four months after the Good Friday tornado, Lambert Airport has decided who will replace the glass in Terminal 1. For one St. Louis family it is a command performance.
Hilboldt Curtainwall in South St. Louis specializes in making large walls out of glass. So going after the Lambert job seemed like a perfect fit, especially to Denny Hilboldt because his father helped install them the first time. In the mid 1950's, Jack Hilboldt was a glazer working for a company called Stanley-Hanks which installed the original windows at Lambert.
"The opportunity was great and to be able to go out there and reglaze it knowing that he had done it originally, its a great circle," said Jane Hilboldt, who is the company CEO, and Denny Hilboldt's wife.
"It is going to be more difficult because he had the luxury to cut to make it fit in the field. We can't do that. We have to order it to size and make sure it fits and if it doesn't fit when it comes here it will be a challenge to the schedule," Denny Hilboldt said.
Another difference is the new glass will be twice as thick and laminated making it shatterproof.
The original windows were only plate glass, and while they did shatter, at least that kept the tornado from bending the framework.
As projects go, for the Hilboldt Company. this is a mid-sized job, but for the Hilboldt family, the meaning it carries is huge.
"It's wonderful. Anytime you get to walk through a project that you have done especially a high profile project you feel pride, you like showing it to the children and saying look what we've done, yes, there will always be a sense of pride that will always be there," said Jane Hilboldt.
The window project should be complete around Thanksgiving.
More than 300 panes need replacing, at a cost of $900,000.
Almost four months after the Good Friday tornado, Lambert Airport has decided who will replace the glass in Terminal 1. For one St. Louis family it is a command performance.
Hilboldt Curtainwall in South St. Louis specializes in making large walls out of glass. So going after the Lambert job seemed like a perfect fit, especially to Denny Hilboldt because his father helped install them the first time. In the mid 1950's, Jack Hilboldt was a glazer working for a company called Stanley-Hanks which installed the original windows at Lambert.
"The opportunity was great and to be able to go out there and reglaze it knowing that he had done it originally, its a great circle," said Jane Hilboldt, who is the company CEO, and Denny Hilboldt's wife.
"It is going to be more difficult because he had the luxury to cut to make it fit in the field. We can't do that. We have to order it to size and make sure it fits and if it doesn't fit when it comes here it will be a challenge to the schedule," Denny Hilboldt said.
Another difference is the new glass will be twice as thick and laminated making it shatterproof.
The original windows were only plate glass, and while they did shatter, at least that kept the tornado from bending the framework.
As projects go, for the Hilboldt Company. this is a mid-sized job, but for the Hilboldt family, the meaning it carries is huge.
"It's wonderful. Anytime you get to walk through a project that you have done especially a high profile project you feel pride, you like showing it to the children and saying look what we've done, yes, there will always be a sense of pride that will always be there," said Jane Hilboldt.
The window project should be complete around Thanksgiving.
More than 300 panes need replacing, at a cost of $900,000.