As new challenges arise with the COVID-19 Delta variant, health and safety continues to be STAFDA’s top priority.

Orlando has a proven track record of hosting safe and healthy meetings. Since reopening, the city has hosted 100-plus meetings at the Global Biorisk Advisory Council accredited Orange County Convention Center. Orlando’s airport and STAFDA’s host hotels also have the GBAC stamp of approval awarded to facilities that follow a high standard of cleaning, disinfection, and disease prevention. Last week, the OCCC hosted the 17,000-person General Assemblies of God who reported no health-related issues.

Orange County employees, which includes the OCCC, will be required to be fully vaccinated and wear masks indoors. Local government leaders urge all residents and visitors to wear masks in indoor spaces, following CDC guidelines. More than 64 percent of county residents are fully vaccinated and with mobile vaccination sites, that percentage continues to climb.

For months, STAFDA has been working closely with Orlando Health to provide attendees with a safe and positive experience. Near STAFDA’s registration area, Event Medical Services LLC will be onsite to provide medical care. In addition, there is a Walgreen’s within walking distance of the OCCC.

Orlando has back-to-back shows this fall and no group is canceling. Last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the Delta variant should have a 4-8 week run and is primarily impacting the non-vaccinated.  

Health guidelines for the Delta variant change daily but rest assured, STAFDA is on top of it! In addition, we’ll offer lapel pins attendees can wear to indicate if they are fully vaccinated.

As of press time, STAFDA’s Orlando Convention & Trade Show is definitely on and worst-case scenario, attendees will all wear masks.

Please contact the STAFDA office with any questions.

Residents and contractors in the Washington, D.C., metro region will now have a new option for fulfilling their building product needs with the opening of L&W Supply Beltsville at 6920 Distribution Drive, Beltsville, Md. This new location offers drywall, steel framing, acoustical ceilings, insulation and other building materials from leading manufacturers.

“Beltsville is a very exciting expansion for L&W Supply, allowing us to better service our customers in the entire D.C. metropolis,” said John McLaughlin, northeast region vice president. “It opens up new opportunities for the entire team—led by Brian Aeschlimann, a knowledgeable veteran of L&W Supply and the former branch manager for Mechanicsville.”

With Beltsville, L&W Supply has eight branches in the D.C./Baltimore metro area, including Springfield, Hyattsville and Jessup. To learn more, visit the branch page at L&W Supply – Beltsville, Md.

Following agreement on Senate passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Portland Cement Association President and CEO Mike Ireland released the following statement:

“The Portland Cement Association applauds the U.S. Senate for passing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This legislation will not only provide much needed investment in our nation's highways, bridges, transit, airports, and water infrastructure, but will spur economic and job growth. It also provides critical resources and incentives for industrial decarbonization, including investments in carbon removal infrastructure and financing for carbon capture projects.

"Cement manufacturers across the United States appreciate the dedication of the bipartisan group of senators that developed this critical legislation through a transparent and collaborative process. As the legislation moves to the U.S. House of Representatives, we encourage members to put partisan politics aside and send this critical piece of legislation to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.”

The U.S. Green Building Council and Informa Connect announced that the 2021 Greenbuild International Conference + Expo will feature an exclusive conversation with Dan Levy. He will take the main stage at Greenbuild on September 22 (12:15 p.m. Pacific at the San Diego Convention Center).

Daniel Levy is an Emmy and SAG winning writer, actor, director, and producer, best known for his work on one of the most beloved shows on television, Schitt’s Creek, which he co-created with his father Eugene Levy. For its sixth and final season, the series received nine Emmy wins, becoming the most awarded comedy series in a single year. Schitt’s Creek has garnered nearly three dozen awards and nearly 100 nominations.

Greenbuild will take place virtually and in person in San Diego Sept. 21-23 and is the premier event for green building professionals - architects, interior designers, urban planners, manufacturers and others. The conference also includes a wide variety of interactive and collaborative education sessions, a dynamic show floor featuring sustainable building innovations, and a wide range of peer networking and industry recognition events.

USGBC Greenbuild sessions will focus on topics such as LEED Zero, Arc, LEED for Cities, ESG and decarbonization, and include a LEED v4.1 workshop. The USGBC team will be on hand at booth #5107 in the expo hall to answer questions on membership, LEED, Arc, education, credentialing, advocacy and more.

The USGBC booth will also house the GBCI Certification Work Zone, where project teams and others can get help with LEED and GBCI projects, meet one-on-one with GBCI reviewers and discuss GBCI’s full suite of certification and credentialing offerings.

