Armstrong and Irving Announce Sustainability Partnership

ABAA New Standards for Air Barrier Specifications

Spackle by Dave Coverly

People News

JFE Shoji America Completes Acquisition of CEMCO

Construction Employment Grows in Metro Areas

NIBS Announces Built Environment Award Recipients

JLG Engagement, Operator Presence Option Available

G-P Launches Resource for Direct Customers

JFE Shoji America Completes Acquisition of CEMCO

JFE Shoji America announced the completion of the previously announced acquisition of CEMCO, effective in October. CEMCO will continue as a manufacturer of cold-formed steel framing products under the leadership of Tom Porter, president and CEO. Former CEO and Chairman of the Board, Ted Poliquin, will remain as executive advisor. Joining CEMCO’s leadership team will be Toshihiko (Tosh) Iizuka as CFO, and Tadao (Tad) Takahashi as vice president of Corporate Planning.

Junji Yamada, CEO of JFE Shoji America Holdings and Chairman of CEMCO, remarked, “JFE Shoji America has a disciplined acquisition model. We seek valuable franchises with strong brands, similar corporate cultures, and excellent business fundamentals. CEMCO fits our acquisition target profile and fills a business portfolio gap. We want to welcome the CEMCO team as the newest member of JFE Shoji America.”

“While it is extremely sad to say goodbye to the Poliquin family as the previous shareholders, we are excited about the new opportunities that JFE brings to our employees, our customers, our vendors, and our business partners.” said Tom Porter.

CEMCO plans to manage and grow the business with the same foresight and vision, resulting in one of the industry’s most influential and innovative manufacturers in the nation. JFE Shoji as the new owner will bring its history of success as a world-leader in steel manufacturing to the new CEMCO management team, further strengthening CEMCO as it navigates the future filled with opportunity.

Construction Employment Grows in Metro Areas

Construction employment increased in 246, or 69 percent, of 358 metro areas between August 2021 and August 2022, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government employment data. But association officials noted the job gains likely would have been higher if firms could find more qualified people to hire and train.

“While roughly two-thirds of metro areas added construction jobs in the past year, the number would be still higher if contractors could find enough qualified workers,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “The record number of construction job openings and ultra-low unemployment rate for workers with construction experience are signs of an ever-tighter labor market.”

The unemployment rate for job seekers with construction experience declined to 3.9 percent in August from 4.6 percent a year earlier, Simonson noted. He added that there were 393,000 job openings in construction at the end of July, the highest July total in the 22-year history of the government data.

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas, added the most construction jobs (33,500 jobs, or 16 percent), followed by Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington (8,800 jobs, 8 percent), and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California (8,300 jobs, 6 percent). The largest percentage gains were in Muskegon, Michigan (20 percent, 750 jobs), and Bloomington, Illinois (20 percent, 600 jobs), followed by Danville, Illinois (17 percent, 100 jobs).

Construction jobs declined over the year in 57 metro areas and were unchanged in 55 areas. The largest loss occurred in Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida (-5,500 jobs, -7 percent), followed by Richmond, Virginia (-3,500 jobs, -8 percent) and Austin-Round Rock, Texas (-2,800 jobs, -4 percent). The largest percentage declines occurred in Richmond; Charleston, West Virginia (-8 percent, -500 jobs); and Ithaca, New York (-8 percent, -100 jobs).

Association officials said the construction industry was taking a range of steps to recruit, prepare and retain new workers, including using digital advertising and creating new tools designed to make construction job sites more welcoming and inclusive. They urged federal officials to boost funding for construction education programs, however, to expose more students to construction career opportunities.

“It makes more sense to boost investments in education programs that lead to high paying careers instead of forgiving college loans for workers making less than their education cost,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “Federal officials should be preparing students for the good jobs that exist instead of paying them to pursue jobs that don’t.”

NIBS Announces Built Environment Award Recipients

The National Institute of Building Sciences recognized built environment leaders and scholarship recipients on Sept. 28 during an awards ceremony at Building Innovation 2022.

BI2022 is one of the premier meetings for all who impact the built environment to find solutions.

“NIBS serves the nation by advancing building science and technology to improve the built environment,” said AC Powell, JD, CPS, president and CEO of NIBS. “Our 2022 award recipients are a direct reflection of this mission. It is our honor to recognize these building professionals for their service and leadership.”

