The Moving Forward Act’s Proposed $1.5 Trillion in New Investments Will Improve Range of Public Infrastructure, Creating Needed Demand for Construction While Making the Economy More Efficient (AGC)
With the current surface transportation authorization’s expiration date of September 30 drawing closer, lawmakers are turning their attention to passing a new infrastructure bill. As reported by Construction Dive, “Last week, House Democrats unveiled a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill that includes almost $500 billion of green measures proposed as part of the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America (INVEST in America) Act earlier this month.”
If you haven’t heard yet, METALCON 2020 is full steam ahead for October 21 – 23 in Las Vegas! METALCONLive! switched gears this week to bring you a LIVE update from the team whose number one priority is to provide the safest and healthiest environment possible for the event.
“Buy America” – Cost of Capital Is at Its Lowest in Decades
Steel Dynamics Inc., Hopes to Make U.S. More “Steel Sufficient” with Construction of its New Steel Mill
Continued Focus on Training and Education Will Be Key for Greater Usage of Metal
METALCON Co-Founder and CEO, Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA, in partnership with the Metal Construction Association and Rob Haddock, CEO and Founder of S-5! Metal Roof Innovations, continued to highlight “Build Back Better” with a special focus on steel with guests Brian Smallwood, Market Manager-Construction for Steel Dynamics, Inc., and Marines Hagemann, Director of Client Experience for Allied Steel Buildings.
METALCON Co-Founder and CEO, Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA, in partnership with the Metal Construction Association and Rob Haddock, CEO and Founder of S-5! Metal Roof Innovations, continued the focus on “Build Back Better” with special guest Mark Kalin (FAIA, FCSI, LEED), President of Kalin Associates Specifications and highly experienced specification writer, author, speaker and registered architect. See below for Mark’s valuable insight of the specifications industry and strategies to leverage more metal sales with architects.
REGISTER for today’s LIVE event hosted by METALCON Co-Founder CEO Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA in partnership with the Metal Construction Association, and Rob Haddock, CEO and Founder of S-5! Metal Roof Innovations as they draw upon their combined years of industry experience in the A/E/C and metal construction industries. Today’s discussion will explore the architect’s role in the metal design process and how will the glut of steel in the market affect the metal construction industry?
TODAY’S SPECIAL GUEST:Mark Kalin,President at Kalin Associates Specifications
Mark Kalin (FAIA, FCSI, LEED) is a highly experienced specification writer, author, speaker, and registered architect. Mark is a CSI certified construction specifier, USGBC LEED accredited professional, and one of only 27 individuals advanced to fellowship in both the American Institute of Architects and the Construction Specifications Institute. Mark has been involved in over 4,000 specification projects since 1984, including 250 LEED projects. He has taught Architectural Specifications at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.
Metal is Changing Perception in Residential & Commercial Design & Usage
METALCON Co-Founder and CEO, Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA, in partnership with the Metal Construction Association and Rob Haddock, CEO and Founder of S-5! Metal Roof Innovations, continued the focus of “Build Back Better” with special guests Ken Gieske of McElroy Metals and Ray Smith of Australia-based AppliCad Software. Read on for important take-aways from last week’s discussion and REGISTER today for this week’s METALCONLive! as we welcome expert specification writer and architect, Mark Kalin of Kalin Associates Specifications.
Tune in to today’s LIVE event hosted by METALCON Co-Founder CEO Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA in partnership with the Metal Construction Association, and Rob Haddock, CEO and Founder of S-5! Metal Roof Innovations as they draw upon their combined years of industry experience in the A/E/C and metal construction industries along with the expertise of their special guests.
TODAY’S SPECIAL GUESTS:
Ken Gieseke, VP Marketing, McElroy Metal: As a metal construction component manufacturer, Ken brings his unique insight from multiple angles — the frame builder community as well as his experience as a manufacturer with multiple markets, channels, and geographic locations. He will explain what McElroy is doing to be proactive, change, adapt and position their company to come out ahead.
Ray Smith, Founder and CEO of AppliCad Software: Our first METALCONLive! guest from overseas (Australia) will help bring a global perspective to this week’s discussion. Hear how his country has responded to the health crises and what we can learn from them. What will they be doing differently post-pandemic than they did before the crises?
METALCONLive! is your online weekly business boosting broadcast that connects you with other metal construction company owners, contractors, fabricators, suppliers and experts for the strategies that enable us all to BUILD BACK BETTER.
