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Are You Ready to "Make History" at METALfab 2017? 


METALfab & FENCETECH 2017 is only TWO short weeks away. Whether you’re an exhibitor or attendee, the upcoming FENCETECH & METALfab 2017 conference has something for everyone. Join your peers from across the country in the largest gathering of the fence and ornamental and miscellaneous metals industries for FIVE full days of industry expertise.

Here’s what’s in store:
• Education related to today’s technology
• Business tools, sales tips and training
• Certification and networking opportunities
• Expected attendance of 4,800
• Over 300 booths on the exhibit floor
• History in the Making Opening Party
• Annual Meeting/General Session

Schedule of events:
NOMMA’s METALfab:  click here

AFA’s FENCETECH:  click here

 
The Nominating Committee, chaired by Allyn Moseley, is pleased to announce the following slate of officers and directors for 2017. A vote will take place during NOMMA’s Annual Business Meeting on Saturday, Feb. 4, 8 a.m., during METALfab. All members are urged to attend this meeting.

Proposed 2017 Slate
President — Cathy Vequist, Pinpoint Solutions, Jupiter, FL*
President-Elect — Max Hains, MOFAB Inc., Anderson, IN
Vice-President/Treasurer — Maciej Jankowski, Artistic Iron Works, Norwalk CT
Fabricator Director (3-yr. term) — Jonathan Falk, Living Designs Studios, Lafayette, CO
Fabricator Director (3-yr. term) — Roger Carlsen, Ephraim Forge Inc., Frankfort, IL
Supplier Director (3-yr. term) — Dave Filippi, FabCAD Inc., White Stone, VA

Remaining Board Members
Fabricator Director (2 yrs. remaining) — Mike Kinnikin, Eureka Forge, Pacific, MO
Fabricator Director (2 yrs. remaining) — Chris Holt, Steel Welding, Freedom, PA
Fabricator Director (2 yrs. remaining) — Marco Vasquez, Vasquez Custom Metals Inc., Tampa, FL
Fabricator Director (1 yr. remaining) — Tony Martinez, Big D Metalworks, Dallas, TX
Supplier Director (1 yr. remaining) — Stacey Lawler Taylor, Lawler Foundry Corp., Birmingham, AL
Supplier Director (2 yrs. remaining) — Jay Shah, Architectural Iron Designs Inc., Plainfield, NJ
Immediate Past President (1 yr. remaining) — Keith Majka, Majka Railing Co. Inc., Paterson, NJ
 
Retiring Board Members
A "thank you" goes to the following retiring board members for their service on the board:
 
Fabricator Director — Greg Bailey, Bailey Metal Fabricators, Mitchell, SD
Supplier Director — Bill Schenke, Ameristar, Tulsa, OK
Immediate Past President — Allyn Moseley, Heirloom Stair & Iron, Campobello, SC
 
* The president-elect automatically advances to president.
 
A thanks to the 2017 Nominating Committee: Allyn Moseley, chair; Keith Majka; Stacey Lawler Taylor; Max Hains; Mark Koenke; and Todd Daniel, secretariat.
 
King Architectural Metals
Lapeyre Stair, Inc.
Member News

Make The Most Out Of Your NOMMA Member Benefits in 2017

As a valued NOMMA member, you have access to exclusive and valuable benefits. Start 2017 off strong by taking advantage of the many ways NOMMA works for you! Here are just a handful of ways your membership can be of service to you:

1) SocialLink
Get quick answers to questions with our new SocialLink system, which provides an online community for our +550 members.

2) Member Savings Program
Participate in money-saving deals with 30 national companies, including UPS, MSC Industrial Supply, and Alliant Insurance. 

3) Career Center
Find the best industry talent for your shop. You can review resumes or place a "help wanted" ad.

4) Roudtable Discussion Groups
Participate in phone conferences to discuss business issues with your fellow fabricators.

5) Industry Marketing
NOMMA provides education to architects, which raises the awareness level of our products and makes them easier to specify.

