NEWTON, MA, July 17, 2008 - At METALCON the latest applications for steel framing are highlighted through a steel-framed structure built on the exhibit floor. Since that program began in 1994 each structure built at METALCON has been donated to a non-profit organization.

For the third consecutive year, Taunton, MA-based Homes for Our Troops (HFOT) www.homesforourtroops.org will be the recipient of the METALCON 2008 structure. This non-profit non-partisan 501(c) (3) organization assists injured service men and women and their families by raising donations of money, materials, and professional labor and coordinating construction of a new accessible home to fit their needs -- all at no cost to the veterans. Hundreds of other severely injured members of the U.S. Military have benefited from HFOT’s dedication to this cause.

After METALCON, the 2008 structure will be dismantled and rebuilt by HFOT for U.S. Army Specialist David Battle and his family. David was severely injured in December 2007 while serving in Iraq with the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment out of Fort Stewart, GA. An IED blast has left him a triple amputee. He currently is recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center while his wife and four children live in post housing.

Thanks to the generosity of METALCON suppliers, exhibitors, industry friends and Homes for Our Troops, David and his family will be able to move into this new, specially adapted home in the Baltimore area early next year. The home will accommodate David’s needs and enable the family to concentrate on their future as he recovers.

In the last two years, METALCON’s steel-framed structures have been used to build specially adapted homes for SSG Paul Russell “Russ” Marek in Melbourne, FL, and U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Evan Morgan in Bakersfield, CA. Both of these young soldiers were severely injured while serving in Iraq and will continue to recover in their newly acquired homes.

“This program could not be possible without the support and generosity of so many incredible people in our industry and beyond. Our connection to HFOT and the work they are doing has been one of the highlights of this 18-year event, and quite frankly, of my career. Meeting John Gonsalves, Kirt Rebello and the dedicated HFOT staff and volunteers, plus, seeing all that they have done through this program is beyond inspiring. All of us at METALCON and the Metal Construction Association feel fortunate to have met them and to share in the same spirit of helping to rebuild lives for these soldiers who have sacrificed so much for us all. ” noted Claire Kilcoyne, Show Director for METALCON.

This year Bruce and Kimberly Ward of Seattle, WA, will again donate their time to lead construction of the METALCON structure. Bruce heads the Northwest Division of Worthington Integrated Building Systems, a turnkey framing solution for single and multi-family housing.

Working with them will be Arrisbrook Builders, Ellicott City, MD, headed by the team effort of Spencer Padgett and Aaron Drummond, two Naval Academy graduates. After serving 7 years as officers in the Marine Corps, they decided to dedicate their Marine sensibilities and military precision to building homes. In the spirit of giving back to the Marine Corps, they will help build the steel structure for METALCON, assist with its removal after the event, and rebuild it for David’s home afterward.

David’s home is being designed through the volunteer efforts of the Architecture Collaborative Inc., Ellicott City, MD. Structural engineering has been contributed by ADTEK Engineers, Fairfax, VA and local industry support has been volunteered by the Mid Atlantic Steel Framing Alliance.

All of the materials used in the home have also been donated as well: the interior and exterior walls have been provided by STEEL TECH, New Holland, PA; the roof trusses were donated by All-Span, Inc, Bridgeville, DE; custom cabinetry is provided by Quality Custom Cabinetry Inc., New Holland, PA.

METALCON International is the only annual tradeshow and conference focused on the application of metal in industrial, institutional, commercial and residential construction. Each year it brings together more than 8,000 builders, designers, specifiers, developers, building owners, government officials and manufacturers from all over the world.

METALCON is sponsored by the Glenview, IL-based Metal Construction Association, whose members produce, distribute and install the innovative products used in metal construction. It is produced by Newton, MA-based PSMJ Resources, Inc. For more details about the event or to register, visit www.metalcon.com or call (800) 537-7765 or (617) 965-0055

Source: Metalcon, July 17, 2008