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Message from the President
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Dear (Contact First Name),
As 2015 comes to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support during my tenure as president of SFNE. It has been a pleasure working with the SFNE Board, Committees and the membership over the last two years. The level of participation in association programs has been impressive and I am pleased to report that we have seen an uptick in the membership rosters for both fabricators and associates.
While these last few months of the year have flown by with most everyone in the steel fabrication industry busier than ever I want to say a special thanks to our event sponsors. They really came through for SFNE at our September golf tournament held at the Red Tail Golf Course and again for our annual meeting held in October at the Plainridge Park Casino.
Our membership retention has been tremendous and I believe this is due to the outstanding educational programming offered as well our ability to work on your behalf at the legislative level.
As you know, SFNE is working toward passage of legislation in Massachusetts that will level the playing field on public construction projects. If passed, this bill would add structural steel, including when applicable structural steel framing, shear connectors, steel or metal joists, steel or metal decking, and/or hot dipped metal galvanizing to the Massachusetts General Law known as the "filed sub-bid" system for selecting certain subcontractors on most public building construction projects.
With the help of many fabricators, SFNE was able to retain the services of Delaney and Associates to move this bill forward and the Board recently agreed to pursue passage in 2016.
Moving into next year, I look forward to more interaction and collaboration with our colleagues including engineers and detailers. I am confident that the SFNE Education Committee will produce programs that in general will promote the use of steel in New England and help you in your everyday business.
Thank you again for a great two years.
Happy Holidays.
Stephen Capone
SFNE President
Capone Iron Corp.
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At the Annual Meeting held on October 28, 2015, SFNE elected a new board of directors and officers whose term will begin on January 1, 2016.
Rens Hayes was elected SFNE President. Rens Hayes is the President and Owner of Rens Welding & Fabricating, Inc., located in South Taunton, Mass. The company was incorporated in 1994, but has been in operation since 1988. Rens started in the industry in 1986 with a nights and weekend mobile welding and repair service.
Prior to this Rens worked on crane booms, was a heavy equipment rigger, heavy truck driver and crane operator. He also repaired heavy trucks, heavy earth moving equipment, rock crushing and asphalt plants and he repaired and built fire truck bodies.
Rens has also been a carpenter, auto mechanic and farm hand. He is a graduate of Mansfield High School and served in the US Navy as an aviation structural mechanic 2nd class Pedi officer specializing in air craft frame repair, welding and nondestructive inspections.
Brett Miller was elected SFNE Vice President. Since 2011 Brett Miller has served as President of Building Envelope Systems located in Hopedale, MA. Building Envelope Systems is a design/build structural steel, fabrication of misc iron and exterior metal panel systems for all applications.
Prior to this Brett was a sales representative for Dri-Design. He has also worked for Metro West and The Steel Shop.
Brett graduated from Assumption College with a Double Major in Business Management and Economics.
Pete Fusini was elected to serve as SFNE Treasurer. Pete is the vice president at Berkshire Bridge & Iron which has operated in Western Massachusetts since 1964. The team at Berkshire Bridge enjoys working on unique structural, miscellaneous and ornamental steel projects of all sizes and scopes.
Pete has a background in accounting and engineering, and he was a two term chairman of the Board of Selectmen in his town. He enjoys being busy, upland bird hunting, fishing and traveling with his wife and six children.
Darin Gillies was elected to serve as SFNE Secretary. Darin is the VP for Reliance Steel based in Colchester, VT. Darin grew up in Alberta Canada and went into the steel industry right out of high school. He worked in the shop for 4 years during the day and learned detailing in the evenings and weekends. Darin earned his journeyman welding certificate while in the shop and worked in all aspects of fabrication.
From the shop he moved into the detailing office for several years and then on to estimating. Darin worked for a couple different shops through the 80's ending up as assistant manager before deciding to move to Vermont in 1991. In 1993 Darin started working with John Wisener at Reliance Steel, Inc in Colchester, VT.
Darin started as a detailer and quickly began taking on tasks as a project manager and estimator. In 2000 John began thinking about eventual success and Darin became a partner in the company. Since 2003 Darin has managed the day to day operations of Reliance Steel and is looking forward to a better economy and steel market place.
Darin lives in Barre, VT with his wife Tracey and their pack of Rat Terriers. They travel throughout the eastern US showing and competing with the champion dogs in AKC and UKC venues.
