BILL BRADFORD IS A VETERAN OF THE SHEET METAL INDUSTRY IN MORE WAYS THAN MOST. Born and raised in North Side Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the city’s “Steel City” renaissance, Bradford graduated from high school June 1955 and immediately joined the Air Force that July. “I was 17 so my parents had to sign documents to get me in,” he remembers.

Sheet metal contractors and top industry decision makers from around the country will converge Oct. 20-23 for the 2019 Annual SMACNA Convention at the JW Marriot in Austin, Texas. 

With good reason, Advance Cutting Systems named its newly released fiber laser the “Evolution.” In terms of cut quality, fiber lasers are considered “the next step in HVAC cutting” after high definition plasmas, explains Clint Ray Jr., national sales manager at Advance Cutting.    

Here’s a bit of information you already know: research shows that each generation thinks that they are smarter than the last. That’s right. Your kids? Smarter than you.

Calling upon skills taught at the Sheetmetal Ductwork Fabrication School in Burkeville, Virginia, students Tony (left), Nick (right) planned, fabricated, assembled and installed transitions and plenums to achieve a supply and return unit replacement.

Manufacturing is the backbone of industrialized economies. Yet, because of the amount of capital it takes to get started, many entrepreneurs and companies never get off the ground.    

Installing large HVAC duct systems can be seamless when all contractors are on the same page. In order to supply the spiral duct for a new IKEA store in Norfolk, Virginia, Turn Key Duct Systems arranged to have the duct shipped directly to the job site, and the installing contractor, Craiberly Enterprises, was ready to hang the duct upon arrival to minimize the risk of dents or dings on the exposed installation.

With the addition of several roll forming lines at its processing and distribution center in Houston, Texas, the company continues to diversify its product offerings to better serve customers. 

Barbie "The Welder" Parsons shares a few words of wisdom on how to weld, create and inspire like a true welding master.

ProGlove, the Germany-based manufacturer of a smart, wearable technology that provides hands-free scanning solutions across a number of industries, unveiled its MARK 2 to a U.S. audience at the 2019 ProMat trade show earlier this year.