 



Henry N. Bills III Sue Minter

The NOMMA family lost two of its own in the month of January. Henry and Sue were heavily involved with NOMMA and its members throughout the years and will both be tremendously missed.

*The following tributes were written by Todd Daniel, NOMMA executive director: 

Remembering NOMMA Legend Henry N. Bills III, 1934 - 2017

With great sadness, I must report the passing of Henry N. Bills III, 82, of The Wagner Companies. Henry, who passed away on January 7, will best be remembered for his contributions to the NOMMA Technical Committee. He was involved in producing several NOMMA manuals, including the Metal Rail Manual and was on the launch team for the NAAMM-NOMMA Metal Finishes Manual. His other role with the Committee was to advocate for consistent handrail dimensions with government agencies and standard-setting groups. For his advocacy work, he received the Julius Blum Award in 1993, and for his tireless volunteerism he won the Frank A. Kozik Award in 2005. In 2004, he was made an Honorary Lifetime Member, which was the same year he retired from Wagner after a nearly 40-year career. Henry and his lovely late wife Barbara Bills were regulars at METALfab events for several decades.

In addition to the Technical Committee, Henry served as a director on the NOMMA board several times and was a member of the Site Selection Committee. He also spent 30 years volunteering for the National Association of Architectural Metal Manufacturers (NAAMM), and he helped them to develop their library of technical manuals.

During his free time, Henry enjoyed sailing and held positions with several sailing clubs. He is survived by his children Henry Bills IV, Susan (Dr. Dean) Shepherd, Heidi (Dan Sr.) Ferrise, and Peter Bills, plus 7 grandchildren.

Remembering Super Volunteer Sue Minter

The NOMMA family grieves the loss of Sue Minter, 68, of Imagine Ironworks/B&O Machine & Welding, who passed January 11. The wife of James Minter Jr., Sue was a hard-working volunteer at METALfab events and served as hostess for the spouse program for four years. She will always be remembered for the painting class that she and Maxine Minter organized, which was always a big hit at the conference. In addition, she and her husband James were enthusiastic participants of the Buddy System and did a fantastic job of making new attendees feel welcome.

In addition to helping with the family business, Sue had a long and interesting career that covered teaching, banking, and journalism. She was a writer as well, and published a book. In her free time, her great passion was the arts, and she was founder and president of the Brookhaven Regional Arts Guild. She had a long history of performing with the Brookhaven Little Theatre and was also involved in many community nonprofit groups.

Among the survivors are her husband, James Minter Jr., son Walker, and mother-in-law Maxine Minter. 

 
Hougen Mfg Inc
Featured Top Job Contest Winner

Exterior Railings & Fences (Non-forged)

This category includes all railings and fences, including custom castings and cold forged elements, with less than 5% custom hand forgings.

Gold Winner:
Finelli Architectural Iron & Stairs
Solon, Ohio

The designer of the project was the fabricator. This railing was fabricated for a client's orchestral-themed garden and is a tribute to her late husband. The nonnegotiable requirement was that the rail had to contain the lyric line from their favorite song, "It Had To Be You." The Finelli Architectural Iron & Stairs team was given freedom of expression within the confines of functionality and were able to get whimsical with the design. The team created movement expressed through perspective by weaving the lines in and out of the posts leading the visitor up to the garden. After acquiring actual sheet music, the notes were cut with a waterjet. The music lines were cold rolled and heat formed, the split posts replicate the music score. Complexities were created through the offset weaving and wrapping of the ½" round bar. Even though the team used a full size plot, the bench work was difficult. Transitioning from stair to pitched sidewalk rails also added a level of difficulty. All the material was sandblasted, zinc metalized, and finish painted with an exterior enamel.

This project took approximately 190 hours of labor. 

