Blog posts of '2017' 'December'

The AISC (American Institute of Steel Construction) ran an ad in yesterdays's USA Today in selected markets across the U.S. in conjunction with a special insert that the newspaper is publishing called “Construction in America.” The ad and supporting information on AISC’s website is focused on debunking claims being purported by the wood industry about the fire resistance of wood used in construction. More and more buildings, specifically in the Northwest, are being designed out of wood. Please take the time to review the information being presented by the AISC. [caption id="attachment_1411" align="aligncenter" width="2964"] AISC Ad in USA Today's special insert titled "Construction in America"[/caption]

We collected toys this year for the U.S. Marine Corps, "Toys for Tots". The team collected $366.00 in toys, and Albina Co. matched that, totaling $732.00 worth of toys! Way to go team! [caption id="attachment_1408" align="aligncenter" width="1632"] President Brian Smith with Albina Co.'s Toys for Tots Donation[/caption]

As 2017 winds down, we would like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you. We hope to have the pleasure of doing business with you for many years to come. As we reflect on the many relationships we built upon this past year, the very interesting and high-profile projects we have been a part of, as well as the challenges and obstacles we faced along the way, we are thankful that we had such a great customer base to share those experiences with. We are looking forward to a new year that will certainly bring its own set of adventures, but we are ready! WE GET IT...YOU ARE BUSY! THAT IS WHY WE VALUE YOUR TIME. It seems anymore that there isn't just a "busy time of year", every day, throughout the entire year is busy! We get that you are being pulled in many different directions with work, family, fun activities, etc. That is why we want you to know that WE VALUE YOUR TIME and boy do we have a gift for you this holiday season! The visionary concept of "videotelephony" was first popularized in the late 1870's in both the United States and Europe. The first systems were developed by AT&T Corporation, first researched in the 1950's, and failed mostly due to the poor picture quality and the lack of efficient video compression techniques. Today's video conferencing systems are no longer just for webinars. Albina has invested in a system that makes video conferencing as simple as one click in an email. Even if you do not have a camera on your end, our video call allows you to see our smiling face, while we both can talk like a telephone call. But it can go much further than that! We can share our screen with you to review drawings We can link you to our shop cameras so that you can see your job in progress We can teach you how to use the calculations application inside our website We are still learning how this can bring even more value AND respect your time. Click on this YouTube Video to see a brief example of what we are now able to accomplish (and at the same time, receive my holiday well wishes via video!) Never tried a video call? Drop us a line and we would be happy to show you.

As part of AISC’s (American Institute of Steel Construction) mission to make sure that architects and developers have accurate and factual information regarding the design and construction of buildings and bridges, they have created a series of white papers exploring various issues related to specifying steel as the primary building material on projects. This month, I would like to highlight the white paper titled “The Impact of Material Selection on the Resilience of Buildings” which explains that of all the materials used for structural framing systems, structural steel has demonstrated the greatest level of resilience relative to extreme events, therefore reducing the cost of the risk associated with the ability of the structure to absorb and recover from the stress of an extreme event. Visit AISC for more detailed information and a link to read the full white paper. We also address many of these same issues on our own website in “Facts About Curved Steel” and in our “Top 10 Reasons to Specify Structural Steel.”

We recently received these pictures from our customer. They used our rolled steel materials to construct this "chute." Albina rolled 6" SCH40 A53B ERW down to a 12 ft radius (tightest) and also rolled 1/2" A36 plate to fit to the laser cut plate on the face of the chute. We are hoping to get some pictures of the "chute" in action and will pass them along as soon as we do.

We just finished a project for The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert, California which consisted of over 60,000# of bent steel! This project consisted of AESS (Architecturally Exposed Structural Steel) material including both angle to rectangular tubing. The rectangular tubing ranged from 2” x 1” up to 16” x 8"! This is a great example of how well we can handle so many various sizes of material from the small to the big! We do it all! Another highlight of this project is that we were able to take the 10" X 6" X .375" WALL A500 GR B Tube Steel to a 7 ft radius! A very difficult accomplishment.