SteelDay 2022 is in the books--and it was one for the books, too!
AISC members, the Ironworker Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust, and others affiliated with the industry celebrated steel last week with events from Puerto Rico to Portland.
“SteelDay is a celebration of the fabricated structural steel industry and I was excited to see how the many activities helped to connect designers, students, fabricators, erectors, and steel producers with each other,” said AISC VP of Operational Engagement Carly Hurd. “Whether it was Chris Raebel's intriguing presentation on how designers can inexpensively utilize small research projects to create better outcomes, project tours showing innovation in design and construction, or ironworker training facility open houses that allowed attendees to try out their hand at activities such as welding and climbing a column, thousands of participants had to opportunity to learn, experience, and connect.”
Denver’s AEC community got a peek behind the curtain at Meow Wolf, where the Perplexiplex astounds today--and was designed for a second life, if needed. The structure is built with adaptive reuse in mind (an ideal fit for steel) and is ready to morph into a storage facility if Meow Wolf trots off elsewhere.
Across the country, students, specifiers, and other steel fans got hands-on appreciation for what ironworkers do every day.
Howard University students visited the Iron Worker Training Center in Largo, Md.
Ironworkers in Portland showed SteelDay participants how it’s done.
The event at San Diego’s Iron Worker Training Center was white-hot!
And other students won $25,000 in scholarships. (The next generation is coming! Take that, labor shortage!) Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) attended the fourth annual SteelDay welding competition, which is a collaboration between Laramie County Community College, Puma Steel, and AISC, in Cheyenne, Wyo.
AISC ex officio Board member Rex Lewis of Puma Steel noted that the students competing for these scholarships came from a range of about 800 miles!
“Skilled trades, like welding, offer Wyoming youth incredible job opportunities, without the burden of enormous college debt,” Lummis noted on Facebook. “It was an honor to join LCCC on [SteelDay] to applaud the hard-working students who are learning this important trade!”
In Medley, Fla., George’s Welding Service, Inc., fired up the VR to show off what they do.
And that’s just a taste of what went on across the country.
“This year's SteelDay was too big to really pack in just one day so events were held during the entire week,” Hurd added. “In recognition of its growth, beginning next year, we're renaming it SteelDays and formally expanding it to a full week of activities!”