Bidding on Government Welding Contracts in Charlotte, North Carolina

Public work in Charlotte is doable for a one-person welding outfit or a small shop, but it’s slower, pickier, and way more paperwork-driven than private jobs. You’re not “selling” anyone—you're proving you can follow instructions, carry insurance, and submit clean documents on time.

TL;DR

• City of Charlotte bid hub (most departments): https://www.charlottenc.gov/Growth-and-Development/Doing-Business/Contract-Opportunities (charlottenc.gov)
• City “Supplier Registration” (needed for POs/payment): https://www.charlottenc.gov/Growth-and-Development/Doing-Business/Vendor-Registration (charlottenc.gov)
• Mecklenburg County Procurement (and link to MECKProcure): https://fin.mecknc.gov/procurement (fin.mecknc.gov)
• NC eProcurement / electronic Vendor Portal (state + many local postings): https://eprocurement.nc.gov/ (eprocurement.nc.gov)
• Registering in NC eVP (how-to): https://eprocurement.nc.gov/training/vendor-training/registering-evp (eprocurement.nc.gov)
• NC HUB (SWUC) certification (if you qualify): https://www.doa.nc.gov/divisions/historically-underutilized-businesses-hub/certifications/swuc (doa.nc.gov)
• NC Small Business Enterprise (NCSBE) certification (if you qualify): https://www.doa.nc.gov/divisions/historically-underutilized-businesses-hub/certifications/ncsbe-certification (doa.nc.gov)
• Typical timelines: bids often open 2–4 weeks, awards often take 3–8+ weeks, payment commonly lands 30–90 days after you invoice (sometimes faster, sometimes not).
• Odds: your first few bids are mostly “tuition”—plan on losing a bunch before you start landing small wins, unless you come in as a sub to a prime that already knows the system.

Who actually wins these contracts (and what that means for you)

A lot of first-time bidders assume public work is “lowest bid wins.” Sometimes that’s true (especially Invitations to Bid), but in practice the winners are usually the vendors who can do three things reliably:

They submit exactly what the solicitation asked for, they have insurance and compliance handled, and they don’t create extra risk for the agency. The most capable welder doesn’t win if their bid package is missing a form, a signature, an addendum acknowledgment, or a required certification.

In Charlotte/Meck, you’ll also run into repeat players: local contractors who already have vendor profiles set up, already know which departments buy what, and already have their admin process dialed in. They can move fast when a quote request drops, and they don’t get tripped up by portal uploads and mandatory attachments.

For a small welding shop, the best early wins tend to come from:

• Smaller informal quote requests (fewer forms, faster award).
• Repair/maintenance work where responsiveness matters.
• Subcontracting under primes on bigger projects (you do the welding scope; they deal with the administrative load).

What agencies actually hire welders for (real-world scopes that show up)

If you’re expecting “fabricate a beautiful custom staircase for City Hall,” that’s not the common lane. What shows up again and again is unglamorous, schedule-sensitive work tied to facilities, utilities, and fleets.

In and around Charlotte, welding-related scopes typically cluster into:

Facility and site repairs: handrails, guardrails, bollards, gates, fences, steel doors/frames, trailer stands, dock equipment, safety barriers, brackets, and miscellaneous “fix what broke” metalwork. Sometimes it’s on public buildings, sometimes on parks facilities, sometimes on operations yards.

Utility-related metalwork: supports, access hatches, frames, pipe supports, grating, ladder cages, or fabricated components for pump stations and water/storm infrastructure. Even when the project is “construction,” a lot of the buy is still repair/fabrication and install.

Fleet and equipment: municipal fleets beat up equipment. Anything from small trailer repairs to fab/repair on attachments and field equipment can come up, depending on how the city/county structures maintenance.

Airport work can be its own ecosystem (credentialing, security, schedule constraints). Aviation solicitations are posted separately from the main city hub. (charlottenc.gov)

The important mental shift is this: agencies buy risk reduction. They like scopes that are easy to define, easy to inspect, and easy to pay against. If your offering sounds like a custom one-off with fuzzy acceptance criteria, procurement folks get nervous.

Timelines (bid windows, award speed, and getting paid)

Public work runs on calendar time, not “when the owner is in a good mood.”

Bid window: usually short, and the clock doesn’t care

For many formal solicitations, you’ll see 2–4 weeks from posting to due date. Sometimes less, sometimes more. Addenda can drop midstream, and you’re expected to acknowledge them and comply—missing an addendum acknowledgment can kill an otherwise solid bid.

Also, “due at 2:00 PM” means due at 2:00 PM. Portals can be slow; uploads can fail; somebody will forget their password. Build in a buffer and plan to submit a day early when you can.

