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Are You Ready for MSCA19?

The 34th Annual MSCA Education Conference is underway. We have launched the MSCA19 phone app and digital program book, with access to all the details needed for a successful and inspiring experience at this year’s conference! Both the app and program book include detailed descriptions of the inspiring keynote speeches, relevant peer group topics and powerful education sessions, as well as optional activities and extras that will be available throughout this information-packed week.

We have a lot of exciting things in store for this year’s conference and we are excited to share them all with all participants in just a few more days!

There’s an App for MSCA19!

The MSCA19 App is live and ready to download! The App will be your tool to navigate this year’s conference. With exclusive content and access to the conference attendee list, you’ll have everything you need at your fingertips! Only on the App can you directly message other conference attendees, download conference handouts and build your own personal conference schedule!

You’ll find a full list of conference sponsors and exhibitors along with booth locations for Monday’s Supplier’s Day. Browse the available education sessions and peer group forum topics as well.

We will be sending out important announcements and updates through the App, so make sure to keep your push notifications turned on! At the end of the conference you will also receive a link to complete a post-conference critique—only available through the App— for the chance to win awesome prizes!

Don’t wait— download the MSCA19 App by using keywords MSCA19 in the Apple or Google Play stores. Once downloaded, you must log into the app with your registration email and password: MSCA19 to access the attendees list and attendee information. Click on the three small dots in the upper right-hand corner to log-in. For help with the App onsite at the conference, stop by the registration desk at MSCA reCONNECT!

Complete Temperature Systems Slashes Office Staff Time with MobiliForms

Complete Temperature Systems of Chicago cut office staff time by 14 hours per week using MobiliForms from iBusiness Technologies to help streamline their operations. Before, field work orders, service tickets, and preventive maintenance checklists had been driven around, which delayed invoicing and created the possibility of getting lost. Now, information streams in real time, allowing for same-day or next-day invoicing. CTS’ government contracts require specific work acknowledgement letters; with MobiliForms in place, they are signed onsite, stored, and shared digitally. MobiliForms also allows techs to capture pictures and sounds on work orders.

LEARN MORE

Looking for More Smart Solutions?

Visit the Smart Solutions Case Studies area of our website! You’ll see how other mechanical contractors found their win-win with productivity-enhancing and cost-saving applications from members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council.

Plus, you’ll find tips and ideas on other ways you and your company can save money and enhance your productivity.

VISIT SMART SOLUTIONS

ACCO Installs Uponor Radiant to Achieve LEED Platinum in HQ Expansion

Delta Electronics (Americas) originally specified a conventional radiant tubing heating and cooling system for its headquarters expansion in Fremont, CA, to help meet LEED® Platinum and net-zero energy building standards, but ACCO Engineered Systems suggested Uponor’s Radiant Rollout™ Mats for a faster, more efficient, consistent installation. ACCO crews installed 138,000′ of tubing with the Radiant Rollout Mats in five months—much faster than the time required for conventional PEX rails or tie-down methods.

LEARN MORE

Looking for More Smart Solutions?

Visit the Smart Solutions Case Studies area of our website! You’ll see how other mechanical contractors found their win-win with productivity-enhancing and cost-saving applications from members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council.

Plus, you’ll find tips and ideas on other ways you and your company can save money and enhance your productivity.

VISIT SMART SOLUTIONS

Warner Mechanical Uses Aquatherm Pipe to Help Manufacturer Rebound Quickly from Roof Collapse

A roof collapse could have knocked IVP Plastics of Washington, IL, out of commission for a long time, but Warner Mechanical LLC, of Edwards, IL, used Aquatherm polypropylene pipe in the rebuild, helping the manufacturer get back to business quickly. The heat fusion process made Aquatherm piping easier and faster to install than traditional welded pipe, saving Warner Mechanical time.

LEARN MORE

Looking for More Smart Solutions?

Visit the Smart Solutions Case Studies area of our website! You’ll see how other mechanical contractors found their win-win with productivity-enhancing and cost-saving applications from members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council.

Plus, you’ll find tips and ideas on other ways you and your company can save money and enhance your productivity.

VISIT SMART SOLUTIONS

Kruse Saves Thousands Using Victaulic BIM and Products

Victaulic’s building information modeling (BIM) expertise saved Kruse Corporation an estimated $15,000 to $20,000 on the renovation of Union Station in Wichita, KS, while the streamlined construction approach reduced build hours from 4,000 to 3,100, yielding an additional $40,000 in labor savings. The combination of BIM services and Victaulic products simplified coordination, reduced risks during construction, and cut the manpower needed for this project in half.

