Welcome to the first edition of the Southern States Millwrights' Industry Partner E-News. Through these email newsletters, we hope to keep our current and potential industry partners up to date on happenings in our organization and on ways we can help you meet your goals.
The Southern States Millwright Regional Council consists of more than 5,000 experienced, safety-conscious millwrights who work at facilities such as energy and automotive plants, refineries, and paper mills in 11 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
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SSMRC makes historic investment in training centers across the Southeast |
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More than $20 million is being invested in new union millwright training centers and training-center upgrades across the Southeast. These investments will address the shortage of skilled industrial construction workers affecting many areas and help contractors and facility owners staff projects with elite craftspeople who have the specialized skills needed to complete work safely, properly and in a timely manner.
New training centers, each representing an investment of more than $5 million, are being constructed in Charlotte, North Carolina, Russellville, Arkansas, and Nashville, Tennessee. Training center upgrades, which include new, state-of-the-art equipment, have been completed or are underway in Tampa, Florida, and both Houston and Arlington, Texas.
The Southern States Millwright Regional Council currently trains millwrights at 20 strategically located facilities.
When planning and upgrading training facilities, the SSMRC and its training staff not only consider the technology currently in the field, but what’s on the horizon, said William Grimm, executive director of the Millwright Contractors Association. “The investment in training initiatives is demonstrating a real desire to deliver on that,” he said.
Click here to continue reading about our forward-thinking, specialized training, our focus on safety, and the ways we are combating the skilled-worker shorter through our training center investments.
Read on to learn more details about each training-center project.
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Fast Facts: Charlotte, North Carolina, training center |
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The Charlotte, North Carolina, training center began offering classes in February.
Total investment: $6 million
Total square footage: 25,000
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15,000 square feet of shop space
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5,000 square feet for local offices and union meeting room
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5,000 square feet for classrooms and training offices
Location: Centrally located in the Carolinas and close to interstates 77 and 85
New training equipment includes:
- Two mechatronics/robot stations
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State-of-the-art welding shop with 10 welding booths. Two welding booths will be certified for American Welding Society tests.
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A conveyor prop for training on floor conveyor and power and free monorail systems used in many manufacturing processes such as automotive and food and beverage
Click here for a photo tour of the facility. To schedule an in-person tour, contact Shon Douglas, millwright training director, at sdouglas@sectt.com or 706-426-8542. Learn more at sectt.net.
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Fast Facts: New Nashville, Tennessee, training center |
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Ground will be broken soon on a $5 million training center near Nashville, Tennessee.
Total square footage of new facility: 25,000
Total square footage of current facility: 10,000
Location: High-visibility location on Veterans Memorial Parkway, which connects to U.S. Hwy. 41 in Lavergne, Tennessee
Training equipment will include:
- Computer room to do NANTeL training for nuclear power plants
- Two mechatronics/robot stations
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A conveyor prop for training on floor conveyor and power and free monorail systems used in many manufacturing processes such as automotive and food and beverage.
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Fast Facts: New Russellville, Arkansas, training center
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Construction is set to begin this year on a new training center in Russellville, Arkansas.
This center will be the hub for the wind-turbine-maintenance initiative in the Southern District. By the end of 2021, we anticipate having 80 to 100 millwrights working full time in the wind-turbine-maintenance industry.
Total square footage of new facility: 20,000-30,000
Total square footage of current facility: 10,000
In comparison to the current facility, the new building will include:
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Additional classrooms, with state-of-the-art technology
- More training space
- Extra administrative space for local offices
In 2018, the SSMRC purchased $220,000 worth of new equipment, including a Shuttlelift carrydeck crane and a fully outfitted jobsite trailer for onsite motor and pump alignment training, for the Russellville training center.
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Fast Facts: New classroom building and shop expansion at Tampa, Florida, training center
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A new classroom building with an auditorium is planned for the Tampa, Florida, training center. An addition to the shop facility was completed in early 2020.
Total investment: $1.5 million to $2 million
Square footage of current classroom/admin space: 3,700
Square footage of new classroom/admin/auditorium facility: 12,000
Square footage added to shop facility: 2,000 (for a total of 10,000 square feet). The expanded training space includes new welding booths.
The new building will include:
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Four classrooms with the latest audio-visual technology
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An auditorium for orientations and general-information classes
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A lunch break area
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Additional office space
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Fast Facts: Arlington, Texas, training center upgrade |
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An upgrade that includes new training equipment and an exterior renovation is almost complete.