Sakrete, part of Oldcastle APG, introduces the first ever concrete competition series with the same reality TV show feel and spirit of competition seen on Iron Chef, Forged in Fire and Dirty Jobs. Now, the dramatic elements of those classic shows are combined in a knock-down, drag-out concrete battle royale: Sakrete’s “Concrete Combat” available on YouTube.

Each episode of “Concrete Combat” pits two teams of professional contractors against each other in a head-to-head concrete construction or repair challenge designed to test concrete know-how in a wide variety of scenarios.

“’Concrete Combat was conceived as a test of skill, first and foremost,” said Dave Jackson, senior brand manager for Sakrete. “Though we certainly want viewers to appreciate what Sakrete products can do, it’s really all about recognizing and paying respect to the skill and expertise that our competitors bring to the table.”

Concrete Combat’s Season 1 features eight teams from across the U.S. competing at the Sakrete Concrete Coliseum in a single-elimination showdown—win and advance, lose and go home.

Challenges include pouring slabs, repairing damaged concrete, setting fence posts, and more. All of the tools and materials are provided to the contestants, but they have no idea what challenge they’re facing until it’s revealed at the beginning of each episode.

“Some competitors will get lucky with projects that they’re very familiar with and others will find themselves in completely new territory—the ultimate test of concrete mastery,” said Jackson.

Hosted by Brittany Goodwin “If You’re Gone, The Perfect Race,” each competition is judged by concrete veterans Mike Day, a widely-viewed concrete expert on YouTube and the owner of Day’s Concrete Floors in Monmouth, ME and Dirk Tharpe, Sakrete’s resident concrete expert. A special guest judge joins Mike and Dirk every episode to lend their own project-specific expertise to the panel.

With two episodes available on YouTube, the competition is already starting to heat up in the run-up to the grand finale to be filmed live at World of Concrete 2022 in Las Vegas. Who will cement their name in history and who will crack under the pressure?

JLG Industries Inc. announces that a new job site is now live within the “Access Your World” virtual experience. This third virtual environment features finish and maintenance work taking place within an office environment. It includes a wide range of content on JLG products, including low-level access, scissor lifts, atrium lifts and the JLG Augmented Reality App, for site visitors to navigate—at any time, from anywhere, at each individual user’s own pace.

“As 9-5 workdays have become a thing of the past, flexible hour engagement is increasingly common,” said Jennifer Stiansen, director of marketing for JLG. “That’s why the ‘Access Your World’ experience provides participants with the ability to experience JLG when and where they want, regardless of time zone. This gives each user the ability to explore what is of greatest interest and of greatest benefit to their business, on demand.”

The first scenario highlights construction tasks on the outside of a stadium, such as site preparation and steel erection work, while the second environment focuses on truss, fit out and finish work inside the stadium. All three scenarios are designed to illustrate multiple stages of construction and demonstrate the work being done by JLG products, including featured products like the 1075 telehandler and the industry first fully electric AE1932 DaVinci scissor lift.

In addition to showcasing the three virtual job site scenarios, participants can also access a variety of product content from within environment, including videos, spec sheets, 3-D schematics and brochures, as well as other resources.

“’Access Your World’ is really an educational environment,” said Stiansen. “It allows users to experience JLG products in a variety of job site environments to better understand specific applications and uses of the equipment. And, we have designed it so participants can visit and revisit as necessary to continue to advance their product knowledge.”

Ritchie Bros. regional online auctions continue to deliver stellar results for its consignors. Last week the company sold 3,900+ items from its sites in Denver; Salt Lake City; and Williston, N.D., in one combined online Rocky Mountain event generating $40 million in gross transaction value.

More than 9,900 people from 62 countries registered for the August unreserved auction. Approximately 91 percent of the assets sold to U.S. buyers, including 23 percent sold to Colorado, 10 percent to Utah, and 2 percent to North Dakota. The remaining nine percent was sold to international buyers from as far away as Australia, Israel, and Vietnam.

“We had a lot of happy customers after this auction with sellers getting great prices and buyers filling out their fleets for summer and fall work,” said Chad Apland, regional sales manager, Ritchie Bros. “Thank you to all our customers for continuing to put your trust in Ritchie Bros. For those unable to get what they wanted this week we have a ton of upcoming buying opportunities, including weekly featured online auctions at IronPlanet and Marketplace-E.”

Auction Quick Facts: Rocky Mountain Regional (August 2021)

• Gross Transaction Value: $40-plus million

• Total Registered Bidders: 9,900 plus
• Total Number of Lots: 3,900 plus
• Total Number of Consignors: 600 plus

Ritchie Bros. will sell more than 35,000 equipment items and trucks in its upcoming events. The company also has weekly featured online auctions at IronPlanet.com and a daily reserved option with Marketplace-E.