With the COVID-19 crisis, the metal construction industry faces a new challenge every week, so METALCONLive! is here to help with the latest data and news, exclusive interviews with key players, eye-opening forecasts, creative solutions to sales, marketing, staffing, logistics, safety, and other concerns. All FREE, all LIVE and ONLINE, all focused on helping your business THRIVE in the next normal.
METALCON Co-Founder and CEO, Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA, in partnership with the Metal Construction Association and Rob Haddock, CEO and Founder of S-5! Metal Roof Innovations, have begun shifting the focus away from crisis-mode to how the industry can “build back better.” Special guests Paul Lechiara, owner of East Coast Metal Roofing, and Bobby Darnell, principal of Construction Market Consultants, Inc., joined the discussion to offer their sales and marketing strategies implemented during the lockdown, which have proven to be successful.
With an immense amount of news streaming into your inbox, here’s a “round-up” of industry stories that caught our eye over this past week. Another source is METALCON’s weekly METALCONLive! Next week, Frank and Rob will continue with the theme “Build Back Better” as they are joined by special guests Ken Gieske from McElroy Metals and Ray Smith from AppliCad Software who will touch on sales strategies for the exterior building segment (REGISTER below).
Updated “Coronavirus News” compiled by Metal Construction News including announcements of virtual conferences by MBCEA, IIBEC, FGIA, and ASHRAE; AIA’s new resource for safer re-occupancy of buildings and NRCA’s rescheduling of National Roofing Week.
“What have we learned, how do we improve and how do we build back better?” – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
Tune in to today’s LIVE event hosted by seasoned experts, METALCON Co-Founder CEO Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA in partnership with the Metal Construction Association, and Rob Haddock, CEO and Founder of S-5! Metal Roof Innovations as they draw upon their combined years of industry experience in the A/E/C and metal construction industries.
TODAY’S SPECIAL GUESTS: Paul Lechiara, owner of East Coast Metal Roofing, and Bobby Darnell, Principal of Construction Market Consultants, Inc. They will highlight successful sales and marketing strategies implemented during the lockdown. Find out TODAY during METALCONLive!
METALCON Co-Founder and CEO, Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA, in partnership with the Metal Construction Association and Rob Haddock, CEO and Founder of S-5! Metal Roof Innovations, led last week’s robust discussion addressing current challenges and workarounds to the current coronavirus crisis. Their special guests included Danny Kerr, managing partner of Breakthrough Academy and Adam Mazella, executive vice president of Sheffield Metals.
METALCONLive! continues today at 1:00 PM EST. Available for FREE to our friends (and yours) in the metal construction industry. REGISTER NOW.
Join METALCON Co-Founder and CEO, Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA, in partnership with the Metal Construction Association and Rob Haddock, CEO and Founder of S-5! Metal Roof Innovations. This week Frank and Rob welcome special guests, Danny Kerr, Managing Partner, Breakthrough Academy and Adam Mazella, Executive Vice President of Sheffield Metals.
Recaps of previous weeks can be found by clicking on these links: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4.
It’s hard to believe it’s been a month since METALCONLive! first launched. We can’t thank you enough for your support and participation. METALCON Co-Founder and CEO, Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA, in partnership with the Metal Construction Association and Rob Haddock, CEO and Founder of S-5! Metal Roof Innovations, led last week’s robust discussion addressing current challenges and workarounds to the current coronavirus crisis. Joining them for this lively discussion were special guests Heidi J. Ellsworth, partner with RoofersCoffeeShop® and owner of HJE Consulting and Scott Hutchings, sales director of U.S. Construction with SFS.
METALCONLive! continues today at 1:00 PM EST. Available for FREE to our friends (and yours) in the metal construction industry. REGISTER NOW.
Join METALCON Co-Founder and CEO, Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA, in partnership with the Metal Construction Association and Rob Haddock, CEO and Founder of S-5! Metal Roof Innovations along with their special guests, Heidi J. Ellsworth, partner with RoofersCoffeeShop®and owner of HJE Consulting, and Scott Hutchings, Sales Director, US Construction with SFS, a worldwide leading supplier of mechanical fastening systems and precision components.
This marks the fourth week of METALCONLive! Recaps of previous weeks can be found by clicking on these links: Week 1, Week 2 & Week 3.
Metal Contractors and Manufacturers ARE Still at Work
Take Care of your People
For the third week in a row, METALCON Co-Founder and CEO, Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA, in partnership with the Metal Construction Association and Rob Haddock, CEO and Founder of S-5! Metal Roof Innovations, welcomed everyone last Wednesday, 4/15, to our FREE weekly “no-BS discussion” of challenges and workarounds happening in real time. Rob and Frank were joined by special guests Tony Buoquot, general manager of MBMA and Miguel Pena, sales, marketing and operations at GSSI Sealants, also a Metal Construction Association Board Member.
