SPECIAL FEATURE 40TH ANNIVERSARY TIMELINE 1980–1990

40 Years of Change, Growth and Industry LeadershipBy Paul Deffenbaugh, Editorial Director Marcy Marro, Editor Mark Robins, Senior Editor Christopher Brinckerhoff, Associate Editor

19871980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989

1980 Jul: The debut issue of Metal Building News, founded by Sam Milnark and John Lawrence. Both men have been inducted into the Metal Construction Hall of Fame.

1980 Oct: First MBN contractor profile of H.S. Williams Co. Inc., Marion, Va., which was named Top Metal Contractor for the years 1980-1989.

1980 Dec: Metal Building Dealers Association (MBDA) expands to Canada.

1981 Jul: In honor of the Metal Building Manufacturer Association’s (MBMA) 25th anniversary, MBN publishes a special report on the history of metal buildings.

1982 Jul: MBN Building Awards debuts.

1983 Aug: MBN reports that the Metal Construction Association will form on Nov. 2, 1983.

1984 Apr: MBN recognizes the best in metal building insulation.

1985 Jan: Inaugural issue of sister publication, Metal Architecture.

1986 Mar: Metal roofs represent 4.5% of all roofs installed by National Roofing Contractor Association (NRCA) members.

1987 Jan: In a survey of 1,000 architects, MCN reports that 38.7% of them specified standing seam metal roofs in 1986.

1988 Mar: MCA Merit Awards debut, recognizing the year’s most successful buildings, products and systems.

1989 Sep: MCA approves a trade show to be held in October 1991, tentatively called World of Metal in Construction.

1982 Dec MBN publishes its first industry survey forecast predicting market performance for the metal construction industry in 1982.

1981 Dec: Butler Manufacturing, Kansas City, Mo., announces it delivered its largest pre-engineered metal building to date: 893,000 square feet.

1982 Nov: The Metal Building Assembler classification is approved by the U.S. Department of Labor and is listed in the dictionary of occupational titles.

1983 Oct: The Metal Building Dealers Association changes name to Systems Builders Association (SBA).

1984 Nov: Metal Building News changes its name toMetal Construction News to reflect its expanding coverage of the metal construction industry.

1984 Oct: MBN inaugurates the Reroof of the Year Award to honor builders, and general, roofing and sidewall contractors who successfully designed, sold and installed reroofing systems.

1984 May: Report on the first MCA meeting, April 1-3, Hotel Hilton, Buena Vista, Fla., with 115 attendees. Hall of Fame Honoree Larry Swaney named first president.

1985 Apr: Metal building system sales reach an all-time high of $1.3 billion, according to the MBMA.

1985 Jan: SBA starts the Building Systems Institute, an umbrella group that includes SBA, MBMA and the California Building Systems Institute to promote the metal building industry.

1986 Oct: Hall of Fame honoree Chuck Howard, who has been a tireless proponent of reroofing systems, wins reroof of the year award.

1986 Jul: MBMA celebrates its 30th anniversary.

1987 Dec: MCN annual market survey predicts 8.2% increase in metal construction for 1988.

1987 Feb: Hall of Fame honoree Jack Hatcher named president, CEO of H.H. Robertson Co., succeeding James L. Davis.

1988 Sep: H.H. Robertson purchases Star Manufacturing for more than $30 million. Dean Grant named new president of Star.

1989 Dec: Original name is dropped because of a conflict, and MCA officially names the trade show METALCON International and selects a logo.

August 2020 METAL CONSTRUCTION NEWS 17w w w.metalconstruct ionnews.com16 METAL CONSTRUCTION NEWS August 2020