< PreviousOver the course of history, buildings have been made from a variety of materials including wood, stone, and brick, but the most popular remains steel, used for everything from creating extremely strong structural framework to external cladding to protect against harsh elements. The World Steel Association – which represents over 160 steel producers – estimates more than half of the steel produced on the planet is used in construction.APRIL 201920Written by Robert HoshowskyFrom bridges to buildings, structural steel is extremely durable, and has a high strength-to-weight ratio, making it ideal for massive structures such as city skyscrapers. With the ability to be manufactured in an array of shapes, steel is produced to client specifications, which enables structures to be completed quickly. And unlike many other products, steel scrap can be melted and re-made over and over again, benefit-ing the environment. In fact, about 30 percent of the new steel on the market today is made from recycled content.From Tokyo to Toronto and London to Lagos, steel remains the building material of choice. Able to withstand hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters, steel plays an integral role in reinforcing bars, columns, studs and joists, and sheet products such as internal walls and ceilings. And with the population of the planet expected to increase by 2050 to 9.8 billion – and more of us living in large metropolitans – the need for steel structures continues to grow.“Steel plays an integral role in reinforcing bars, columns, studs and joists, and sheet products such as internal walls and ceilings.”21CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS A valuable commodityWith an increase in the use of steel for residential buildings in the years following World War II, the material gained con-siderable momentum in the 1950s and 1960s for commercial buildings, which required materials that were non-combustible and strong enough for tall structures. Today, the Steel Framing Association estimates 30 to 35 percent of all non-residential structures across America are made with cold-formed struc-tural steel and non-structural framing.In terms of crude steel production, China still holds the number one position, with an annual tonnage of 831.7 – over half of the world’s total steel production – followed by Japan at 104.7, India at 101.4, the United States at 81.6, and Russia in fifth place with a yearly tonnage of 71.3. Other top steel-producing nations include South Korea, Germany, Turkey, Brazil, and Italy. Led by companies such as ArcelorMittal, the China Baowu Group, the NSSMC Group, the HBIS Group, and POSCO, the market for structural steel shows no signs of significant slowdown.Today, the largest importer of steel is the United States which, in 2018, imported 16.2 million metric tons. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, American imports for 2017 represented approximately nine percent of all steel imported globally, and this was “more than 25 percent larger than that of the world’s second-largest importer, Germany.”For the United States and the construction industry, steel is big business. Importing steel from over 85 countries – led by Canada, Brazil, and Mexico – the U.S. received over 760 thousand metric tons from each country, and has seen steel import growth of 192 percent in the past decade; over half of the steel produced in Canada and Mexico is exported to the U.S. And while import levels have fluctuated historically, falling 12 percent in 2015 and 15 percent in 2016, the amounts of steel coming into America steadily rise, and represent $15.4 billion U.S. as of September, 2018. And while these figures represent a variety of steel types, includ-ing stainless, pipe and tube, semi-finished and others, much of it finds its way into building applications.Vital to the construction sector, steel continues to be a for-midable economic driver. With a history going back over 160 years, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states that the industry in the U.S. accounts for over $520 billion in economic output, and almost two million jobs, including direct, indirect (supplier), and induced impacts, as of 2017. “These workers earned over $130 billion in wages and benefits. All told, the industry generated $56 billion in federal, state and local taxes,” stated the AISI in a recent summary.Of course, it is impossible to discuss steel without raising the issue of tariffs imposed under the Presidency of Donald Trump, which began with solar panels and washing machines, extending to steel and aluminum at 25 percent and 10 percent about a year ago. While some economists and business leaders criticized the move, the AISI stated this February the steel tariffs are working. “The Administration’s trade actions and tax and regulatory reform policies, in addition to the strong economic climate enabled by those policies, have allowed the American steel industry to begin to recover after more than a decade of low capacity utilization and weaker earnings due to repeated surges in imports fuelled by global steel overcapacity,” stated Thomas J. Gibson, AISI President and Chief Executive Officer in a release. “Capacity utilization at existing mills has increased in recent months to over 80 percent – levels not seen in the last ten years. Some shuttered plants are being re-opened, laid-off workers are going back to work and companies are making investments in new steel production facilities.”Although optimistic about the future of steel, Gibson cau-tioned recent progress will disappear if tariffs are ended pre-maturely, stating Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum are “critical to ensuring steel remains a vital asset for our national and economic security,” especially with China producing record-breaking amounts of steel and potentially flooding the market.“Vital to the construction sector, steel continues to be a formidable economic driver.”22Touching the skyWith many major cities worldwide experiencing construction booms, steel structures are being built in record-breaking numbers. Pushing the limits of architecture and engineering means even taller skyscrapers. In Melbourne, the capital of the Australian state of Victoria, recent years have seen con-troversy over the increasing height of buildings. One recent project called for a massive, 356 metre (1,168) foot tall building, which has drawn considerable controversy, as the tower would become the tallest in Southbank, an inner city suburb.Despite some naysayers, there is no denying steel’s integral role in construction. With ‘steel skyscrapers’ classified by the U.S.