Diving into the rich history of the MBCEA

By Emma Peterson. 

From collaborations with other associations to the development of contractor support systems, the MBCEA is helping the metal building industry thrive.  

The story of the Metal Building Contractors and Erectors Association (MBCEA) goes back to February 15, 1968, when it was founded. Since then, it has become an industry leading association that connects its members to training, education, technology and industry developments. To learn more about how the MBCEA has and continues to evolve and shape the metal building industry, Megan Ellsworth hosted Sasha Demyan and Robert Tiffin for a MetalCast™ episode.  

Sasha is the executive director of both the MBCEA and their sister organization, Metal Buildings Institute, which is an educational 501(c)(3). She shared a bit about the rich history of MBCEA, saying, “It's gone through several name changes and membership profile percentages of manufacturers and suppliers to contractors and erectors. So while there were dips and then regrowth as the industry has evolved, since my involvement a little over 12 years ago, membership has almost quadrupled!” 

This growth can be attributed to many factors, including the overall growth of the metal building industry, but also to the raised awareness of the incredible services MBCEA offers contractors. Sarah explained, “When I came on board, it was more industry member heavy, more manufacturer, more supplier heavy. And we have tipped the scales now and we are now more contractor and erector heavy, with the addition of a lot of local chapters and other initiatives.” 

As for Robert, he is the president of MBCEA and the chairperson of the architect committee for the Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA). He shared a little bit about the relationship between the MBCEA and MBMA, saying, “This collaboration between the MBCEA and the MBMA came naturally when people started asking, ‘Why are the folks that make the metal building systems not actively talking to the people that put up the metal building systems?’” From there, both organizations have made it a purposeful initiative to work together.  

One example of this is when the MBCEA held their annual conference at the beginning of May, they made sure to have space set aside for the MBMA. Robert elaborated, “We have respective education classes for the manufacturers that are different than what is aimed at the field personnel. They have their topics, so we carve out part of the conference specifically for their members. But one of the really cool things is there are a lot of people, like me, whowork with both sides of the industry. So this collaboration creates a great value stack that lets us learn and grow together.” 

Read the transcript or Listen to the MetalCast to learn more about MBCEA and how they are supporting the meta building industry.