MCAA Regional Report, Region G Words: Glenn HottmannArizona - Clemens HellmannColorado - No State ChairNew Mexico - No State ChairUtah - Alan JohnsonWyoming - Jim ThompsonWorkforce DevelopmentArizonaThe 2013 Apprenticeship school year officially kicked of in early January. Enrollment numbers for both programs have increased in 2013. In 2012, the Central & Southern Apprenticeship Program each had 5 apprentices enrolled. These numbers have increased to 8 apprentices for the Central Program and 9 apprentices for the Southern Program.In 2012 AMCA began the lay the ground to implement the NCCER program based on the Florida Masonry & Apprenticeship Education Foundation’s program. In 2013, AMCA will continue to work towards implementing the program in local high schools across the state.ColoradoNo State ChairmanNew MexicoNo State ChairmanUtahNo report as of this writing.WyomingNo report as of this writing.General ConditionsArizonaIn 2012, AMCA continued to move forward with many of its programs despite the challenging economic conditions. In 2012, AMCA’s Safety Committee held 2 different scaffold training courses. With the great sponsorship support of Western Block & SPEC MIX, AMCA held the 2012 AZ Masonry Expo which included the Masonry Skills Challenge for apprentices and the Toughest Tender & Fastest Trowel Competition. This event was a huge success with over 450 spectators!ColoradoNo State ChairmanNew MexicoNo State ChairmanUtahUtah was ranked as the #1 state to do business in by Forbes magazine in 2012. Last year, Utah had the 5th fastest growth in population in the U.S. and was ranked the 5th in the lowest unemployment in the country. All these items add up to a growing economy that is much higher the most parts of the nation. Utah has been attracting a significant amount of hi-tech companies and the growth is expected to continue at a very high rate in attracting these types of businesses to Utah.WyomingNo report as of this writing.Economic ConditionsArizonaTo 2012 proved to still be very challenging for our industry and many of our members although the year did end with signs of slight improvement in the market conditions. As we move into 2013, many production homebuilders are slowly beginning to development new communities. As a result, our residential masonry fence contractors are seeing an increase in business but are now faced with a shortage of skilled masonry labor workforce. The Commercial market is still very slow but we are anticipating a slight improvement in 2013.Public works project slightly decreased in 2012 but we anticipate a slight uptick in public projects moving into 2013.Many material suppliers announced price increases to take effect in early 2013. As a result, we are anticipating the overall prices for masonry materials to increase this year.ColoradoNo State ChairmanNew MexicoNo State ChairmanUtahLocal architects and engineers are busy and a reasonably good outlook for construction is expected in 2013. Mason contractors who have survived to this point are still bidding very conservatively continuing to put pressure on profit margins.There has been a challenge in stopping labor leasing companies that setup operations in Utah who try to skirt the law by leasing employees as independent contractors. This has impacted a lot of legitimate contractors including mason contractors as many unethical contractors used these services to lower their cost of doing business. Significant progress has been made in getting legislation passed to take out these leasing companies and penalize the businesses who are using these services as they are wrongly classifying employees for their personal financial gain.WyomingNo report as of this writing.Market Expansion & InitiativesArizonaIn 2012, AMCA and the Arizona Masonry Guild (AMG) partnered to introduce several programs to promote the use of masonry products. A central part of this initiative was a “lunch & learn” series program centered on the thermal performance of concrete masonry wall systems. The lunch & learn proved to be very successful and AMCA & AMG have agreed to continue with this program in 2013. With the assistance of our industry lobbyist, AMCA & AMG were able to meet & beginning developing relationships with key legislative/political officials.ColoradoNo State ChairmanNew MexicoNo State ChairmanUtahThe Utah Masonry Council with the direction of their board, have pursued working with various cities in Utah, to assist them in analyzing their current building codes and educating them on the long term value and aesthetically pleasing looks if they will strengthen their requirements for building exteriors. They have had continued success in that area.And finally, after missing a year for lack of significant work to nominate, the Utah Masonry Council is holding their Excellence in Masonry Design awards on January 25th to honor the architects who have designed buildings with a strong emphasis on masonry.WyomingNo report as of this writing.
