The CISCA Fall Conference will take place at the Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino in Maricopa, Ariz., Sept. 27-30. This conference attracts industry leaders who are influential decision makers in their respective organizations and who come to network and learn about industry news and development, as well as local and regional ceiling contractors, general contractors, architects, and designers.

CISCA has planned a low-key, high-interest event in which companies will be able to showcase their products or services to interested attendees.

The event is loaded with networking events and fun group activities that attendees don’t want to miss. The Product Showcase includes demo sessions for up close interactions with top manufacturers. Bob Treadway is back again to give us his economic outlook and the 2021 CISCA Construction Excellence Awards will be presented.

For more information, visit cisca.org.

The ACI Foundation announces that applications are now being accepted from graduate and undergraduate students for the 2022-2023 academic year. Four new fellowships and two new scholarships have been added, bringing the total of annual awards available up to 32. New awards include:

• Burg-Coleman Iowa State ‘77 ACI Fellowship

• Nicholas F. Maloof, Jr. ACI Georgia Chapter Fellowship

• Robert F. Mast Memorial Fellowship

• S. P. Shah Fellowship

• Master Builders Solutions Concrete Materials Scholarship

• Nick Bada - ACI Ontario Chapter Graduate Scholarship

ACI Foundation fellowships are offered to both undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a concrete-related degree or program at an American or Canadian institution of higher education, or the applicable countries related to the ACI Foundation Middle East & North Africa Fellowship. The Barbara S. and W. Calvin McCall Carolinas Fellowship, the Burg-Coleman Iowa State ‘77 ACI Fellowship, the Darrell F. Elliot Louisiana Fellowship, and the Nick Bada - ACI Ontario Chapter Graduate Scholarship give priority to students from these states/provinces. Students must obtain two endorsements, with one being from an ACI member.

• Fellowships provide the following benefits:

• An educational stipend of (USD) $10,000 or $15,000.

• Airfare, hotel, travel stipend, and registration to attend two ACI Concrete Conventions (travel contingent upon state and country laws).

• Assignment to a mentor.

• An internship, if required; and

• Recognition at ACI Concrete Conventions, in Concrete International, and on ACI Foundation’s website and social media.

The purpose of the ACI Foundation’s student fellowship and scholarship program is to identify, attract, and develop outstanding professionals for future careers in the concrete industry. For the 2021-2022 academic year, the ACI Foundation distributed over $180,000 in tuition assistance to 22 deserving students through the support of ACI, ACI chapters, generous donors, and industry partners. The ACI Foundation believes attracting students to the concrete industry provides both excellent career opportunities for students and helps to secure a bright future for the concrete industry. These fellowships and scholarships showcase the ACI Foundation’s goals of investing in people and the future of the industry.

The deadline for this application period is November 2. Mandatory internships would occur during the summer of 2022 and the full award cycle covers the 2022 fall semester through the 2023 spring semester.

L&W Supply Corporation has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of the stand-alone Eastern U.S. Gypsum Distribution Operations (Eastern Gypsum Operations) from Builders FirstSource Inc.

L&W Supply will acquire all the assets of Eastern Gypsum Operations, assume the real estate leases for those operations and hire substantially all the employees at its locations. The acquired assets will operate as L&W Supply. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021. The sale price of the transaction is not disclosed.

Eastern Gypsum Operations consists of 21 facilities located throughout the northeast and southeast U.S. L&W Supply will be adding 12 new distribution branches and acquire the gypsum operations assets and personnel from an additional nine shared Builders FirstSource locations, which will move to an existing nearby L&W Supply yard. L&W Supply will provide the employees and customers of Eastern Gypsum Operations with a reliable partner in the space that can provide both employment opportunities and high-quality service.

This transaction comes on the heels of four successful acquisitions for L&W Supply over the past year. With the acquisition, L&W Supply will operate 197 locations in 38 states.

“This acquisition creates additional synergies across our value chain and branch operations, and it further reinforces our leadership position in the interior building material distribution market,” said Dan Piché, L&W Supply’s president. “We look forward to welcoming the Eastern Gypsum Operations team into the L&W family and are confident our shared commitment to delivering world-class service will benefit customers and associates alike.”

ROCKWOOL North America has begun commercial production of stone wool insulation products at its newest U.S. manufacturing facility, located in Jefferson County, W. Va. The state-of-the-art factory produces ROCKWOOL’s residential, commercial and industrial stone wool insulation and marks North America’s first post-pandemic increase in stone wool insulation manufacturing capacity.

The 460,000-square-foot facility utilizes industry-leading melting and emissions abatement technologies, including the company’s fuel-flexible melting technology that makes it possible for the factory to start operations using natural gas instead of coal. Using natural gas as the fuel source reduces the facility’s CO2 emissions by approximately 30 percent.