Award timing: slower than private work, especially above thresholds

Award timing depends heavily on whether it’s an informal quote, a formal sealed bid, or an RFP.

The City of Charlotte’s own contracting FAQ notes that contracts over $100,000 are “formal” and are officially awarded upon approval by City Council (or County Commissioners), which adds time and meetings to the timeline. (charlottenc.gov) Smaller awards can be made at staff discretion and may move faster. (charlottenc.gov)

Translation: if you’re chasing bigger numbers, expect more waiting. If you’re trying to build a track record, smaller scopes are often the practical on-ramp.

Payment timing: plan for 30–90 days (and don’t bet payroll on “net 30”)

Even when an agency is trying to be prompt, payment is tied to: correct vendor setup, correct invoice format, matching PO/contract references, acceptance/inspection, and internal approval routing.

If long payment timelines are going to squeeze your cash flow, this is where invoice financing can help. Toolbox lets you advance 80–90% against approved public invoices at competitive rates, so you can keep crews working and bids moving without waiting 30–90 days to get paid. (See if you qualify at https://apply.toolboxlending.com/)

Where bids are posted (Charlotte + Mecklenburg + North Carolina)

If you only check one place once a month, you’ll miss a lot. Different entities post in different systems, and Charlotte has a couple of “side doors” besides the main procurement hub.

Here are the main places that matter locally:

• City of Charlotte — Charlotte Bonfire Procurement Hub (main city departments). The city states most contracting opportunities are posted there, including departments like CATS, General Services, CDOT, Planning, Charlotte Water, and Storm Water. Refresh cadence is steady; new stuff can appear any week. Typical job sizes range from small services to major multi-year contracts depending on department. (charlottenc.gov)
• City of Charlotte — Aviation solicitations (CLT Airport). The city lists Aviation as an “additional solicitations” category, and aviation opportunities are posted on the city’s aviation solicitations page, with submissions handled through an e-bidding portal referenced in each posting. (charlottenc.gov)
• City of Charlotte — Housing rehab bid requests. The Housing department runs rehabilitation-related bid requests through its own process and posts current bid requests. Even if you’re a welder, this can matter if you do rails/guards/metal safety work tied to rehab. (charlottenc.gov)
• Mecklenburg County — MECKProcure (via County Procurement). The County Procurement Division points vendors to MECKProcure to monitor opportunities, bid, and manage profiles. County work can include facilities, parks, and operational sites. (fin.mecknc.gov)
• State of North Carolina — NC eProcurement / eVP. The City of Charlotte’s contracting FAQ explicitly points vendors to the state’s system for current contracting information, and NC eProcurement provides the public view and vendor registration through eVP. (charlottenc.gov)

Practical workflow: set up accounts where needed, pick commodity codes that actually match welding/fabrication/repair, and turn on notifications where the portal offers them. NC eVP, for example, is set up to support vendor registration and notifications. (eprocurement.nc.gov)

Registration and paperwork realities (what will slow you down)

Most welding shops don’t lose because they can’t weld. They lose because their admin side isn’t ready on bid day.

Vendor registration is not optional

For the City of Charlotte, supplier registration is required to be notified about opportunities and to receive purchase orders or payment. (charlottenc.gov) That’s not fluff—if you’re not in the system correctly, you can win and still get stuck at onboarding while your schedule and cash flow take the hit.

Mecklenburg County similarly pushes vendors to register in its portal (MECKProcure) to monitor and bid. (fin.mecknc.gov)

Commodity codes matter more than people think

Charlotte references using commodity codes (NIGP) as part of vendor profiles. (charlottenc.gov) If you pick lazy or generic codes, you may never get notified when a welding-adjacent opportunity is released.

Take an hour and select codes that match how agencies describe what you do: welding repair, metal fabrication, guardrails, gates, structural steel repair (if applicable), maintenance services, etc. Then sanity-check your choices against actual past solicitations so you’re matching their language, not yours.

Expect to provide the usual “prove you exist” documents

Common requirements across public buyers include a W-9, insurance certificates (COI), sometimes ACH/payment setup, and signed acknowledgments. Mecklenburg County notes vendors can submit responses without completed W-9/ACH/IAT forms, but an award can’t be made until the information is received. (fin.mecknc.gov)

Portals aren’t hard, but they are unforgiving

If the portal says “upload as PDF under 25MB,” do exactly that. If the solicitation says “submit through the portal only,” don’t email it. The City of Charlotte notes formal sealed bids/proposals are not accepted via email or fax (informal quotes are different). (charlottenc.gov)

Small business certifications / set-asides (when it’s worth it)

Certifications don’t magically win you work, but they can get you into smaller bid pools, help primes meet participation goals, and make you easier to justify internally.