-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat as struc-tures “where the main construction vertical and lateral struc-ture elements and floor systems are constructed from steel,” many of the world’s largest buildings are composed mainly of steel. Many in the Top 10 are iconic and instantly recognizable for their glimmering reflective exteriors and unique structural skeletons, such as the 73-storey U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles, the timeless Art Deco design of New York’s Chrysler Building at 319 metres (1,047 feet), and Chicago’s 88-storey Aon Center, the third largest steel building in existence.While other building materials certainly have their place, the use of steel for building massive skyscrapers in major cities world-wide cannot be denied. Respected for its durability, adaptabil-ity, cost-effectiveness, design flexibility, fire and earthquake resistance, strength and beauty and ability to be recycled over and over, steel will continue to play a role in urban construction for years to come. “With many major cities worldwide experiencing construction booms, steel structures are being built in record-breaking numbers.”23CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS APRIL 201924MacDougall Steel Erectors, established by Ron and Gloria MacDougall in 1998, is located in Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island. The company specializes in steel fabrication and installation, with projects all across Canada and the Eastern United States. It is dedicated to keeping worksites safe and efficient and has built a reputation for putting in the extra effort to ensure projects run smoothly and on time.Written by Charline Cormier-PellerinMacDougall Steel Erectors has come a long way from its humble beginnings. “We started off as a simple steel erection company, putting up steel for other companies surrounding Prince Edward Island,” says MacDougall Steel Erectors President Dave Clark. “Then, in 1999, we rented a small shop near Charlottetown and started to do a little bit of fabrication,” he says.“In 2001, we built our first shop in Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island, which was around 6,500 square feet at the time. In 2005, we expanded that plant, adding on 7,500 square feet. We expanded it again in 2008, when we twinned the shops, adding a whole other side to it, and then we expanded that shop out once again with another addition in 2014,” says Clark. “Just a year and a half ago, we purchased the old McCain’s French fry plant and converted that into a shop. That plant is around 120,000 square feet. We also have a paint shop, assembly building, and a parts building, so we’ve grown over the years. Now, we have around 264,000 square feet of shop floor space.”The company’s expertise is erecting steel. “We were a steel erection company first, and we’re still a steel erection company,” he says. “We fabricate in order to make the steel erection advance a lot more seamlessly on site. In turn, our production is a lot quicker on site. We put a lot more effort into the detail, drafting, fabrication, type of connections that we use, and the building so that we can get it to the site and get the steel up ahead of our clients’ schedule.”MacDougall Steel Erectors’ products arrive ready to install. “It is all prefabricated here in Borden-Carleton. We ship it across the country to wherever the job sites are, and then we fly our guys out to install it. Across Canada, we supply and install in every province. We have done work in every province and territory across this country. However, in the Eastern United States we typically only supply. Then we have local people there install it,” Clark shares.He explains that, “We implemented our own safety system. On certain projects, we can allow a certain one hundred percent tie-off because our safety system is put on the ground before the beams are hoisted,” says Clark of OSHA’s fall prevention stan-dards. “Our motto has always been: ‘as fast as safety permits.’ So, we push safety on our sites. We want to get each employee home every day.”Like all companies, MacDougall Steel Erectors has had its share of challenges over the years. “A past challenge for us was when the majority of our market share was in one market, and when that market slowed down, we had to diversify,” he states. “Now that we’ve diversified, and with all the markets that we’re in, there’s essentially not one market that’s much more than 25 percent of our market share.” “We were a steel erection company first, and we’re still a steel erection company.”APRIL 201926 Clark admits that, “It’s a lot better to be diversified into multiple markets than to be in just one because when that one market slows down, it can be quite a hit. For example, we had been heavily invested in Alberta, with a lot of our work out there. But when the oil turned, those projects came to a halt, and we had to retract. It forced us to grow into other markets, and we had to re-diversify ourselves as a company.”It has been a forward-thinking company in dealing with other issues as well. “When it got really tight, and we couldn’t find people to put up steel, we built our own steel erection school so we could train people so that we would have enough people to sustain our contracts. Because when we say we’re going to do something, we definitely want to do it and exceed what we promised,” says Clark. “We also try to stay ahead of the curve; we’re constantly looking and trying to find the sources that we’re going to need. We try to hire as many local people as possible, but we will use other avenues if necessary.”The company’s employee count fluctuates depending on projects and worksites, but it currently has approximately 140 people. “We have created many long-term jobs and have a lot of long-term employees,” Clark says. “Most of the foremen that “When we say we’re going to do something, we definitely want to do it and exceed what we promised.”APRIL 20192829CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS Next >