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Meet the New Board Members
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Scott Coulombe is the Business Development Manager for
Summit Metal Fabricators. He has been in the structural steel business since 1996 working on panelized and pre-manufactured building components and complex structural systems both domestically and internationally.
Some of the projects that he has worked on range from 440 bed student housing projects to disaster relief housing projects to extreme luxury projects in the Mediterranean.
Passionate about the steel industry, Scott is constantly looking for new ways to provide cost effective and creative solutions to execute projects, utilizing the latest technology and methodologies available. Scott has a degree in Civil Engineering Technology from the University of New Hampshire.
Lori Chasse is the Vice President at S.L. Chasse Steel. As well as participating in overseeing office operations at S.L. Chasse Steel, Lori is responsible for overseeing that the quality management system is being adhered to and that all parties understand and implement their tasks and responsibilities in the process.
Lori has been detailing and project managing since starting in 1998 and has since been involved with software implementation and administration for the new automated fabrication equipment located in their new fabrication facility.
Rick Coughlin is with Quinn Bros Iron. Like many in the industry Rick grew up in the steel business. He worked in the shop and the field throughout high school. Then he attended U-Mass Boston and received an accounting degree. After graduating Rick moved onto the office side of the business. He has been on the office side for the last 15 years.
Rick is extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to be in an industry he is passionate about and work with family. Rick is proud to work with his father Richie Coughlin who is a Local 7 foreman and the owners of Quinn Brothers John, Jay, and Joe Coughlin.
When Rick is not working he enjoys spending time with family. He is blessed with a beautiful wife Colleen, a nine year old son Mason and five year old daughter Teagan.
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More SFNE Board Election Info
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The Board terms for Mike Feder from Infra-Metals Corporation and David Orlando from Berlin Steel Construction Co. will continue through 2016.
James McBrady from James A. McBrady, Inc. and John Roy from Connecticut Galvanizing were re-elected to serve another two-year term.
Stephen Capone from Capone Iron Corporation will serve as Immediate Past President.
Bill Pascoli from AISC will continue to serve a Board advisor.
There are several board members who will be retiring from service at the end of this year. They include: Steve Chasse, S.L. Chasse; Mark Torriani, Santini Bros.; and Tim Gendron, Tim's Fabricators.
SFNE thanks Steve, Mark and Tim for the many years and countless hours they have put in on behalf of SFNE.
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October 28, 2015 Annual Dinner Meeting
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On left, Tim Gendron from Tim's Fabricators
with Rens Hayes from Rens Welding & Fabricating, Inc.
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SFNE held its Annual Dinner Meeting on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at the Plainridge Park Casino.
During the event, AISC's Bill Pascoli moderated a business industry roundtable that provided attendees with insight on the state of the steel fabrication industry in New England.
This interaction among colleagues was so well received that the roundtable will be repeated at the spring dinner meeting.
In addition to the roundtable, the evening featured presentations on a variety of business related vignettes.
Special thanks are due to the speakers including:
- Mark Delaney from Delaney & Associates, for providing the legislative update;
- Ryan Menard from Kenney & Sams, who provided the Sick Leave law update;
- Brett Miller from Building Envelope Systems, who presented the first in a series of fabricator profiles.
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| On left, John Roy from Connecticut Galvanizing with
Tony Taylor from Vulcraft. |
Why join the SFNE?......
Networking is a critical part of running any business. In this article, John Roy from Connecticut Galvanizing illustrates the benefits members get from attending and participating in SFNE meetings. John provides the member benefit from both a customer and a vendor viewpoint.
As a vendor - I met Tony Taylor from Vulcraft at the SFNE meeting held at the Red Hook Brewery. Tony contacted me about a Connecticut job that required galvanizing and was bound for southern New England. Connecticut Galvanizing was able to provide the service within the required time frame, at a competitive price and due to the logistics, a savings in freight. This was truly a win-win outcome to both Vulcraft and Connecticut Galvanizing!
As a customer - Connecticut Galvanizing, having various aged equipment, was getting crane parts from a number of suppliers. The effort was substantial to track and source the required repair parts. I met Scott Frost from Mass Crane at a SFNE meeting. Scott won the bid to perform our annual crane inspections. While doing the inspections, Mass Crane took all of our crane information and has since won over all of our spare part business. Finding a crane service company was not a goal of attending a SFNE meeting, but the relationship with Mass Crane has turned into a great cost and time savings for our company.