The manufacturer’s Group CEO Jens Birgersson said, “In the United States as in Europe and Asia, there is a growing demand for non-combustible, recyclable stone wool insulation. The West Virginia facility will help meet that demand in North America. We are proud that our products play such an important role in reducing the energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with buildings, and do so in a safe, sustainable manner.”

Rory Moss, president of ROCKWOOL North America, said, “We’re delighted to be up and running in West Virginia and providing the first increase in stone wool insulation production capacity since before the pandemic.

“Our customers are looking to us to satisfy the growing demand for our insulation products, and we will be aggressively ramping up production over the coming months to deliver for them.”

“ROCKWOOL is a valued and respected member of the business community in West Virginia. The company has proven themselves to be a terrific corporate citizen,” said Mitch Carmichael, West Virginia’s Secretary of Economic Development. “We are thrilled to welcome such an innovative company that is committed to supplying the North American market with advanced insulation products manufactured in West Virginia.”

The Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute has launched a new online Job Board to connect applicants seeking employment in the cold-formed steel framing industry with potential employers. Job seekers can post their resumes for free. Employers pay a reasonable fee for each job announcement, with listings available in 30-day, 60-day and 90-day increments. The Job Board employer section is open to CFSEI members and nonmembers. CFSEI members receive a substantial discount. To view the CFSEI Job Board, visit cfsei.mcjobboard.net/jobs.

“We started the CFSEI Job Board in response to our members’ requests to help them find qualified candidates in the rapidly expanding cold-formed steel framing industry,” said Robert J. Wills, P.E., managing director of CFSEI. “Steel framing offers many benefits for sustainable and resilient construction, is cost-effective, and provides flexible and adaptable design opportunities for architects and designers. As the economy begins to recover, we anticipate the CFSEI Job Board will be a valued tool for connecting employers with new employees as companies revamp their business operations.”

For information on posting resumes or adding job notices to the CFSEI Job Board, contact Rose Kuria at rkuria@steel.org. For information on joining CFSEI, visit https://www.cfsei.org.

For those contractors that attended World of Concrete 2021 live event in June in Las Vegas or were unable to make it, one can benefit from WOC’s world-class education, virtually meet with leading-industry suppliers, and continue to build one’s network of peers.

This online event will take place August 17-19, and allows the concrete and masonry construction communities to connect and share ideas, learn from industry experts, access the latest industry innovations, and more! The goal of this virtual edition is to provide valuable content to you from our physical event, and expand your reach, connecting with new exhibitors, products, or industry professionals you have not yet had the opportunity to meet.

For more information, visit worldofconcrete.com.

Carlisle Cos. Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Henry Co., from affiliates of American Securities LLC, a U.S. private equity firm. Under the terms of the agreement, Carlisle will purchase Henry for $1.575 billion in cash. The purchase price represents 10.5x Henry’s adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months that ended in May, when including run-rate cost synergies.

Henry is widely recognized as a best-in-class provider of building envelope systems that control the flow of water, vapor, air and energy in a building. Its premium portfolio is comprised of a well-balanced assortment of complementary products boasting the strong and trusted Henry brands with more than 80 years of history. As a leading innovator in building envelope systems, Henry serves the full spectrum of customers across both new construction and repair and restoration projects within the residential, light commercial, and commercial end-markets. Henry generated revenue of $511 million and adjusted EBITDA of $119 million, representing an adjusted EBITDA margin of 23 percent, for the twelve months ending in May.

The acquisition is consistent with Carlisle’s Vision 2025 to simplify our portfolio and strategically build scale with synergistic acquisitions in order to achieve $15 of earnings per share. Henry augments CCM’s growth and innovation efforts in commercial construction and increases its presence in residential construction in North America. Henry’s complementary solutions strengthen CCM’s positioning in integrated building envelope solutions that reduce installation times and improve energy efficiency. Henry’s innovative culture aligns with that of CCM, enhancing the companies’ combined value proposition to drive superior growth.

Chairman, President and CEO Chris Koch, said, “The acquisition of Henry, together with the announced divestiture of our Brake and Friction business in May, marks another meaningful evolution of our portfolio. These portfolio moves are consistent with our stated strategy to invest in CCM and diversify into a broader building products platform with a focus on the building envelope. More than half of Henry’s revenue is derived from products that improve energy efficiency, elevating Carlisle’s existing ESG narrative. By acquiring Henry and leveraging the Carlisle Experience across the business, I am confident that we will create significant value for all our stakeholders.”

The acquisition is expected to generate pre-tax cost synergies of approximately $30 million by 2025. Additional revenue synergies from cross-selling a broader product portfolio through Carlisle’s existing relationships and sales channels are also expected. The transaction is expected to be approximately $1.25+ accretive to adjusted EPS in the first full fiscal year.

The acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.