NC HUB (SWUC) certification

North Carolina’s HUB program uses the Statewide Uniform Certification (SWUC). Eligibility is ownership/control based (51% owned and controlled by qualifying groups). (doa.nc.gov) The SWUC page notes you generally start by registering in the state’s electronic Vendor Portal (eVP) and then applying/uploading documents. It also notes certification review can take up to 90 days once all documents are uploaded. (doa.nc.gov)

That 90-day review window matters: if you want the certification to help this year, don’t wait until you “need it for a bid next week.”

NC Small Business Enterprise (NCSBE) certification

NCSBE is separate from HUB and is focused on small businesses headquartered in NC with eligibility requirements including 100 or fewer employees and an annual net income cap (as defined by the program). (doa.nc.gov) Like HUB, NCSBE is initiated through eVP, and the page notes reviews can take up to 90 days from a fully completed packet. (doa.nc.gov)

City of Charlotte inclusion programs

Charlotte has its own supplier diversity ecosystem (Charlotte Business INClusion / CBI) and uses a supplier diversity management system for certified vendors and bid access. (charlottenc.gov) Even if you don’t qualify for state HUB/NCSBE, it’s worth understanding how the city tracks participation and what primes are being asked to report.

How agencies evaluate bids (high level, but how it hits welding work)

There are usually two lanes: ITB (Invitation to Bid) and RFP (Request for Proposals).

With an ITB, price is often a dominant factor, but “responsive and responsible” is the gate. Responsive means you followed the instructions and submitted every required thing. Responsible means you’re capable, insured, and not a risk. If you miss a required form, you can be disqualified even if you’re the best price.

With an RFP, the City of Charlotte notes that RFPs don’t result in bid tabulations the same way ITBs do, and evaluation is generally longer and not based on price alone. (charlottenc.gov) For a welding shop, RFPs show up more when the agency is buying an ongoing service (maintenance, on-call repairs, multi-year service contracts) or something with staffing plans and response times.

Either way, the evaluation process rewards vendors who write clearly, attach exactly what’s requested, and don’t create exceptions that force the agency to argue with its own template contract.

Common public-sector gotchas (the stuff that burns good tradespeople)

Mandatory site visits and sign-in sheets

If the bid has a mandatory site visit (or a “pre-bid”), and you miss it or don’t sign in correctly, you’re usually done. No appeals, no “but I was there.”

Addenda are part of the contract

Addenda can change scope, dates, or requirements. You’re expected to acknowledge them. If you price off the original and miss an addendum, you can end up underbidding the real scope—or get ruled non-responsive.

Insurance wording and limits can be non-negotiable

Public agencies often have standard insurance requirements and endorsement language. If your broker can’t turn changes quickly, your bid can die in the last 48 hours. Get your agent ready before you start chasing deadlines.

“Or equal” doesn’t mean “kind of similar”

When specs call out materials, standards, or product requirements, “equal” usually means documented equivalency. If you’re proposing alternates, be prepared to provide cut sheets, certifications, and a clear crosswalk to the spec.

Airport work adds credentialing friction

If you go after Aviation/CLT scopes, assume badging/credentialing can affect schedule and staffing. The airport’s credentialing process is appointment-based and operationally strict. (cltairport.com) Don’t bid airport work like it’s a normal city yard—build time into your plan.

Informal vs formal thresholds change how much pain you’ll feel

The City of Charlotte draws a line where “formal” contracts (over $100,000) require council/commissioner approval to be officially awarded, which slows everything down. (charlottenc.gov) If you’re new, chasing sub-$100k scopes can be a smarter way to get past the learning curve and start stacking past performance.

Realistic entry points for first-time bidders (how to get your first win without wasting months)

Start where the system is simplest and where your value shows up fast.

One good entry point is getting onto vendor lists and being visible for smaller quote requests. City supplier registration is the baseline for that. (charlottenc.gov) From there, look for maintenance-driven scopes where response time and clean documentation matter as much as shop capability.

Another strong move is to subcontract under primes who already win city/county work. A lot of public projects still need welding/fab, but procurement doesn’t want to manage ten micro-contracts when a prime GC can hold the bag. If you can become the “go-to welder who always turns in certified payroll when required, meets site rules, and invoices correctly,” you’ll get repeat calls.

Finally, treat your first several bids like building a repeatable process. Save your standard docs (W-9, COI templates, safety plan basics, capability statement), keep a checklist for portal submissions, and track each loss with one question: did you lose on price, scope fit, or paperwork? The fastest path to a first award is eliminating paperwork losses entirely.