Featured image: Pat Ford (left), SFIA technical director, and Jim Collins (right), SFIA president, present Jeff Klaiman of ADTEK Engineers with an SFIA Award at SFIA’s Annual Meeting in March 2024.
On Monday, March 25, 2024, the Steel Framing Industry Association kicked off its 2024 Annual Meeting with a report on its activities and achievements in room Asia 3 at Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, an event held in conjunction with Build24.
Jim Collins, SFIA’s president and CEO of SFIA member ClarkDietrich Building Systems, chaired the event.
SFIA Annual Report
The year 2023 was an active year for the SFIA, its members and the cold-formed steel (CFS) framing industry at large.
SFIA Educational Programs Expand
SFIA’s 2023 activities were marked by an expansion of its educational programs. Specifically, 2023 saw the launch of the Steel Framing Learning Portal, an education platform offering CFS framing educational resources 24/7/365. The SFIA Learning Portal offers:
- Live SFIA webinars — many AIA-approved
- On-demand SFIA courses — many AIA-approved
- Simple access by signing up for a free account
The SFIA Steel Framing Learning Portal has issued over 1,700 certificates for courses completed since its launch.
SFIA Welcomes CFSEI into Its Fold
Also in 2023, the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI) became a part of the SFIA family. The addition of the engineering organization strengthened the steel framing industry’s ability to reach design professionals and influence the market’s preferences on framing products and systems.
The SFIA and CFSEI partnership has proved to be extremely beneficial for both organizations. SFIA now represents a combined 2,500 steel mills, coil coaters, stud and connector manufacturers, component fabricators, researchers, suppliers/distributors, framing contractors and engineers. And CFSEI members now have a greater voice in addressing the industry’s development.
The SFIA is excited to promote the upcoming CFSEI conference — the 2024 CFSEI Expo:
- 2024 CFSEI Expo will be held in Tucson, Arizona, May 20-22, 2024
- The program will offer CFS design insights, design solutions and networking opportunities
- Architects, contractors, engineers and newcomers to cold-formed steel (CFS) framing can register to attend today
SFIA Awards Ceremony
The year 2023 was the inaugural year of the SFIA Industry Project Awards, or “SFIA Awards,” which recognize excellence in the use of SFIA-certified cold-formed steel (CFS) products.
The seven 2023 SFIA Awards winners, announced in an online ceremony on November 1, 2023, were given recognition live at the SFIA Annual Meeting on Monday, March 25, 2024.
The 7 winners of the 2023 SFIA Awards are:
- ADTEK Engineers (winning for two projects)
- Negwer Materials
- CEMCO
- raSmith
- ClarkDietrich (also winning for two projects)
The 2023 SFIA Awards featured 7 SFIA member winners: ADTEK Engineers (winning twice), Negwer Materials, CEMCO, raSmith and ClarkDietrich (winning twice).
Collins noted that SFIA was extremely proud of the submissions received. SFIA-certified steel has passed physical tests for mechanical properties, coatings and manufactured dimensions, he said, so the SFIA Award winners are certainly ‘top tier’ in steel framing manufacturing and construction excellence.
Enter the 2024 SFIA Awards
It was announced at the SFIA Annual Meeting that SFIA members can now enter the 2024 SFIA Awards competition. The SFIA Awards are open to SFIA members and their project partners.
A Mini Strategy Workshop
Darcy Bien — a strategist who has helped hundreds of companies achieve their vision and author of Strategy in Motion™: A Proven Playbook for Companies Who Win — led an interactive session on Monday, March 25, 2024 during the SFIA General Session.
The mini workshop on strategic planning was designed to help attendees develop and evaluate their own company strategies. Attendees were encouraged to download materials that were referenced during the mini workshop:
Darcy Bien of Stretch Strategic Leaders leads attendees seeking to chart a course towards sustainable growth and success at SFIA’s 2024 Annual Meeting & General Session.
Dozens attended the program and benefited from the dynamic nature of Bien’s presentation and instruction.
Additional Resources
- 5 Ways Steel Framing Optimizes the Construction Supply Chain
- Again, Who Says It Is More Sustainable to Build With Wood Than Steel?
- Sorting Apples from Oranges — Comparing Evaluation Services with Third-Party Certification