Tag Archives: metal industry

Metal Construction Association Unveils Interactive Heritage Site

Education, Metal Construction, metal roofing, News, , , , , , , , , , ,

The Metal Construction Association  (MCA) is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2013, and to celebrate its rich history MCA has launched a new Heritage section on its website.

Since 1983, MCA has been privileged to represent the metal construction industry, and to help expand the amount of metal used in building envelopes. The association has guided its efforts with three distinct purposes:

• Universally promoting metal’s identity
• Unifying our industry
• And educating about metal’s benefits in construction.

The Heritage section is a media-rich, interactive timeline that features significant milestones from MCA’s history. Take a look at the site, enjoy a trip down memory lane, and learn more about the value that MCA has brought to the metal construction industry.

The Metal Initiative–MCA’s market development initiative launched in 2005–is proud to play a key role in strengthening MCA’s mission: To expand the use of metal in construction through marketing, technology and education.

MCA is excited and looking forward to the next 30 years!

Billings for Design Projects Rise

Design, metal roofing, New Construction, News, , , , , ,

Improvements to the metal construction industry2013 is looking promising for architects. A recent Wall Street Journal article, Demand for Architects Builds Momentum, reports that billings of design projects at architecture firms rose 4 consecutive months after having been depressed for 4 years in a languishing housing and real-estate market. The American Institute for Architects’—Architecture Billings Index—rose to 53.2 in November, up two points from the previous year and the highest reading since November 2007. A reading above 50 indicates that billings are increasing.

According to the article, if the trend continues, architecture firms will need to hire new design teams—welcome news for working architects, whose numbers declined to 153,000 in 2011 from 214,000 in 2007. “Rising billings also are viewed as a gauge of future construction activity because real-estate developers tend to break ground on new projects 9–12 months after they hire design firms,” it reads. And with that, 2013 is looking promising for metal construction as well.

Kingspan’s Role in Energy-Efficiency Program Elevates Entire Metal Construction Industry

Energy Efficient, Environmental Footprint, metal roofing, metal walls, News, Sustainability, , , , , , ,

Paul Bertram Jr., Kingspan Insulated Panels, Inc.

As you may know, Kingspan Insulated Panels is one of five private-sector companies, and the only metal building company, involved in a new federal initiative to improve industrial energy efficiency. The Better Buildings, Better Plants program aims to improve energy intensity (an economic indicator of energy efficiency) by 25% over 10 years.

I believe that Kingspan’s participation in this program elevates the visibility of the entire metal construction industry. It highlights our commitment to energy-efficient building technology that performs on par with or better than traditional envelope systems that serve green building and net-zero energy development. The program will:

  • Provide assistance to plants to help their operations meet prescribed energy-efficiency goals, such as net-zero energy
  • Support plant operations that establish and analyze key energy-use data and metrics used to develop baselines and energy-management plans
  • Recognize the insulated metal panel (IMP) as an accepted energy-conservation solution that provides thermally optimized building envelopes
  • Demonstrate to building owners the potential energy cost savings and return on investment achieved with optimized building envelopes. This marks a path toward net-zero.

It is clear that the federal government is interested in anything that saves energy. We all need to think about energy efficiency—whether through solar reflectance and cool roofing or insulation and air barriers. Our industry is leading the way in addressing national and global energy challenges, as seen by Kingspan’s commitment to finding ways of using our own products to save even more energy in the future.

Paul Bertram Jr., FCSI CDT LEED AP, is director of environment and sustainability at Kingspan Insulated Panels, Inc., based in Deland, FL.