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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.

Shop Helper Position Available! Steel bending & fabricating company looking for a Shop Helper with 1 year experience. Position in a physically demanding industry. Must be able to lift 50lbs repeatedly & stand for 4hrs+ at a time. Must be willing to do all sorts of shop support tasks. Must be able to read, write and speak English to complete paperwork and communicate with co-workers. Basic math skills are required. Forklift and/or loading experience highly preferred but will train. Previous experience in metal or construction industry preferred. Machines and Tools commonly used include brooms, dustpans, hoses trough, grinders, torches, banding equipment, band saws, overhead cranes & forklifts. This is a full time position M-F. Union wage scale starting at $12.83. DRUG TEST REQUIRED Job Type: Full-time Wage: $12.83 to $17.90 /hour Call: (503) 692-6010 today if you are interested.

We are making custom boat parts out of 1" OD X .065" WALL 6061-T6 ALUM material. Our customer needed 850 parts made for this one project. Each part was bent on a 2½” center-line radius to 90 degrees. Each part had one end flared to 37°. All parts needed to be supplied in a T6 condition upon completion and be anodized for a clean surface condition. Our bent steel can be seen on various applications in the auto, marine, aviation, locomotive, agricultural and food processing sectors. Our bends are used on locomotive frames, boat frames, deck rails and even components for homeland security helping to protect our docks and ports.

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. The first one that I would like to highlight is "More Than Recycled Content, The Sustainable Characteristics of Structural Steel" which focuses primary on the fact that domestically produced and fabricated structural steel used for structural framing systems has an average recycled content of 93%. This white paper also addresses important environmental issues such as reuse, resiliency, water consumption, waste generation, energy consumption and more. 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."

If you answered yes, than you should consider wearbacks for your elbows. For decades, Albina has supplied customers with bent elbows where we weld a plate or channel to the outside of the bend (acting as the wearback). A wearback is installed to act as an additional layer to the bend, when the backside of an elbow finally is worn through, any materials running in the piping system will remain inside and the piping system will continue to function due to the extra layer of material on the backside of the elbow. We recently bent some 8" SCH80 T304L S/S SMLS to 30° elbows. After bending the elbows, we bent and fabricated wearbacks out of ½” stainless plate and welded the wearbacks to the outside of the pipe elbows.