LEARN MORE

Looking for More Smart Solutions?

Visit the Smart Solutions Case Studies area of our website! You’ll see how other mechanical contractors found their win-win with productivity-enhancing and cost-saving applications from members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council.

Plus, you’ll find tips and ideas on other ways you and your company can save money and enhance your productivity.

VISIT SMART SOLUTIONS

reEVALUATE and reESTABLISH Your Financial Health at MSCA19

This year at MSCA19, being held October 13—16 in Colorado Springs, CO, we are honing in on financial health — both personal and business.

reEVALUATE Your Personal Finance

We invite you to reEVALUATE the tenets of Personal Finance with Innovest Vice President and Certified Financial Planner® Jared Martin. Jared will outline aspects of personal finance and ways to reinforce your finances through estate planning, education planning, investing and retirement planning and will identify best practices that can maximize efficiencies for retirement. You’ll leave with tools to ensure your money is working for you!

reEVALUATE the Financial Health of Your Service Business

The key to financial health and sustainability is knowing what financial benchmarks you should be measuring and why. Join Leah Gutmann, owner of First Forward Consulting, LLC, to reESTABLISH and sustaining the financial health of your service business. Leah will share results from the 2019 MSCA Benchmark Survey and explain what these findings mean to you!

MCAWW Service Connections Panel

MSCA Chair, Kip Bagley was a special guest at the first “Service Connections” event, hosted by the MCA of Western Washington Service Committee on July 25th. Approximately 50 people attended the event, which connected labor and management over industry trends and challenges. The panel, including Kip Bagley (MSCA Chair), held a lively discussion on topics that included recruiting, the “uberization” of the service industry, self-diagnosing equipment, training and industry growth.

The full of panelists consisted of John Payne (Auburn Mechanical), Joel Crabtree (Local 32), Duane Bjornsen (Seattle Area Pipe Trades), Matthew Barnes (MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions) and Kip Bagley (EMCOR Services Mesa Energy Systems and MSCA Chair), held a lively discussion on topics that included recruiting, the “uberization” of the service industry, self-diagnosing equipment, training and industry growth. MCAWW’s Executive Director, Ed Kommers, served as moderator.

reIMAGINE Your Recruiting Pipeline at MSCA19

Your business relies on the best people to get the work done. As generations change, we need to rethink our methods to recruit people into our industry. Join Jon Finch, Vice President of Training, MILWAUKEE TOOL and Tim Herbert, Lead Organizer, Washington State Pipe Trades, at MSCA19 in Colorado Springs, CO from October 13-16, 2019, to discuss how you can proactively target and engage your future workforce. During this session you will reFRESH your recruiting perspective and leave with actionable steps to increase your hiring potential. This session will cover tactics on where to target to reINVIGORATE your candidate pool. You will leave the session knowing how to tell your story in a way that will reDESIGN your recruiting pitch, as well as solutions to increase your impact and network reach so that you can reENGAGE your connection strategy.
Both Jon Finch and Tim Herbert have been highly successful in recruiting the next generation of workers and ensuring that their company’s and local contractor’s manpower needs are fulfilled in a timely and efficient manner. This dynamic duo will share their best practices with you and open your eyes to new possibilities.

reBRAND: Learn How to Talk Like a Leader at MSCA19

MSCA19 is being held in Colorado Springs, CO from October 13-16, 2019. The old adage, ‘what people perceive, is what they believe,’ has never been truer than in today’s superficial society. Whether you realize it or not, you are constantly being judged by others, often subconsciously. How you communicate in everything from casual conversations to formal business meetings can be the difference between success and failure.
During this highly interactive session, Anthony Huey, owner of Reputation Management Associates, one of the nation’s leading communications training and crisis consulting companies, will demonstrate effective ways to leave a positive perception on a wide variety of audiences you deal with every day, including customers, prospects, internal staff, boards of directors, management, community partners, the news media, elected officials, investors and many others. Never again miss your only opportunity to connect and leave a lasting impression that others will remember.

reENGAGE and Turn Corporate Culture Into a Competitive Advantage at MSCA19

Ryan Estis will be joining us at MSCA19 in Colorado Springs, CO from October 13-16, 2019. Ryan has more than 20 years of experience as a top-performing sales professional and leader. He will refresh participant’s perspectives on how to cultivate a high-engagement, high-performance work culture. As we prepare for the next growth cycle in business, leaders need to understand the needs and expectations of the modern workforce. Ryan pushes back on conventional thinking with new research and case studies from category-leading companies that succeed at maximizing human potential and elevating performance.
To win in today’s market, you need a healthy organization: tuned-in employees, authentic leadership, open communication and trust. Leaders are called to cultivate the kind of workplace where people come first and performance and profit follow. Most organizations leave too many opportunities on the table and waste a huge amount of their people’s potential. This session will offer practical advice to help companies reverse that trend.

