MCA elects president and honors codes expert (March 2009)

The Metal Construction Association, Glenview, Ill., held its Annual Meeting in January. During the meeting, the association celebrated its 25th anniversary and elected new leadership to continue the success. Jeff Irwin, CEO of Kingspan Benchmark, Columbus, Ohio, is the new MCA president. Irwin joined the MCA board in 1993 and has been a key player in many areas, including the wall panel council, membership, METALCON International and commercial market development. He takes over the reins from Dick Bus, president of ATAS International Inc., Allentown, Pa., who held the post since 2005 and remains on the board as past president. In outlining his key objectives for MCA, Irwin emphasized expanding the organization’s presence in new and existing industry segments without losing site of long-term goals. He highlighted the other key aspects of MCA’s mission to grow the use of metal. This includes advocacy—staying focused and taking action on public policy related to the use of metal in the building envelope—and education, continuing to demonstrate the advantages of metal to major stakeholdersacross all industry segments. Also elected at the meeting were Karl Hielscher, president of Metl-Span, Lewisville, Texas, and Roger Sieja, director of commercial development coil coatings, for PPG Industries, Springdale, Pa. They will serve on the 2009 board of directors. During the meeting, MCA presented John Miller with a Special Service Award to acknowledge his service and dedication to MCA’s code agenda during his term as chair of the MCA codes and standards committee. Miller is with MCPU Polymer Engineering, Corona, Calif. He has been involved in code work since he relocated from New Zealand to the U.S. in 1989 and is well known for his comprehensive knowledge of codes. “John’s name is synonymous with codes and standards throughout the construction industry. He’s always been considered a walking encyclopedia on codes and standards and could cite just about any code on state and national levels without looking it up. It’s through his leadership that MCA has been able to position metal in a positive way,” said MCA Technical Director Scott Kriner.