Silver Winner:
A2 Fabrication Inc.
Portland, Oregon

This railing project was designed by the architect. The following are details regarding the material and dimension:
#4 stainless steel
All material = 316 stainless steel
End Stanchions: 2 vertical plates per stanchion - 3/4"" tapered x 50"" high
Intermediate Stanchions: 2 vertical plates per stanchion - 5/8"" thick, tapered
Base plates: PL 3/4""
Top Rail and Grip Rail: 1 1/2"" sch 40 pipe
Grip Rail Brackets: Saddles = formed plated 1/4"", arms = FB 1/2 x 1 1/2
Cables: 1/2"" dia, SS 304 Apprx 280 individual cables @ 50' long

This project took approximately 1,993 hours (for 1020 LF) in labor. 

Bronze Winner:
Chapala Iron & Mfg. Co.
Ventura, California

The designer for this project was the architect. The finish is Soda Blasted CORTEN + West Coast Elements "1/4"", 3/8"", 11 GA, CORTEN steel with 1/8"x1-1/4"x1-1/4" posts and IPE wood top rail. 1-1/"" pipe handrail 1/2" round solid handrail bracket returns 3/8" square head bolts 3/8"" square head lags. For the guard rail, the Chapala Iron & Mfg. team templated the curves and brought the frames back to the shop, measured off the frames, and plasma cut 11GA CORTEN sheets 36" high, using in-house generated DXF files. From there, the sheets were plate rolled to match the curve and fastened using 3/8" square head bolts to the frame. Install was simple for the Chapala Iron team. They just screwed into the deck with 3/8"" square head lags. For the stair rail, the team plasma cut 11 pieces of 1/4"" CORTEN plate, put a slight roll on them from top to bottom, and field welded them on the bottom 6" to a T that was formed during manufacturing of the stair treads. The team then templated a pipe handrail and field welded a bracket onto the back of each CORTEN panel. This added rigidity and was necessary to pass inspection.

This project took approximately 64 hours in labor.

 
Featured Stories
 
   
METALfab & FENCETECH 2017 is sure to be packed with lots to do, people to meet, and sessions to attend, so we don't think you'll be bored for a minute! But if you have family with you, and if you'd like to explore the city of San Antonio during your down time, you won't be disappointed with your options. The Travel Channel compiled a list of "Top Attractions" in San Antonio. This list is not limited to what's out there, but it's a good start in planning your trip! *Photo credit: visitsanantonio.com, Bob Howen
 
 
   
Fabian Oefner loves working with unusual materials like motor oil and evaporated alcohol. He even drove a Ferrari into a wind tunnel and splattered it with neon paint. Now he’s photographing melted bismuth, a metal he prizes for its iridescence. "You get those colors, which are essentially the colors of the rainbow," he says. His gorgeous images show such intense vibrancy that they could pass for a painting.
 
 
   
When Jonathan Sandoval was looking to get real-world experience in the manufacturing field, the 23-year-old from Carpentersville heard about McHenry County College's Young Adult Success Program. "This program helps people who have trouble looking for jobs," Sandoval said. "It's a good social experience to help people and have them learn more about jobs they are interested in and how to look for those jobs." After graduating from the manufacturing program in the fall, Sandoval has the necessary certifications, connections and experience to help him secure employment.
 
Locinox USA, LLC
NOMMA Career Center
 
   
I have learned over the years that preparation, organization and flexibility greatly enhance my conference time and experience. Conferences can be very productive and fun or totally overwhelming and a drain depending on those factors. The investment of time, travel and energy required to go to conferences, makes it more important to be prepared before you go so that you’re not scrambling at the last minute or worse yet – while you are there. This article provides 10 tips to help you prepare for your upcoming conference so that you can get the most out of your commitment and experience.
 
 
   
Industry conferences can be both invigorating and overwhelming. Traveling, attending sessions, meeting scores of new people, and taking in tons of information can wear a person out. After getting back to the office, many conference attendees look at all the work that piled up while they were out and reflexively jump right back into their routine. Big mistake. No matter how tired or behind you are, it’s important to give yourself time to digest the industry conference experience and firm up connections with new contacts.
 
 

 

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