The Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA) announced today during its 2025 Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, the election of two officers and the appointment of four new members to its board of directors.
SFIA officers and directors are elected through an annual voting process. This year, Eric Larson, executive vice president at CEMCO (City of Industry, California), was elected SFIA president. Max Ferencz, chief financial officer at MBA Building Supplies (Libertyville, Illinois), was elected SFIA treasurer.
SFIA at BUILD25: AWCI’s Convention + Expo
Booth 1028
Wednesday, April 2, 12:30 – 5:00 pm
Thursday, April 3, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
“It’s an honor to serve as president of an organization that plays such a vital role in advancing our industry,” said Larson, who succeeds outgoing president Jim Collins of ClarkDietrich. “SFIA’s strength lies in the collaboration among its members, and I look forward to working with our board to champion innovation, quality, and trust in cold-formed steel framing.”
Eric Larson, SFIA president
In addition to electing officers, SFIA members selected four new board members:
- Mark Krzyszton, vice president of operations at MRI Steel Framing (Hinsdale, Illinois)
- Kip Craddick, vice president, Mill Steel Company (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
- Greg Ralph, vice president, ClarkDietrich (West Chester, Ohio)
- Lee Zaretzky, president, Ronsco, Inc. (New York, New York)
Krzyszton will represent medium-size manufacturer members, Craddick and Ralph will represent large manufacturer members, and Zaretzky will represent contractor members.
“The momentum we’re building at SFIA is creating real opportunities to elevate the industry,” said Don Allen, SFIA executive director. “With strong leadership and an engaged membership, I’m excited to collaborate with this outstanding board to drive continued growth and impact.”
Don Allen, SFIA executive director, kicked off the 2025 SFIA Annual Meeting.
Dan Varroney, strategy consultant, presented his insights on the steel framing industry to the 2025 SFIA General Session audience.
2025 SFIA Board
The 2025 SFIA officers serving on the SFIA board of directors are:
- President: Eric Larson, executive vice president at CEMCO
- Vice President: Mike Barker, CFO and vice president – purchasing at Ram Steel Framing
- Treasurer: Max Ferencz, chief financial officer at MBA Building Supplies
- Secretary: Matt Pfirman, president of J.N. Linrose Manufacturing
The 2025 SFIA board of directors also includes:
- Director representing small manufacturers: David Boyd, director of steel framing systems at MiTek
- Director representing small manufacturers: Lori Page, sales manager at Frametek Steel
- Director representing medium manufacturers: Mark Krzyszton, vice president of operations at MRI Steel Framing
- Director representing medium manufacturers: Eric Griswold, CFO at State Building Product
- Director representing large manufacturers: Kip Craddick, vice president at Mill Steel Company
- Director representing large manufacturers: Greg Ralph, vice president at ClarkDietrich
- Director representing suppliers/distributors: Pete Wilhelms, vice president of marketing and product development at Negwer Materials
- Director representing contractors: Lee Zaretzky, president of Ronsco
- Director representing steel manufacturers: John Walburg, manager of marketing and sales at CSI-Nucor-JF
The 2025 SFIA Awards ceremony, for the 2024 competition, included an ADTEK Engineers winning project.
The 2025 SFIA Awards ceremony, for the 2024 competition, included a ClarkDietrich winning project.
SFIA Awards ceremony
During the SFIA Annual Meeting, Allen presented awards to the winners of the 2024 SFIA Industry Project Awards, which recognize excellence in the use of SFIA-certified cold-formed steel (CFS) products.
The nine 2024 SFIA Awards winners, previously announced in an online ceremony in December 2024, were given a plaque and special recognition at the SFIA Annual Meeting in Charlotte.
The 9 winners of the 2023 SFIA Awards are:
- Low-Rise Project: South Valley Drywall for the Bloom Exhibit at the Children’s Museum, Denver, Colorado
- Unique Use: T.J. Wies Contracting for BJC Phase III Modular Package, St. Louis, Missouri
- Sustainable Project: ClarkDietrich for the Acrisure Arena, Palm Desert, California
- Conversion from Another Material: ADTEK Engineers for the Locker Rooms at Wagner College, Staten Island, New York
- Architectural Design Detail: The Raymond Group for 8th & Figueroa, Los Angeles, California
- Mid-Rise Project: ADTEK Engineers for Fairfax Market Mixed-Use, Cleveland, Ohio
- High-Rise Project: CEMCO for Alloy, Los Angeles, California
- Best Non-Load-Bearing Application: ADTEK Engineers for VWGoA (Volkswagen Headquarters), Reston, Virginia
- Efficient Use of CFS Framing: CEMCO for the Wynkoop Project, Denver, Colorado
Allen said SFIA was proud of all the submissions, which saw in increase in entries this year over last year. SFIA-certified steel has passed physical tests for mechanical properties, coatings and manufactured dimensions.
“These winning companies and their products represent the best of the best in steel framing manufacturing and construction excellence,” Allen said.
T.J. Wies received an award for 2024 SFIA Awards-winning project.
CEMCO received an award for 2024 SFIA Awards-winning project.
ClarkDietrich received an award for 2024 SFIA Awards-winning project.
ADTEK Engineers received an award for 2024 SFIA Awards-winning project.
Strategic alignment key to unlocking future growth
During the SFIA General Session following the Annual Meeting, Daniel A. Varroney — author of Reimagining Industry Growth and founder of Potomac Core — shared insights from interviews with SFIA members about the industry’s future direction.
Varroney invited attendees to weigh in on the challenges they face, then drew from his research on market disruptions, code changes, and labor shortages to guide the conversation. The key takeaway: aligning manufacturers, contractors, and designers around shared goals is essential to strengthening the steel framing industry and driving long-term growth.
Dan Varroney highlighted SFIA’s future positioning.
Jeffrey Klaiman of ADTEK Engineers and Pat Ford, SFIA technical director, shared information on SFIA’s steel framing product certification programs.
SFIA booth 1028 at BUILD25.
SFIA at BUILD25: AWCI’s Convention + Expo
SFIA Booth 1028
Wednesday, April 2, 12:30 – 5:00 pm
Thursday, April 3, 10:00 am – 1:00 pmSFIA will be exhibiting at BUILD25 in Booth No. 1028. The show floor will be open 12:30 – 5:00 pm on Wednesday, April 2, and from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm on Thursday, April 3.
SFIA members are entitled to a free VIP pass using registration code VIP25 to attend the trade show portion of BUILD25 AWCI’s Convention + Expo.
- VIP Trade Show Pass: Use Promo Code VIP25
- The pass is normally $149 one day, $289 both days
- Contact Emma Goodgion with questions
Although the SFIA VIP pass provides entry to the show floor, BUILD25 offers more education and networking opportunities. Sign up on the AWCI website.
Several SFIA members will be exhibiting, as well as many other manufacturers and vendors affiliated with the steel framing industry. We encourage members to attend and engage with both SFIA and our friends at AWCI.
About SFIA
The Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA), a unique organization representing steel mills, coil coaters, stud and connector manufacturers, component fabricators, Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI) members, suppliers/distributors, contractors and others, provides members with exclusive access to technical cold-formed steel (CFS) framing services, including CFS certification, environmental product declarations, market data and analysis, technical design guides, specification review services, architectural services, the Steel Framing Learning Portal , the SFIA Awards and more. SFIA is an accredited ANSI Standards Development Organization. Follow SFIA on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X.
