Metal building, residential and roofing contractors, architects, engineers, developers, facility managers, fabricators and building owners from the US and abroad. Attend because it’s the only show of its kind in the world!

Metal building, residential and roofing contractors, architects, engineers, developers, facility managers, fabricators and building owners from the US and abroad. Attend because it’s the only show of its kind in the world!
By: John Ryan, Metal Construction Association
The cost of replacing a roof can be one of the most significant maintenance expenses in the life of a building. USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design building rating program (version 4) assumes a building service life of 60 years. With most types of roofing, building owners can expect to replace the roof once or twice in that amount of time, incurring significant expense to do so.
Many buildings are The Metal Construction Association (MCA) is proud to announce a new study that verifies that coated steel roofs can last as long as the buildings they cover. The research study concluded that the expected service life of an unpainted 55% Al-Zn coated steel standing seam roof constructed today in a wide range of environments using best practices can be expected to be in excess of 60 years.
Learn more about the study here, and access the full study and executive report in MCA’s Technical Resources library.
By Jane Martinsons, Metal Construction Association
Let’s assume that collaboration among trade associations whose members work with metal building materials, including wall and roof panels, will help them thrive in a construction industry marked by consolidation. The question is, where should collaborative efforts start?
The answer appears to be education, according to a panel discussion held at the MCA Summer Meeting on June 23–25, 2014, in Rosemont, IL.
Leaders from six trade associations met with MCA members and guests to discuss where best to pool their resources to help grow the metal construction market, and possibly their own memberships. Time and again, the discussion turned to education.
Panelists included leaders from the Door and Access Systems Manufacturers Association (DASMA), the Metal Building Contractors & Erectors Association (MBCEA), the Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA), the National Coil Coating Association (NCCA), the National Frame Building Association (NFBA), and the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA).
MCA Board Member Roger Sieja, director of market development for Wismarq Corporation, moderated the discussion.
During the discussion, several panelists and attendees pointed to the need to educate the building community—particularly architects, specifiers, engineers, and board members of local municipal commissions—on current codes, regulations, and design trends.
Some panelists pointed out that, currently, education is done on a project-by-project basis, so having readily available, widely accepted educational tools on these issues would be useful to their own association members and the entire industry.
“Once [city commissioners]learn what they can actual do [with metal], they are more agreeable and realize that they have been too strict” in limiting the use of metal in building exteriors in their areas, said Lee Shoemaker, director, research and engineering, MBMA. “If [the issue] came up more often, we would probably come up with a program to address it more directly, but it happens only occasionally. We give members tools to help address it locally, but it is hard to do from a national trade association vantage point.”
MBMA promotes the design and construction of metal building systems in the low-rise, non-residential building marketplace. According to Shoemaker, MBMA devotes half of its budget to addressing technical issues of building systems.
Ken Gieseke, chair-elect of NFBA, agreed that broader education on the local level is needed. “We’ve done one-on-one education with [our own city commission], taking pictures of jobs that show that metal is attractive and pointing out [limits to] their codes,” he said. “Getting tools to help us as an industry would be huge.”
NFBA has more than 700 members, including contractors, suppliers, and design professionals. The association seeks to expand the use of post-frame construction, educate builders and decision makers on post-frame construction, provide technical research, and market the benefits of post-frame construction.
The panelists also stressed the need to promote the benefits of using metal on building exteriors to the entire industry, including consumers.
Tom Wadsworth of DASMA said that, “thanks to coil coaters,” highly durable steel and aluminum garage doors now resemble wood ones, but are less expensive and easier to maintain on the part of consumers. DASMA works to create a unified force among its memberships of manufacturers of door and access systems, develop standards, influence building codes, expand its market, and educate the door systems industry.
Likewise, MBMA’s Shoemaker noted that metal buildings with wide clear spans offer superior durability to other construction types, particularly in adverse weather conditions. Getting out messages like this to influencers of construction and consumers is key to growing the industry, he said.
The groups represented at the meeting vary greatly in size and educational offerings, with the 128-year-old NRCA being by far the largest with 3,500 members in the U.S. and abroad and a $12 million annual budget, a vast array of training and educational programs, and its own Political Action Committee. NRCA helps its members contend with government regulations and is active in the codes arena.
However, all the groups represented on the panel promote professionalism and provide education and training to their members, and some provide accreditation.
The 52-year-old NCCA, which has about 100 members, promotes the growth of pre-painted metal. It serves as the voice of the coil coating industry for technical, promotional, education, and regulatory matters.
The 46-year-old MBCEA provides, among other things, national standardized testing and apprenticeship and accreditation programs. It has seen a 30% jump in its membership of metal building contractors and erectors over the past year, according to MBCEA President Gary Smith.
