The EIFS Industry Members Association announced the winners of the 2020 EIFS Project Hero Awards. The Hero Awards Program recognizes and honors outstanding projects in the EIFS industry. Awards were presented during a virtual ceremony on May 19.

“The EIFS Hero Awards program is of great value to the EIFS industry and is a chance for EIMA members to show the entire design and construction industry the appeal of this best ever wall cladding,” said Steve Smithwick of Master Wall Inc. and EIMA’s 2021-2023 President. “The awards ceremony is a premier industry-wide event, and each award-winning project uniquely showcases the many benefits of EIFS, and how truly diverse the system is.”

A total of 34 EIFS projects were entered into the awards competition and were judged by a jury consisting of Ernie Conrad of Conrad Engineers; Peter Freeman, Principal at Freeman Kennett Architects, and; Ron Cooper, Associate Principal at Svigals + Partners. Two of the jurors were architects on past “Hero of the Year” award-winning projects. The jury created three different award categories: Honorable Mention, Award of Merit, and Hero Award, and 18 projects were winners. Of the three Hero Award winning projects, one was awarded the prestigious “Hero of the Year.”

The award recipients are as follows

Hero of the Year

• Long Beach Memorial Pediatric Medical Office Building, Long Beach, Calif.

Hero Awards

• Long Beach Memorial Pediatric Medical Office Building, Long Beach, Calif.

• Polaris Fieldhouse, Columbus, Ohio

• Greenhouse, Skokie, Ill.

Awards of Merit

• Grand Bohemian Hotel Charlotte, Charlotte, N.C.

• Oceans Enclave by Hilton, Myrtle Beach, S.C.

• Tru by Hilton, Manchester, N.H.

• Hub 2 on Campus, Gainesville, Fla.

• Peace Raleigh Apartments, Raleigh, N.C.

• Outwest Drywall Supply, Eagle, Colo.

• District 850, Tallahassee, Fla.

• 11 Crown Street, Meriden, Conn.

• Houston House, New York, N.Y.

• Imperial, Queens, N.Y.

• Zannis Residence, New Bern, N.C.

Honorable Mentions

• Gentry Buckhead Village, Atlanta, Ga.

• Caesars Forum, Las Vegas, Nev.

• Herpetarium Addition at Zoo Knoxville, Knoxville, Tenn.

• Harlow on Main, Columbus, Ohio

The awards ceremony is available to view in its entirety on EIMA’s YouTube channel.

Details of each award-winning project, including photographs and project team members can be found on EIMA’s website at https://www.eima.com/eifs/hero-awards/2020-awards.

Milwaukee Tool is proud to announce the expansion of their corporate operations into downtown Milwaukee. The company’s current global headquarters in Brookfield, Wis., will remain the central location for the company’s corporate operations. This new expansion will provide increased space to accommodate the company’s rapid growth. Anticipated to open in October, this building will house 1,200 employees within the next three years.

“Over the past ten years we’ve grown at an incredible rate, not just across the country and the world, but also at our global headquarters in Wisconsin. By extending our corporate presence into downtown Milwaukee, we are poised for continued growth. As one of the largest employers in Southeastern Wisconsin, we’re thrilled to expand our presence in the city, as we continue to attract, retain, and recruit from a diverse pool of local talent,” said Steve Richman, Milwaukee Tool Group President.

Milwaukee will invest more than $30 million to purchase and renovate a vacant 333,000-square-foot building in downtown Milwaukee. This building will act as an extension of the company’s global headquarters in Brookfield. Milwaukee Tool’s initial plans include housing at least 1,210 employees at this location within the next three years; however, the company has the option to expand the office space by adding 150,000-square-feet, for up to an additional 790 employees.

While U.S. manufacturing and distribution are an integral part of Milwaukee Tool’s global footprint, the innovation for the trades all starts at the Global Headquarters in Southeastern Wisconsin. Over the last decade, the company redeveloped 190,000-square-feet of space in Brookfield to accommodate research and development, product development, proto-typing, packaging design, marketing, sales, training facilities, and administrative offices. In 2017, Milwaukee Tool completed construction and took occupancy of a new 200,000-square-foot, four-story office building on the same campus, and took occupancy of an additional 116,300-square-foot building in January 2020. With a recent announcement of a new campus in Menomonee Falls, a West Bend-based manufacturing plant, and this new expansion into downtown Milwaukee, the company is positioned to stay in the heart of Wisconsin long-term.

