Marjam Supply Acquired by FBM

DOE Issues RFP for Community-Based Retrofit Teams

Spackle by Dave Coverly

People News

Knight Wall Systems Expands HQ and Facility

AD Launches Center for Independent Distributor Leadership

OSHA Seeks Comments on Modernizing the Voluntary Protection Program

AISI Standards Council Establishes New Group to Address Energy Standards for Building Envelopes

Knight Wall Systems Expands HQ and Facility

Building envelope and rainscreen manufacturer Knight Wall Systems recently expanded its fabrication plant in eastern Washington to effectively double its capacity, according to the company’s President Doug Knight.

The company’s manufacturing plant and headquarters, constructed in 2016, was approximately 20,000 square feet. The new expansion provides an additional 28,000 square feet of manufacturing space, which will increase capacity by 100 percent while providing space for new equipment needed to control costs and lead times.

“Our vision is to provide a one-stop shop for the building envelope industry by providing the solutions customers' need for any rainscreen application,” Knight said. “The additional resources we have planned will help us meet that goal while controlling the costs to make it happen.”

In the past two years, Knight has introduced several new products and product extensions that have contributed to the company’s growth, driving the need for expanded manufacturing.

In the midst of this growth period, the company announced its founding membership in the Rainscreen Association in North America. Launched officially in late-2020, RAiNA is a multi-disciplinary, member-led organization created to help meet today’s building design and construction challenges.

“Knight is a leader in rainscreen façade support systems and well known in the industry for products that help solve common rainscreen wall assembly issues, in particular, reducing thermal bridging and providing fully engineered, universal systems,” said Knight General Manager Brian Nelson, who is RAiNA's Building Code Committee co-chair and a voting member on five different committees within the organization. “As manufacturers continue to innovate with material performance, and building designs continue to evolve, applicable building knowledge is more important than it has ever been.”

AD Launches Center for Independent Distributor Leadership

AD has announced the launch of the Center for Independent Distributor Leadership, a development program designed to prepare the current and future leaders of independent distribution with the competencies and experiences to build long-term, sustainable success for their companies.

“We listened to our owner/member community and found that many can benefit from organized training programs to prepare the next generation to lead,” said Marty McLaughlin, chief marketing officer for AD and co-founder of the CIDL. “The CIDL will give AD members structured education pathways in leadership, sales and operations for up-and-coming leaders to gain core competencies for their future.”

The CIDL will complement and build on existing education offerings from trade associations. The new education initiative features three leadership certification pathways: Leadership Experience, Distributor Sales Leader and Distributor Operations Leader.

Leadership Experience is a four-year certification program designed for rising and next-generation managers who will lead AD member companies into the future. The certification brings together cohorts of 25 to 30 leaders to build upon the success of independent distributors and ensure the sustainability of the independent business model.

The Distributor Sales Leader program provides sales professionals with a long-term development track, including courses and interactive workshops, to learn sales strategies ready for immediate field application. The certification program elevates sales teams to better sustain top-line revenue and increase sales growth in highly competitive markets.

The Distributor Operations Leader program helps operations leaders learn and implement best practices that optimize profitability and performance of independent distributors. The certification program provides leaders with the road map, tools and network to drive sustainability and growth among their companies.

AD created each program’s curriculum in collaboration with instructors from top universities, like Texas A&M University, leadership coaches and independent distribution thought leaders. This group of industry experts will teach courses within the three CIDL certification pathways.

“We have amassed the preeminent experts in distribution to help independent distributors work on their business and further develop the talent that leads their growth,” said Brandon Hagen, vice president of AD Member Education and co-founder of the CIDL. “These are great opportunities for companies to invest in their people and take active steps to shape their next chapter.”

OSHA Seeks Comments on Modernizing the Voluntary Protection Program

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is inviting workplace safety stakeholders to share their comments on how the agency can best honor companies who make exceptional commitments to workplace safety and health, the SWCCA reported in a release.

Established in 1982, OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program recognizes workplaces that demonstrate best practices in safety and health management and serve as industry models. OSHA notes that the VPP is effective at reducing injuries and illnesses at participant worksites. For example, the average VPP worksite had a “Days Away Restricted” or “Transferred” case rate of 60 percent below the average for its industry for site-based construction for 2021.

