METALCON Delivered For Attendees And Exhibitors In 2021; Plans For 2022 Show Underway
Ken Simonson, chief economist of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America, addresses METALCON attendees.
Newton, MA - Always a popular destination, Tampa did not disappoint when METALCON was held there in October 2021. From intensive pre-show workshops to 40+ free educational sessions to inspiring keynotes and super sessions, attendees learned from top industry
experts and earned more continuing education credits than ever before at the industry’s only event dedicated exclusively to the application of metal in design and construction.
“Our organization has been exhibiting at METALCON since its inception,” said Jim Bush, vice president of sales and marketing for ATAS International. “We were quite pleased with the traffic and the potential new customers. METALCON has
been the best venue to introduce our new products to contractors, the architecture community as well as our distributors.”
Kicking off day one of the show was keynote speaker, Keith Colburn, star of the Discovery Channel’s hit show Deadliest Catch. The captain of the Alaska King Crab fishing boat, Wizard, Colburn shared his insights
on leadership, teamwork, safety and being successful in today’s hyper-competitive business environment by providing parallels between his life as a captain and the construction industry.
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METALCON raised $5,000 for Local Charity Feeding Tampa Bay.
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Colburn spoke about the importance of staying calm in times of crisis. When describing what makes for a good leader, he said perseverance, a vision to see around competitive corners and to stay calm. “You have to find a way to keep your emotions
in check and adapt well to the situation in front of you,” he noted. He also spoke about the importance of communication. “We all speak, learn and understand differently,” Colburn added, “so communicating is critical.
We train. We drill. And we respond.”
His autographed gear was raffled throughout the show to raise funds for Feeding Tampa Bay, which provides food to one million families in the 10-county area of West Central
Florida. METALCON show management presented a check for $5,000 to the organization’s development officer during an on-site check presentation ceremony.
“We are delighted to have chosen Feeding Tampa Bay for our Give Back campaign this year,” said METALCON Show Director, Judy Geller. “It has been METALCON’S tradition to give back locally to the community kind enough to host us.
This year, we thought it was really important to reach out to those who may not have a meal on the table every night so we teamed up with Feeding Tampa Bay.”
New to the show this year were The Architect’s Experience, the Insulated Metal Panel Pavilion and the Solar Education Center. All were hits with attendees. Plans for a repeat in 2022 are underway.
On Day Two of the show, Ken Simonson, chief economist of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America, discussed the current state and outlook for construction project types, materials costs and availability, and labor in his highly-attended keynote
presentation.
On the labor shortage, Simonson stated, “86% of contractors are having difficulty filling salaried jobs, particularly project managers and supervisors. The number one reason is available candidates do not meet the hiring company’s needs; they
do not have the right training." He also added, "89% of contractors are having difficulty filling key craft jobs.”
With regards to materials costs, Simonson said, ‘The costs of steel mill products up were up 111% from April 2020-August 2021. Lumber and plywood reached their highest in June 2021 at a 120% increase but has dropped to a 52% increase in costs since.”
On the subject of supply-chain bottlenecks, he explained at first it was a problem getting materials from China, then a shortage of containers, then too many containers stacking up in yards/couldn’t accept any more, then shipyards backed up in California
with 70+ vessels waiting to dock/unload.
“I am faintly optimistic we will see improvement on costs and availability,” continued Simonson.
This year’s show included more than 200 leading companies exhibiting the latest metal construction industry products and technology.
“This is our first time at METALCON,” said Frank Whitehead, sales manager of Reed’s Metals. “We’ve made some really good connections and done some excellent networking. We are always looking for new products and top-of-the-line
innovative ideas to help us help our customers succeed, and there are a lot of good ideas here, a lot of good new technology that we can implement in our day-to-day operations. It is very important, with the market today, that we have multiple avenues
to get the products we need for our customers so this is an excellent event for that.”
Long-time exhibitor, New Tech Machinery’s National Sales Manager, Tom Laird added, “It is a pleasure to be able to come back and be in front of our customers again with other members of our industry and show off our wares to new and existing
customers. There are no words that can express how important it is to be able to see people face-to-face and to shake their hands.”
Geller agrees. “It was a fantastic show with a lot of energy,” she said. “People are happy to be back. We are already very busy selling booth space for Indianapolis next year. It is proving to be a popular destination since
it is located within 500 miles of 75% of the manufacturing distribution space in the U.S.; a great pull for contractors, building owners, designers, manufacturers and suppliers.”
METALCON 2022 takes place in Indianapolis, Indiana from October 12-14th at the Indiana Convention Center.
About METALCON
Established
in 1991, METALCON is the only annual tradeshow and conference devoted
exclusively to the application of metal in design and construction. Produced by PSMJ Resources, Inc., in partnership with the Metal Construction Association, METALCON’s
success is based on a dynamic exhibit hall, extensive educational
programs and interactive learning opportunities. The 2025 event will be held in the Las Vegas Convention Center, October 21 - 23. For more information, visit www.metalcon.com.