From The Editor

The higher education spending boom is likely over, another victim of the coronavirus. That was just one of the conclusions drawn by two experts in the construction trade who spoke during a weekly webinar series.

In the May issue of Metal Center News, we will reveal the full results of the Top Brands survey. Here’s a little taste of the very top to wet your whistle.

As I sit down to write this, I can’t help but think back a year earlier to when we were wrapping up the April 2020 issue. It was expected to be like many previous April installments – a dash of automotive, a pinch of service center goings-on and some other items to satisfy our readers’ metal industry cravings.

On Monday, I received my first dose of coronavirus vaccine (the Pfizer, since sharing that is almost required).

Earlier this month, Danny Kerr gave a MetalconLive! presentation titled Attracting and Hiring Rock Star Staff. Kerr is managing partner and founder of Breakthrough Academy, Abbotsford, British Columbia. The company helps entrepreneurs in the trades grow their companies’ profitability and effectively manage their time.

The first two panels at the virtual Tampa Steel Conference last month featured leading voices on the subject of foreign trade of steel products.

The arrival of a new presidential administration has metals industry participants expecting a significant change in how that affects business conditions, according to a new survey from Headwall Partners. The independent corporate finance and strategic advisory firm conducts an annual survey of leaders in the metals sector.

During the February 10 METALCONLive! webinar titled “Trends in Metal Construction and Design for Q2 and 2021,” METALCON co-founder Frank Stasiowski predicted that 2021 will usher in what he called “the roaring 20s.” His optimism about 2021 and beyond stemmed from his perception that a boom will take place in the metals and construction industry.

No one is going to look back fondly on 2020, a year that will be remembered for months of social unrest, a contentious presidential election and aftermath and a virus that seized the global economically and socially for closing in on 12 months now.

The first two panels at the virtual Tampa Steel Conference featured leading voices on the subject of foreign trade of steel products. Following remarks by AISI President Kevin Dempsey, John Packard welcomed in SMA President Philip K. Bell, Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz and Chris Shipp, vice president of two Priefert companies, which serve both distribution and manufacturing functions.