As the panel concluded, it was clear that this discussion was, itself, only a start. Sieja said that MCA would welcome an opportunity to discuss collaboration further at meetings sponsored by these groups.
By: Jane Martinsons, Metal Construction Association
Kermit Baker, chief economist for the American Institute of Architects in Washington, DC, told attendees at the recent MCA Annual Meeting in Clearwater Beach, FL, that although nonresidential construction has been slow to recover from a steep downturn in 2013, several emerging signs point to increased activity throughout 2014.
As a guest speaker at the January meeting, Baker noted several leading economic indicators that point to an improving economy, including that housing starts have accelerated in recent months and that house prices, which continue to recover, have gained back more than 40% of their losses. He also said that net household growth has been dominated by renters in recent years, pushing down the rate of ownership.
“The housing recovery is well underway, but production levels are still below long-term potential,” Baker said, adding that a rate of 1.6–1.8 million housing starts per year is still years away.
Despite the positive market fundamentals, there have been modest gains in spending on nonresidential buildings, Baker said. He noted that the nonresidential construction sector faces several challenges and opportunities, including that recovery to date remains modest, with little improvement over past year; commercial property values are recovering “nicely”; and real estate market fundamentals, such as vacancies and rents, remain positive for most commercial market segments.
Meanwhile, architecture billings point to emerging upturn in nonresidential building activity. “Even with slowdown toward the end of last year architecture billings are in the midst of an upturn, with the strongest growth since the recession began,” Baker said.
Baker added that construction spending should see solid single-digit growth in 2014, with recovery continuing into 2015.
Plans for the MCA Summer Meeting, set for June 23–25 at the Westin O’Hare in Rosemont, IL, are underway. Online hotel reservations and a preliminary program schedule are now available. For more information, visit the Events page on the MCA website.
We’re excited to be heading to Las Vegas next week for the International Roofing Expo (IRE). If you’re at the show, we hope you’ll stop by and visit us in booth #2341. We’ll be at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas from Wednesday, February 26 through Friday, February 28. We’d enjoy meeting you, and look forward to answering any questions you might have about metal roofing.
Many MCA members will also be exhibiting at IRE next week, as well. Stop by their booths to see the exciting products and services that they offer.
Exhibitor Name Member Category Booth Number
ABC Supply Co., Inc. Distributor 1423
Arkema, Inc. Manufacturer 562
ATAS International, Inc. Manufacturer 2242
BASF Corporation Insulation Mfr 925
Drexel Metals Distributor 2437
Englert, Inc. Manufacturer 1037
Fabral Manufacturer 2135
Firestone Building Products Manufacturer 1813
GSSI Sealants, Inc. Accessories 2154
MBCI Manufacturer 2121
McElroy Metal Manufacturer 2349
Metal Construction News Publication 2336
Metal Roofing Magazine Publication 2141
Metal Sales Manufacturing Manufacturer 2127
Metalforming, Inc. Equipment Mfr 1436
Petersen Aluminum Corp. Manufacturer 842
RHEINZINK America, Inc. Distributor 1722
Roof Hugger Accessories 742
SFS intec, Inc. Accessories 1727
Sheffield Metals International Distributor 2259
TAMKO Building Products, Inc. Manufacturer 525
Triangle Fastener Corporation Accessories 2131
We hope to see you in Las Vegas!
By: Jane Martinsons, Metal Construction Association
Although the credit of Georgia Tech’s 63-21 win over Western Carolina last weekend belongs to the team and coaches of the Atlanta-based institute, maybe, just maybe, metal roofing played a role in the win? Okay it’s a stretch, but consider this: Georgia Tech players began practicing in the school’s new indoor practice facility in August, and that facility has a metal roof that is designed to arc like a perfectly thrown pass and provide maximum space inside. If the roof “played a role in a winning football formula,” says Bill Croucher, director of engineering at Lancaster-PA-based Fabral, then “Fabral is happy to be part of it.”
It sounds like a win-win to us.
Croucher says that metal is a top choice for curved roofs on stadiums and practice facilities because it provides a choice of color, profiles, and paint and substrates; has a high-recycled content; and is 100% recyclable when the useful life of the roof is over. Moreover, Fabral’s structural standing-seam metal roof offers superior wind-uplift resistance and is Class A fire rated.
Joseph A. Knight, AIA, Knight Architects, Inc., Atlanta, points out that the metal roof panels stretch the full width of the 80,000-square-foot building, without any end-seams. The 24-gauge Galvalume panels are 245-feet long and 16-inches wide. “The metal shines and contrasts nicely with the adjacent brick buildings, as well as the brick at the base of the practice facility itself,” Knight says. “There is really no other material we could have used that would have presented such an aesthetically and economically strong solution.”