reDISCOVER Exactly How to Sell at MSCA19

Join us at MSCA19 in Colorado Springs, CO from October 13-16, 2020. Phil M. Jones, author of five international best-selling books, will help the audience re-DISCOVER exactly what it takes to develop a community of customers who continue to spend with them, refer them to others and build their reputation. Participants can explore the winning tools and techniques that they can use to increase their confidence ahead of their sales conversations and achieve more from every interaction they have.
Phil Jones is the youngest winner of the coveted “British Excellence in Sales and Marketing Award” and has made it his life’s work to demystify the sales process. He re-frames what it means to “sell” and helps his audiences to learn new skills that reinforce confidence, overcome fears and instantaneously impact results. He is by no means your typical sales expert.

WiMI Has Arrived!

The first annual Women in the Mechanical Industry (WiMI) Conference was held on June 24 – 26 in Chicago, Illinois. The conference was a huge success with over 160 women leaders from member companies in attendance. Mandi Wilkins, the Executive Vice President of MCA of Las Vegas, exclaimed the conference was “akin to two days of TED talks just for women. A lot of important education and reminders for us busy ladies. I can’t wait until next year’s conference, even though I am not sure how you will top this.”

Attendees were welcomed the first night by WiMI Chair Kori Gormley-Huppert and MCAA President Brian Helm. The opening session featured a captivating presentation by Col. Nicole Malachowski (USAF, Ret.), the first female pilot to fly with the Air Force Thunderbird aerial demonstration team. She provided a fascinating narrative of exactly what it took to be a woman vanguard and break tradition. Nicole offered actionable tools and real-world lessons about pursuing her dream and making choices; all while building a family and achieving success in a career where few women had gone before.

Tuesday morning featured Stacey Hanke, author of “Influence Redefined,” who presented a thought-provoking session on her powerful Influence Model, a step-by-step method for improving communication and producing the ideal type of influence—one that moves people to action long after an interaction is over.

Tuesday afternoon, attendees had the choice of various roundtable discussions on topics of particular interest to them. Topics included Work/Life Balance; Working in a Family Owned Business; Technology; Advancing Your Career; Leadership Strategies; Working in a Male Dominated Industry and Benefits of WiMI. The day ended with an enlightening panel discussion on recruiting and retaining women in the mechanical and HVAC industry moderated by Jon Finch, VP of Training at MILWAUKEE TOOL, and a panel of diverse women from the industry.

A special thanks to all our supporters who contributed to the conference, and MCA of Chicago for hosting a special attendee event Tuesday night at Joe’s Live. Attendees took advantage throughout the entire conference networking and making new connections. Marie Patterson, a professor at Chico State University, said WiMI and the conference gives “the opportunity for women to help support each other; and it is important to engage and empower those younger to continue to strive for their goals in the industry.”

Networking expert, J. Kelly Hoey closed out the conference sharing unique opportunities in creating proactive and focused networks, and how to leverage the connections they made during the week after the WiMI Conference.

SAVE THE DATE! The second annual Women in the Mechanical Industry Conference is scheduled for June 15-17, 2020 in Austin, Texas!

Ferguson and DEWALT Show Their Support for the WiMI Initiative

Ferguson and DEWALT showed their support for MCAA’s Women in the Mechanical Industry Initiative during MCAA19. Ferguson underwrote two $5,000 Ferguson – Women in the Mechanical Industry Scholarships that recognized high-achieving female students working towards degrees related to our industry. DEWALT collected more than 1,500 signatures in support of the WiMI Initiative and donated $7,500 to WiMI’s efforts.

WiMI Networking Reception at MCAA Convention Well Attended

Over 120 MCAA/MSCA women executives, manufacturer-supplier representatives, local association executives and students got together for a networking reception during the recent MCAA19 convention in Phoenix, AZ. WiMI chair Kori Gormley-Huppert kicked off the event by welcoming all the women and updating them on WiMI activities over the past year. WiMI committee members were introduced and the two Ferguson-WiMI scholarship winners congratulated. The attendees enjoyed the opportunity to meet new friends, share ideas and challenges and foster new networks of contacts.