By the end of 2021, the company will have over 3,100 employees located in Wisconsin.

In the last five years, Milwaukee has invested $368 million in domestic expansion projects and now employs more than 5,900 people in the U.S.

GMS announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all the assets of Westside Building Material (“Westside”), one of the largest independent distributors of interior building products in the U.S., for $135 million in cash.

Founded in 1935 and headquartered in Anaheim, CA, Westside is a leading supplier of steel framing, wallboard, acoustical ceilings, insulation and related building products serving commercial and residential markets. Westside’s distribution network comprises ten locations, including nine across California (Anaheim, Hesperia, Oakland, Chatsworth, Fresno, Lancaster, Santa Maria, San Diego and National City) and one in Las Vegas, NV. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, Westside generated net revenues of approximately $200 million.

John C. Turner, President and Chief Executive Officer of GMS, said, “The acquisition of Westside reflects the continued execution of our growth strategy and brings together two leading organizations with shared cultures and entrepreneurial values. Westside’s differentiated platform provides a unique opportunity for GMS to expand our reach and capture significant growth opportunities in strategically important West Coast markets. We are pleased to welcome Dick, Bill and the entire Westside team to GMS and believe that through this combination we will create new opportunities to deliver world-class service to our customers and value to our stakeholders for years to come.”

The transaction follows several previous acquisitions and greenfield expansions by GMS in California, accelerating the Company’s long-term strategy of growing through platform expansion. With the addition of Westside, GMS expands its service position in several Top 100 metro areas in California, including the greater Los Angeles, Bay Area, Riverside-San Bernardino, San Diego and Fresno markets, and creates a statewide distribution platform to serve customers throughout California. The acquisition also marks GMS’s entry into the attractive and growing Las Vegas market.

“Throughout Westside’s long history, we have prided ourselves on providing superior service through high quality operations and an entrepreneurial culture,” said Dick Peckham, President of Westside. Bill Peckham, Chief Executive Officer of Westside, added “Partnering with GMS gives us the opportunity to continue delivering on that mission on a much larger scale. We expect the transaction to create exciting opportunities for our employees, customers and suppliers alike.”

Westside’s current management team, including President Dick Peckham and Chief Executive Officer Bill Peckham, will continue to lead the business and provide the same high level of service that its contractor and homebuilder customers have come to expect.

Following the close of the transaction, Westside will continue to operate under the “Westside” brand – as it has for over 85 years. In addition, Westside will partner with seven existing GMS locations across California operating under the “J&B Materials,” “Hathaway Building Materials,” and “Charles G. Hardy” banners to provide an exceptional customer experience.

The transaction is expected to close early in the third calendar quarter of 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

After a CA$49-million auction in March, Ritchie Bros.’ Ontario team set right back to work, building their May auction into another record-breaker. Last week the company sold 4,200+ items in Toronto for $44 million, making it the company’s new largest-ever auction in Ontario.

“We built some great momentum out of our record-breaking March sale, which resulted in some fantastic packages of trucks and equipment consigned to this auction,” said John Glenn, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. “Current market conditions, and our ability to drive demand, have resulted in buyers paying a premium for equipment and trucks right now, especially hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders, truck tractors, reefer trailers, and dry vans. We encourage sellers to take advantage of the hot market—contact us to consign today.”

More than 9,200 online bidders from 67 countries registered for the Toronto auction held in May. Approximately 89 percent of the assets were sold to Canadians, including 65 percent sold to Ontario buyers, while the remaining 11 percent was sold to buyers from as far away as Australia, Ecuador, Poland, and the Philippines. Interested buyers conducted more than 393,000 equipment views online, which is up 78 percent compared to the May 2020 Toronto auction.

The American Concrete Institute, along with ACI international chapters and partners, will host “24 Hours of Concrete Knowledge,” a free conference that will bring the worldwide concrete community together. The conference is for everyone interested in learning more about concrete, from everywhere in the world. The event starts on July 13, at 3:00 p.m EDT and will complete a trip around the world with visits to 12 Chapters and 12 Partners to learn from their concrete experts for 24 continuous hours.

“The 24 Hours of Concrete Knowledge Conference is a unique event that will highlight a unified global passion for increasing the concrete body of knowledge and advancing the best practices for using concrete,” stated Ron Burg, Executive Vice President, American Concrete Institute. “It will also emphasize the diversity of the worldwide concrete community through the variety of presentation topics and methodologies, and renew the principle that ideas for improving concrete technology come from throughout the world.”

