Report of the MCAA Marketing Committee

Words: Damian Lang

Vision 2020

The MCAA Marketing Committee continues to play an important role in funding and assisting the Vision 2020 program to ensure its success. The MCAA is working closely with the National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA) and other industry partners to form teams of contractors, laborers, suppliers and other affiliated industry representatives that will work with community planners to convince decision makers to utilize masonry and implement masonry ordinances.

Marketing Committee members are encouraged to join or establish teams in their areas.

Over the next year, the Marketing Committee will begin work on a manual to assist mason contractors with getting involved in Vision 2020.

Rebuilding Haiti

The MCAA has been working with the Dominican Republic to develop a program where members of the MCAA will be invited to open contracting companies in the Dominican Republic with training support of the domestic employees from the government and the MCAA.

During various meetings with the Dominican Republic government, the MCAA discussed the possible magnitude in dollars of the first village as somewhere between 4 and 7 million US Dollars. In essence, this represents somewhere between 150 and 250 homes with the appropriate infrastructure. MCAA member financing will be required for participation in the plan.

The MCAA is currently developing a plan to train the Dominican Republic workforce, manage the building of their communities, and locate entities that are willing to finance this venture across the globe.

This is an enormous undertaking that could develop into a 4, 6 or even a 10 year commitment. Similar opportunities will also be available in Haiti in the efforts to rebuild that country.

Military Construction

The MCAA has been working on developing a major initiative to reclaim lost market share within the US Military and met with Pentagon officials twice within the past year to present the valuable benefits the military would reap by taking advantage of the masonry building system. The most recent presentation was developed with the Masonry Institute of Michigan. MCAA members are encouraged to download the presentation from the MCAA website and utilize it locally if military bases are in your area and are also encouraged to adapt segments of the program to help in other similar wall applications.

The MCAA has an opportunity of a lifetime to demonstrate “masonry for all its worth” to the government through a Phase II program. We are proposing to do a life-cycle cost analysis involving five methods of construction:
  • wood
  • concrete
  • steel
  • masonry
  • wood modular for a typical barracks
Additionally, we would compare the five construction methods for:
  • initial construction cost
  • timeline
  • sustainable design
  • antiterrorism design
When the research is complete, a presentation will be developed to cover topics including advantages of masonry, energy conservation, sustainable building materials, structural model, initial cost and life cycle cost, construction schedule, sustainable design, and antiterrorism design.

In addition to the military significance of this project, the research will be able to be utilized for other masonry applications, such as college dormitories and other government facilities.

The MCAA anticipates having research and support materials complete by early February 2011.

Green Building

It is the opinion of the Committee members that green building is the next big wave of building practices and that the MCAA must educate owners and architects about the green values masonry has to offer.

The MCAA will be offering “An Introduction to LEED and Masonry Construction” webinar on Wednesday, March 2, 2011. The webinar will provide a general overview of the LEED for New Construction version 3.0 rating system and the LEED credit categories and point system, and a review of the LEED certification process. The discussion of the LEED credits will include examples using masonry construction. In addition, sustainable design strategies, not included in LEED, but applicable to masonry construction will also be discussed.

The MCAA has formed a Green Building task group headed by Karli Simmons, Coordinator of Marketing for Potomac Valley Brick. The task group will report to the Technical Committee.

Task Groups

The Marketing Committee is looking for individuals to head two new task groups:
  • Construction Manager Task Group
  • Design-Build Task Group
Please contact Marketing Committee Chairman Damian Lang if you are interested in working with either task group or know someone who would be a good fit.

MCAA Website

The Association’s website, www.masoncontractors.org, continues to grow on a daily basis. Our site is viewed by thousands of unique visitors each day, and millions across the globe search for news and information regarding the best building system on the market: masonry. The site is the premier industry website for contractors and suppliers and is an important promotional tool for architects, specifiers, officials and other potential customers. We are proud that the MCAA website is the best site in the masonry industry.

The Year Ahead

The Marketing Committee continues to look into and develop a wide range of programs focusing on educating the design professionals in our industry and recapturing lost market share. By continuing a strong and effective contractor driven marketing effort our industry will flourish.
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