Discover the science of wind uplift and how it is changing. Understand how the changes are impacting codes and roof material choices. Learn about testing and specification techniques for metal roof options and accessories to improve wind uplift resistance, providing a safer building at a lower cost. This course will also address wind uplift in severe weather conditions and how to increase wind uplift resistance to protect both the buildings and its inhabitants. You’ll see examples of hurricane-stricken areas and what builders are doing to minimize damage. Finally, you’ll learn about the associated changes in code. Register Now.
WHEN: THURSDAY, APRIL 22 AT 1:00 PM EST (jueves, el 23 de abril 2020 1.00 p.m. EST)
WHAT: Las Mejores Practicas para Instalar Paneles Solares sobre Techos Metálicos
Descripción del Curso: Con la alta demanda de energías renovables en estos tiempos, propietarios de edificios y residencias, comienzan a utilizar la energía solar como un generador esencial. Elegir la superficie correcta sobre dónde instalar los paneles solares, es muy importante para el proceso del diseño, el impacto económico inicial y al largo plazo. Este curso es acerca de los beneficios de instalar paneles solares sobre techos metálicos, los distintos tipos de sistemas de montajes, la distribución de los paneles, pruebas de rendimiento para fijaciones y sus comparaciones en costos. Register Now.
Previous S-5! webinars can be found on their website and can still be viewed. We hope you will take advantage of these great educational opportunities. If you have any questions for the folks at S-5!, please contact them at support@s-5.com.
Frank Stasiowski with METALCON during METALCONLive! Event
Key Take-Aways: Continued Optimism, Scenario Planning, and Focus on Training and Safety in the Workplace
Picking right up from last week’s event, METALCON Co-Founder and CEO, Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA, in partnership with the Metal Construction Association and Rob Haddock, CEO and Founder of S-5! Metal Roof Innovations, welcomed everyone to this week’s FREE online “no-BS discussion” of challenges and workarounds happening in real time. Rob and Frank were joined by special guests Art Hance, president of the MBCEA and owner/president of Hance Construction, Inc. and Heidi J. Ellsworth, partner with RoofersCoffeeShop® and owner of HJE Consulting.
FREE Flexible Metal Nose Bridge for Making Face Masks
Isaiah Industries, a METALCON exhibitor, has gone viral with their offering of FREE flexible metal nose bridges for making face masks. At no charge, they will send you rust-free flexible metal strips that can be sewn into most hand-made mask designs. The strips range in width from 0.25 – 0.40” and are 3” wide. *Note For Volume Orders: To speed things up, they may ask you about providing the metal in coil form which you can then cut into 3” lengths using common household scissors. To order, click HERE.
Essential Construction Tracker Tool
Architect Magazine has made a Coronavirus Construction Limits: State-by-State Tracker available on their website that they are updating regularly. The dashboard tracks how states with a stay-at-home mandate classify Construction and Building Material Suppliers. Given how much the restrictions vary, check out this important tool to see how your state is being impacted.
METALCON honors the magnificent women in our industry as this week marks Women in Construction Week (WIC) 2020! The focus is to highlight women as a viable component of the construction industry. WIC Week also provides an occasion for NAWIC’s thousands of members across the country to raise awareness of the opportunities available for women in the construction industry and to emphasize the growing role of women in the industry. It is also a time for local chapters to give back to their communities.
The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) was founded in 1953 as Women in Construction of Fort Worth, Texas. Seeing that women represented only a fraction of the construction industry workforce, 16 women founded NAWIC to create a support network for others like themselves. Women in Construction of Fort Worth was so successful that it gained its national charter in 1955 and became the National Association of Women in Construction. Today, NAWIC provides its members with opportunities for professional development, education, networking, leadership training, public service and more.
NAWIC Chapters nationwide are hosting special activities all week. Check out the calendar of events on NAWIC’s Facebook page.
Architect Renzo Piano’s orb-shaped, glass-domed theater building, which with a transformed May Co. building will form the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
“And the Oscar goes to” … if you tuned into last night’s award’s ceremony, you may have seen Tom Hanks giving a preview of the $388-million dollar Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, scheduled to open in December 2020. Designed by Pritzker-Prize winning architect Renzo Piano with Renzo Piano Building Workshop and Gensler, the new museum will be situated on the famed “Miracle Mile,” and will preserve and breathe new life into the former 1939 May Company department store, now re-named the Saban Building.