ACI international chapters and global industry partners will be co-hosting and moderating sections of the conference by engaging concrete experts from their area to give presentations on important concrete topics from their region. Each of the 24 co-hosts will moderate a stop on the journey around the world by providing two recorded presentations with a live Q&A period. Attendees will be given exclusive access to recordings of all 48 presentations after the event.

Registration for this free virtual conference is now open. Visit concrete.org/24hourconcrete to register.

View all participating International Chapters & Partners.

View the full schedule.

Billd recently released their inaugural industry report, titled 2021 National Subcontractor Market Report: Business Growth & Financing. While the survey found that construction contractors have maintained an optimistic entrepreneurial spirit despite the obstacles of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic challenges like skyrocketing building material prices, the data also suggests that ongoing cash-flow problems will likely prevent many from achieving their business-growth goals in 2021 and beyond.

The new report surveyed 572 general contractors and subcontractors in commercial construction, many of whom are business owners or executives who have been in business for at least 10 years, about their appetite for business growth and how they plan to finance that growth. The responses call attention to persistent construction industry challenges that prevent business growth, including a lack of access to capital, inconsistent payment cycles and the insufficient length of supplier terms.

Nearly three-fourths of contractors surveyed say they plan to grow their businesses in 2021. However, the data also found that:

• 44 percent believe they’ll use cash on hand to finance these goals, but 46 percent say they struggle with cash flow issues

• While about half of contractors say they’re generally satisfied with their supplier terms for financing construction materials, 63 percent have to pay for materials before getting paid for their work

• Less than 4 percent have supplier terms longer than 60 days, while it generally takes between 60-90 days for contractors to get paid

• Most reported feeling satisfied with their credit options, but 30 percent of contractors find it challenging to obtain new sources of financing

• 39 percent expect access to capital to have a significant impact on their businesses in 2021

“Subcontractors have an incredible entrepreneurial spirit,” said Chris Doyle, CEO of Billd. “Unfortunately, traditional banks and lending institutions are hesitant to do business with construction companies due to their perceived risk, which means subcontractors are often undercapitalized and left trying to finance growth with limited free cash flow.”

To help contractors overcome these obstacles to growth, Billd provides practical solutions for material financing with 120-day terms that better align with construction payment cycles.

“We don’t view construction companies as having higher risk than other industries—we just understand the nature of their business and how the payment cycles work,” says Doyle. “If contractors truly want to conquer their cash-flow issues and grow their businesses, they need better terms that align with their payment cycles.”

The report is the first in what may become an annual series exploring subcontractors’ outlook on different aspects of the construction industry.

To download the 2021 National Subcontractor Market Report: Financing and Business Growth, visit https://billd.com/national-construction-financing-market-report-for-subcontractors/

Owens Corning has been recognized as a 2021 Manufacturing Leadership Award recipient by the National Association of Manufacturers for its outstanding achievement in material science innovation supporting environmental sustainability. Additionally, Owens Corning was named a “High Achiever” for receiving the highest score among awardees in the “Sustainability Leadership” category.

The product—FOAMULAR NGX (Next Generation Extruded) extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation—reflects the manufacturer’s goal to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent by 2030. The product features a proprietary blowing agent that delivers a 90 percent reduction in global warming potential compared to legacy FOAMULAR insulation blowing agents. Researchers evaluated more than 100 blowing agent formulations and developed proprietary manufacturing processes to achieve a greater than 80 percent reduction in total product embodied carbon

“Moving beyond complying with regulations and codes, we’ve found that sustainably-minded architects have a fierce interest in creating more sustainable buildings, and our products have an important role in meeting their needs,” said Frank O’Brien-Bernini, senior vice president and chief sustainability officer at Owens Corning. “Collaborating around customers’ goals is a foundation for evaluating how to reduce embodied carbon and improve the overall efficiency of buildings.”

Awardees were selected by an expert panel of high-level digital manufacturing executives, who evaluated nominations based on five criteria: technology use, scale throughout the organization, business impact, process impact, and strategy impact. Penelope Brown, content director for the Manufacturing Leadership Council and director of the awards program, stated, “FOAMULAR NGX was selected by the judging panel as an outstanding example of technology-driven leadership in environmentally sustainable manufacturing. FOAMULAR NGX demonstrates it is possible to achieve goals that protect the climate, reduce embodied carbon and advance circularity while abiding by the highest level of manufacturing processes.”