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Comparing Contracts
A Review of the AIA 201 and ConsensusDocs
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Every ten years, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) updates its standard contract documents including the AIA A201, which governs the general conditions of construction contracts between the owner, general contractor, and architect. In 2007, ConsensusDocs first published its own set of standard contract documents including ConsensusDocs 200, a form construction contract governing the relationship between owner and general contractor (and to some extent involving the architect) like the AIA A201. Shortly after ConsensusDocs released its first set of documents, the AIA released its updated A201 contract. Interestingly, for the first time in more than fifty years, the board of directors of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) voted unanimously not to endorse the 2007 version of AIA A201. Since that time, ConsensusDocs has updated its standardized forms, publishing new editions in 2011. It is important to note that while there are key differences between the AIA A201 and ConsensusDocs 200 approach (the AIA remains more owner friendly although probably more neutral than its 1997 AIA A201 predecessor), there are similarities between them.
Read more for a summary comparison of the key issues between the 1997 and 2007 AIA A201 documents, and the CensensusDocs 200.
By Michael P. Sams and Amanda J. Cox
Kenney & Sams, P.C., 45 School Street, Boston, MA 02110, (617) 722-6045
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Advanced Polymerics, Inc.
10-12 Delaware Avenue, Suite 1 & 2
Salem, NH 03079
Phone: (603) 328-8177
Fax: (603) 328-8945
Rob Cain, President
Berkshire Bridge & Iron
140 E Housatonic Street,
PO Box 254
Dalton, MA 01226-1928
Phone: (413) 684-3182
Pete Fusini, V.P.
G & E Steel Fabricators
4 Florence Street, Unit 5
Salem, MA 01970
Phone: (978) 741-0391
Gino Antonio, President
MPS Products Corporation
134 Newbury Street #8
Peabody, M A01960
Phone: (978) 817-2144
Michael Pimental, President
Nucor Grating
2000 Corporate Drive,
Suite 400
Wexford, PA 15090
Phone: (724) 934-5320
Rick Anderson
Quinn Brothers of Essex, Inc.
239 Western Ave.
Essex, MA 01929
Phone: (978) 768-6929
Jay Coughlin, President
TriCast
PO Box 732
Rochester, NH 03866
Phone: (603) 842-5522
Gary Fraser, Project Manager/VP
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Senate Bill 1721 -
An Act Relative to Structural Steel
SFNE is working in Massachusetts to get legislation passed that would add structural steel including when applicable structural steel framing, shear connectors, steel or metal joists, steel or metal decking, and/or hot dipped metal galvanizing to the Massachusetts General Law known as the "filed sub-bid" system for selecting certain subcontractors on most public building construction projects.
Stephen Capone from Capone Iron testified in support of the legislation.
Click here for the fact sheet on Senate Bill 1721.
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AISC Elects New Board Chair, Vice Chair and Directors
(Chicago, IL) - The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) is pleased to announce the election of James G. Thompson, president of Palmer Steel Supplies, Inc., McAllen, Texas, as the new chair of its board of directors, and David Zelesne, president of Owen Steel Company, Inc., Columbia, S.C., as the new vice chair. Both were elected to two-year terms during AISC's annual meeting in Chicago last month.
In addition, the board welcomes two new directors: Hollie Noveletsky, CEO of Novel Iron Works, Inc., Greenland, N.H., and Robert A. Simon, vice president of structural products at Steel Dynamics, Inc., Columbia City, Ind.
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September 18, 2015 Golf Tournament
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The SFNE Annual Golf Classic was held at Red Tail Golf Club in Devens, MA on Friday, September 18, 2015. SFNE wants to thank all of the players and especially the sponsors for making this annual event a success.
Winning Teams
First Place: Rens Hayes and Rens Hayes IV, Rens Welding & Fabricating, Jeremiah Bever, McNamara/Salvia and Bill Allen, Total Welding Supply
Second Place: Donald Hoard, Superior Steel Fabricators, Inc., Josh Cilley, American Steel Fabricators, Sean Hood, USI New England, AND Steve Doherty, Diamond Iron Works
Third Place: Mark, Scott, Bob and Mark Jr. Delaney, Delaney & Associates, Inc.
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