By opening the program to public comments, OSHA hopes to receive input to assist the agency as it modernizes and enhances the VPP and continues to promote the use of workplace safety and health management systems. In particular, the VPP’s modernization project is seeking input on issues, such as aligning the program more closely with recent occupational safety and health management practices and system standards; how the program can contribute to expanding the use and effectiveness of safety and health management systems; whether particular categories of hazards need special attention in the VPP certification process; and whether and how resources and tools such as “special government employees,” consensus standards, third-party auditors and other methods could serve to expand the program’s capacity without compromising effectiveness and oversight. OSHA is also asking a series of questions in 10 sections to elicit useful responses to support the VPP’s aims.

AISI Standards Council Establishes New Group to Address Energy Standards for Building Envelopes

The Standards Council of the American Iron and Steel Institute has formed a new group that will be primarily responsible for the ongoing development of AISI S250, North American Standard for Thermal Transmittance of Building Envelopes with Cold-Formed Steel Framing. The new Committee on Energy Standards falls under the administrative oversight of the AISI Standards Council, which also oversees the Committee on Specifications and the Committee on Framing Standards.

The new group is recognized as a consensus body by the American National Standards Institute. It is comprised of AISI staff and experts from the steel construction industry and will develop and maintain methods for determining heat transfer through building envelopes for assemblies containing cold formed steel and other materials; develop prescriptive and performance solutions for code compliance, construction details and installation quality standards; and address other similar issues that impact cold formed steel in the energy codes and standards arena. The first meeting of the committee was held virtually on March 7.

“Thermal performance is increasingly influencing material selection in building design and construction,” said AISI Vice President of Construction Robert J. Wills, P.E. “The work of this committee will ensure that cold-formed steel is a viable option for those targeting advanced or net-zero buildings by 2030.”

AISI S250-21 is a single source for calculating the thermal transmittance (U-factors) of walls and ceiling/roof envelope assemblies that contain cold-formed steel framing. The advantages of AISI S250-21 over all previous calculation methods include the ability to analyze wall assemblies that have framing members spaced from 6 inches to 24 inches on center, framing member steel thicknesses from 33 mils (0.0329 inches) to 68 mils (0.0677 inches) and wall assemblies with insulation in the cavity, partially in the cavity or no cavity insulation.

The standard is intended for adoption and use in the United States, Canada and Mexico and is available for free download at www.aisistandards.org.

A spreadsheet is available at no cost from AISI that performs the mathematical calculations based on AISI S250-21. It substantially reduces the time needed to calculate various envelope assemblies based on the standard. The spreadsheet is accessible from a link in the Preface of AISI S250-21.

Marjam Supply Acquired by FBM

In April, FBM took ownership of all 32 Marjam Supply Co. locations. Founded in 1979, Marjam Supply started with the purchase of a single warehouse facility in Brooklyn, N.Y., as well as a few thousand dollars in assets with the goal of providing customer service driven building materials distribution.

With this new addition, FBM’s branch count and service level will be increased for new and existing customers all along the East Coast, from New Hampshire to Florida.

DOE Issues RFP for Community-Based Retrofit Teams

On behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Building America Program,” the National Renewable Energy Laboratory issued a request for proposal for multi-disciplinary expert teams to address the technical challenges of decarbonizing the U.S. residential housing stock, NAIMA and the Insulation Institute jointly reported.

Applicant teams will consist of community organizations, research institutions, utility and industry trades, and appropriate experts, according to DOE. The teams will develop projects focused on reducing carbon emissions through home energy efficiency retrofits and will collaborate with DOE, the National Labs, and other industry experts to support community-focused retrofit projects.

The project will address technical challenges related to field validation and demonstration, measurement and verification, and workforce training. The goal is to demonstrate equitable and scalable retrofit solutions that will produce guidance for broader implementation for communities nationwide.

“This new generation of Building America industry teams will put building science experts on the ground in communities that are tackling the hardest challenges of decarbonizing homes in their region,” said Eric Werling, Building America National director. “The Building America retrofit Solutions Teams will leverage technical expertise and grassroots community knowledge to create collaborative research and demonstration projects in real-world homes that will accelerate local deployments of highly efficient, durable, and healthy home upgrades. Building America has done it before with new homes. This program is now focused on scalable retrofit solutions needed to meet President Biden’s goal of cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.”