The 2022 award recipients are:

• NIBS Distinguished Service: Bryan Koon, Vice President of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, IEM
• Exceptional Woman in Building: Cheryl J. Lyman, Executive Director, Ohio Facilities Construction Commission
• Future Leaders: Jamie Leigh Price, Mitigation Investment Lead, Federal Emergency Management Agency
• NIBS Innovator: Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus
• NIBS DEI Leadership: GEI Consultants, Inc.
• Mortimer M. Marshall Lifetime Achievement: Philip Schneider, retired

NIBS also named two recipients of the Betty and Mort Marshall Memorial Scholarship, which was established to promote diversity in the building sciences and benefit students pursuing a career in architecture and engineering at a historically Black college or university. The scholarship was started in 2020 in memory of the Marshalls. Mort was the first member of the National Institute of Building Sciences.

JLG Engagement, Operator Presence Option Available

JLG Industries Inc. offers its Seat Belt Engagement and Operator Presence option for select telehandlers as an aftermarket accessory available through Online Express (P/N 1001281071). This new telehandler retrofit kit includes seat belt engagement assurance, operator presence functionality, a high visibility orange seat belt and illustrated instructions for installation.

Features of JLG’s telehandler Seat Belt Engagement and Operator Presence system include:

• Operator presence feature restricts engine start and hydraulic functions when an operator is not present in the seat.
• Seat belt engagement feature produces a visible and audible alarm when an operator is seated and unbuckled.
• Orange high-visibility seat belt encourages operator seat belt use.
• These telehandler features work together to enhance job site safety by using both visual and audible alarms, as well as limiting machine functions.

The kit can be field installed on JLG 742, 943, 1043, 1055 and 1255 telehandler models.  

G-P Launches Resource for Direct Customers

Georgia-Pacific’s Toolbox allows users to customize notifications to include tracking changes to order status, availability and price; to specify notification frequency, time and recipients; and to attach documents. By allowing 24/7 access to all account information, GP Toolbox provides the highest level of customer service.

Through the case creation tool, users are able to request order changes, report an issue and receive real-time case status updates. Order status and document options permit access to order and transportation status: order and shipment confirmation, proof of delivery and invoices.

The tool for direct customers may be accessed at abuildgp.com/gp-toolbox.

Armstrong and Irving Announce Sustainability Partnership

Armstrong World Industries Inc. and Irving Consumer Products announced a partnership between their respective Macon, Ga., facilities designed to improve both companies’ environmental footprints.

In the second quarter of 2022, Irving Consumer Products began diverting its tissue fiber waste to AWI’s mineral fiber plant, reducing Armstrong’s need to source and purchase recycled newsprint as an input raw material for its ceilings. As a result, AWI and Irving Consumer Products expect to divert more than 3,500 tons of fiber waste annually from landfill disposal, supporting their circularity and waste diversion sustainability goals.

AWI is committed to circular manufacturing as an important element in its effort to grow profitably and sustainably. Since 1999, AWI has been using recycled paper as a raw material and recycling old ceiling tiles back into its manufacturing process through the Armstrong Ceiling Recycling Program, helping customers meet their own waste reduction targets in the process. The company estimates that more than 200 million square feet of used ceiling materials have been diverted from landfills through the program.

Irving Consumer Products’ manufacturing operations leverage innovation to reduce waste as well, including diverting ash and lime to local farmers to enrich their fields and using post-consumer cardboard to pack its products.

“This partnership is a win-win and a great example of companies working together at a local level to help solve a global problem while improving our own processes,” said William Woolard, AWI Macon Plant Manager. “We diversify our raw material stream and save in cost and energy related to shipping heavy material, like paper. Irving Consumer Products saves on landfill costs, and its fiber byproduct can live another life as Armstrong ceiling tile.”

ABAA New Standards for Air Barrier Specifications

“New Standards and Tools to Update Your Air Barrier Specifications” is the association’s most recent webinar, which aired in October. The webinar is sponsored by the Air Barrier Association of America and was presented by Ryan Dalgleish.

The presentation reviewed some of the tools available in regards to specifying different levels of building airtightness above code-mandated minimums. These tools help assess the energy reduction from base levels of building airtightness and the corresponding financial savings, along with quantification of the impacts airtightness has on moisture movement transported by air leakage.

A look into changes to building codes and whole building airtightness test methods, with new test methods and standards to update your specifications, along with information on the ABAA quality assurance program, how to specify the program properly and exactly what the program entails.

Learning Objectives:

• Through a review of the air barrier calculator, determine the energy and financial savings obtained by higher level of airtightness and how it impacts the project specifications.
• Define new test standards for whole building airtightness testing, adhesion testing and other performance test methods for air barrier materials.
• Define requirements for quality assurance and control and typical downfalls of specification language, along with steps that can be taken to improve installation of the air/water resistive barrier.

Outline new tools that can be used to benchmark construction details and specifications.

Register for the webinar here.