By: Jane Martinsons, Metal Construction Association
There are three very good reasons why nearly a quarter of the 65,000 square feet of metal wall panels on Facebook’s new data center in Prineville, OR, are perforated panels. Foremost, the screen metal walls secure the center’s sizable generator yard and help ventilate its diesel-fueled backup generators.
The metal panels, including the perforated metal panels, also are customized by Metal Sales Manufacturing Corporation to allow the entire structure to meet strict LEED® Gold certification standards. More than half of each perforated panel—52.94%, to be exact—is open area for ventilation.
Last is aesthetics. The metal panels perfectly complement the simple and minimalist design of the neutral-colored center. But don’t let the Facebook data center’s understated façade fool you; inside the center is a powerhouse. The energy-efficient structure houses tens of thousands of Facebook’s servers containing information for its 800 million users. The only hint that the building serves one of the busiest websites in the world is the blue flag with the iconic ‘Facebook’ logo.
To recap, those three reasons are –
1. Superior ventilation
2. LEED® Standards
3. Aesthetics
Want to learn more about the role metal has played in Facebook’s new data center? Metal Sales has the full story.
By: John Ryan, Metal Construction Association
If you’re in Denver this week to attend the 2013 AIA National Convention, be sure to stop by MCA’s booth (#1303) in the Metal Pavilion. Many of MCA’s member companies will also be exhibiting at the show, and will be displaying the many innovative metal roof and wall products and services that they have to offer. Here is a list of MCA member companies that will be at the convention in Denver this week:
Exhibitor Name | Booth Number |
3A Composites USA, Inc. | 1733 |
Akzo Nobel Coatings, Inc | 1330 |
Alcoa Architectural Products | 1523 |
Alpolic-Mitsubishi Plastics Composites America | 3354 |
Alucoil North America | 519 |
ATAS International, Inc | 1306 |
BASF | 338 |
Bayer Material Science | 3946 |
CENTRIA | 3303 |
Copper Development Association | 3930 |
Englert | 3647 |
Firestone Building Products | 3966 |
ITW Buildex | 3958 |
Kingspan Insulated Panels | 610 |
MBCI | 716 |
Metal Construction Association | 1303 |
Metanna | 1403 |
Metl-Span | 3038 |
Metal Sales Manufacturing | 323 |
Petersen Aluminum Corp | 803 |
PPG Industries Inc. | 1736 |
RHEINZINK America Inc. | 2730 |
Sheffield Metals | 706 |
Solvay Specialty Polymers | 4042 |
Steelscape | 419 |
Umicore Building Products | 2509 |
Valspar | 3333 |
By: John Ryan, Metal Construction Association
We’re heading to Denver tomorrow for the 2013 AIA National Convention, and we are excited to see all of the beautiful architecture that Denver has to offer, metal or otherwise. We’re sure we’ll be spending a lot of time the Denver International Airport and the recently expanded Colorado Convention Center, and we’ll be walking the city to take in sites like Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium and the Denver Art Museum.
One place we also want to see–though we hope that it is on our own timeframe and not for an extended visit–is the Denver Police Crime Lab. This 60,000 sq. ft. facility opened in 2012, and houses nine crime forensic units. While we are fans of the numerous iterations of the CSI: Crime Scene Investigators TV series, we’ll be checking it out to admire the 30,000 sq. feet of Reynobond® aluminum composite panels in six different colors.
We hope you’ll stop by to visit us at the 2013 AIA National Convention; MCA will be in booth 1303. If you aren’t able to participate in Scott Kriner’s seminar this week: “Metal Roofing: The Perfect Platform for Solar Technologies,” Scott and MCA staff will be in the booth over the course of the show and will be happy to answer any metal construction questions. And of course you can take the course (and others) via MCA’s monthly webinar series.
By: John Ryan, Metal Construction Association
As we ramp up for the AIA National Convention in Denver next week, any discussion of Denver architecture would be remiss to not include the striking Frederic C. Hamilton Building at the Denver Art Museum. Designed by Daniel Libeskind, the metal building addition opened in 2006 and has been a lightning rod for both praise and criticism.
Clad in titanium panels, the Frederic C. Hamilton Building reflects not just the Colorado sun, but also the shapes and angles found in the most prominent part of the Denver landscape–the Rocky Mountains. The metal building is sure to evoke strong feelings from even the most casual critic, but we simply appreciate the use of metal construction in new and engaging ways.
We’re excited to be in Denver next week, and will be sure to take in many of the many beautiful and varied examples of architecture. Stop by booth 1303 at the AIA National Convention in the Colorado Convention Center to say hello, and learn more about the beauty of metal walls and roofs.