According to Construction Dive, “Aluminum components are being 3D printed with the resulting v-shaped nodes and connected squares of curtain wall forming a dramatic slope from the fourth to 40th floors. Aside from the impressive aesthetic, this method of production can also more easily accommodate last-minute changes.”
The article goes on to explain, “Structural engineer Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA) started out planning to use a reinforced concrete core for the building, said firm CEO Ron Klemencic, and about halfway into the project, it was clear that the tower would be too expensive and was going to take too long to build, making it economically unfeasible for the building’s owner, developer Wright Runstad & Co.” So after tabling the project for over a year, they needed an idea that would “jumpstart the project without busting the budget.”
Next-generation innovations were the focus this past weekend at the CES (Consumer Electronic Show) in Las Vegas. CES is the world’s gathering place for those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. The show has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for 50 years. So with innovation and technology in mind, METALCON’s MMM focuses on drones in construction and how far they’ve come over the past several years. Construction Dive recently took a deeper look into the subject in their new series, “Tech 101.”
In a recent article, Construction Dive offers five predictions on how construction will evolve in this New Year. Here are the top trends to expect in 2020 in the nation’s second-largest industry:
Scrutiny into structural processes will aim to make catastrophes more impossible.
Modular will see more momentum in the market.
Diversity and equity come to the forefront through contract mandates.
Automation will deliver efficiencies on jobsites without stealing jobs.
Top contractors will continue to reconsider megaprojects with inherently high-risk contracts.
Current status of new $1.9B Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas; Photo Credit: Construction Dive
We highlight Vegas again in this week’s Magnificent Metal Monday (MMM). While Musk’s underground tram (METALCON Blog Issue Nov 18) may not be finished in time for METALCON 2020, the new $1.9B Allegiant stadium will be! Construction Dive takes an inside look into the status of the project, on track to be completed by summer 2020.
Virtual reality allows real-time comparison of 3D models to physical spaces; Photo credit: Autodesk.
Unlock the key to the future of construction projects by understanding the latest in Construction Technology (CONTECH). METALCON 2019 will feature a brand new CONTECH innovative and interactive hub on the show floor, showcasing some of the hottest products from a variety of different technology companies. According to an article posted by Autodesk, here are the five major construction technology trends to watch in 2019:
The Construction Industry Safety (CISI) group, comprised of more than 70 national and global construction firms, and the Incident and Injury Free CEO (IIF) Forum have joined forces with a single aim: to inspire everyone in the industry to be leaders in safety. The Construction Industry Safety Initiative (CISI) includes twelve major contractors who come together every other year for a two-day meeting to discuss only one thing – SAFETY. CISI holds a Safety Summit that includes over 30 major contractors in the United States. The CEO Forum is led by a group of senior construction industry leaders who are committed to sharing Incident and Injury-Free™(IIF™) safety best practices. They have met bi-annually since 2009 with the objective to both sustain and recreate their present IIF™ journeys while at the same time creating the possibility of an industry-wide safety transformation.
A spiral staircase cuts through the “collaboration core.” Photo credit: Curbed Atlanta
The world’s tallest spiral staircase opened last month in Atlanta, Georgia! No April Fool’s Day joke here – it’s true! World-renowned and late Atlanta-based architect John Portman Jr. scores again for his ingenuity with the opening of his Coda Building located in Midtown Atlanta near the Georgia Tech University’s campus. This is the first of three new John Portman and Associates-designed office towers set to open. Although he didn’t get to see it finished before he passed away last year, Portman at least knew that his vision for Coda, a futuristic hub for entrepreneurs at Georgia Tech, his alma mater, would become a reality.
Where’s the crystal ball when you need one? Without crystal balls, tarot cards or other mind-reading methods, we turn to the industry trades to help us “see into the future.”
Safety in the metal building and roofing industry is always of top priority. According to CPWR, Center for Construction Research and Training, “Between 2011 and 2015, the annual number of fall fatalities in construction increased by 36%, exceeding the growth in employment and total fatalities in this industry.” Falls are a common cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries in the construction industry. Continue reading →
What if you could download and print a home in 24 hours at half the cost? ICON, an Austin, Texas based 3-D printer construction startup company is doing just that! Mentioned briefly in our previous blog post, ICON has partnered with New Story and People Helping People of El Salvador, two charitable organizations focused on helping some of the world’s poorest people in replacing the sprawling slums with 3D printed homes. ICON has successfully printed its first home and is poised to built an entire community at $4,000 per home with an estimated 12-24 hours to print each home. Executive Director for People Helping People, Lisselot Tronconis, says, “the appeal of 3D printing isn’t aesthetics, but that it can cut the cost, time and labor required to build homes.” Continue reading →
