A common misconception among general contractors is that the manufacturers of Metal Composite Material (MCM) are responsible for the end product on the building. This is a falsehood. The fabricator is what truly matters. The four domestic manufacturers of MCM, Eastman, Ga.-based Alcoa Architectural Products (Reynobond), Statesville, N.C.-based 3A Composites USA Inc. (Alucobond), Chesapeake, Va.-based Mitsubishi Plastics Composites America Inc.
(Alpolic), and Manning, S.C.-based Alucoil North America LLC (Larson) all produce an excellent product. In the wrong hands though, a good product can be butchered with bad craftsmanship. See accompanying pictures for some of the “best of the worst” that we’ve seen (along with how it should look.)
MCM is an amazingly versatile product that continues to grow in popularity and an architect is limited only by his or her imagination in what it can do. But … as you can see, once it is in the hands of the wrong fabricator, all of us in the metal construction industry are at risk of “killing the goose that lays the golden egg” as a product can quickly fall out of favor with architects and owners.
It has to stop. We all have our own roles to make it stop. Architects must properly specify the product and the fabricators, MCM manufacturers must monitor and manage who they sell to, fabricators need to continually raise the bar of quality, and general contractors need to educate themselves while following the specification. Let’s each do our part and collectively, keep a good thing going.
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Scott Stafford is the head estimator at The Miller-Clapperton Partnership Inc. in Austell, Ga. For more information, visit www.millerclapperton.com.