Total investment: $800,000
Square footage of Arlington training center: 35,000
New equipment includes:
- Two mechatronics/robot stations
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A conveyor prop for training on floor conveyor and power and free monorail systems used in many manufacturing processes such as automotive and food and beverage
The exterior remodel includes:
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Removal of wings and earthen berms that covered one-third of some walls
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A new, complex drainage system
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New signage, new paint, and new landscaping
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Fast Facts: Houston, Texas, training center upgrade |
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An upgrade of the Houston training facility included the installation of new training equipment, which includes two reciprocating compressors. SSMRC millwrights are using the compressors to train for work in the petrochemical and related energy fields.
In December of 2020, the SSMRC paid off a $1.3 million mortgage on the Houston training center, freeing up training funds to purchase props and develop curriculum.
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SSMRC collaborates with Domain Wellness Partners to address mental-health crisis in construction trades |
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More construction workers die by suicide each day than by all jobsite-related fatalities combined. Their suicide rate is 3.7 times the national average, and the construction industry's suicide rate is higher than that of any other industry except the mining and oil/gas extraction industry. Within the construction industry, millwrights and ironworkers have the highest suicide rates.
Ahead of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, the SSMRC has joined with Domain Wellness Partners to begin creating resources for both our partnering contractors and our members that will foster understanding of the causes and solutions to this industry crisis – a crisis that hurts contractors' bottom lines.
As we develop resources, we will keep you updated through this newsletter. Stay tuned.
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The Western Region of the SSMRC is currently focused on several major projects and two specific markets. As a region, we are looking at expanding our market share in wind-power maintenance and light-conveyor/food-and-beverage/automation work. Growing markets in both these industry sectors present ample opportunity for the SSMRC and our partnering contractors.
From a training standpoint, we are developing curriculum and programs for the required skill sets in these markets to ensure a safe and productive labor pool. Our training center in Arlington, Texas, is finalizing the installation of a new conveyor-training mockup and two robotic cells for mechatronics and automation training that will further advance the mechanical skills of our millwrights. We recently broke ground in Russellville, Arkansas, on a new training facility that will be the hub of our wind-turbine-maintenance training program.
We are currently performing work on several high-profile projects. Through our contracting partners, we have crews on site expanding the MD Anderson Cancer Center Proton Therapy facility in Houston. This project will bring one of the most effective treatments for several types of cancer to significantly more patients. The SSMRC and our partnering contractors also have crews at the new Tesla Gigafactory in Austin, Texas. The Tesla facility will be the manufacturing hub for the Cybertruck and Model 3 for East Coast distribution. Eventually, the site might also produce the Tesla Semi, and it will be the first Tesla site that contains full-scale battery production along with vehicle production.
SSMRC millwrights are also working across the four-state footprint of the Western Region on energy-facility outages and on repairing and maintaining large gas and steam turbines and generators. Recent weather events have proven just how important it is to maintain our power-generation infrastructure. Our customers know when they need their machines running efficiently, with minimal down time, SSMRC millwrights are the go-to labor source.
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The SSMRC Central Region and our partnering contractors felt the impact of COVID-19 in 2020. Despite declines in production and forced shutdowns, we added 38 millwrights to our roster and exceeded our 2019 man-hours. With work for our region’s contractors picking up in 2021, we are well positioned to help our partners man projects with highly skilled millwrights.
This year, we are looking to expand within the automotive and light-conveyor/distribution industries. We will be identifying opportunities for growth and helping our contractors secure work within these industries.
In the Central Region, the automotive industry offers many opportunities for industrial contractors and the SSMRC. Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi are home to roughly 230 automotive manufacturing and assembly plants, and these facilities account for 41% of the automotive manufacturing and assembly plants within the SSMRC’s 11-state area. Currently, the largest man-hour-producing project within the region is the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Alabama. To date, more than 450 millwrights have worked at the site, and our partnering contractors and millwrights have logged more than 250,000 man-hours. The facility is slated for completion this year. Its two assembly lines will produce roughly 300,000 SUVs a year — half for Toyota and half for Mazda.
In the light-conveyor/distribution arena, we are partnering with a contractor to secure work at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport in the Florida Panhandle. We’ll be building a new baggage-handling system. In Tennessee, we are looking to partner with contractors working in Amazon facilities.
Also in Tennessee, we are currently working at Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations in Morrison to add 32,000 square feet and machinery to the commercial-radial-tire-manufacturing facility. This expansion will boost production to around 9,400 tires per day.
We are excited about the training investment in the Central Region that will allow us to continue supplying our partnering contractors with millwrights who are trained in the latest technology. As mentioned earlier in this newsletter, a $5 million, 25,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art training center will be built in Nashville, Tennessee, this year.
In other facility news, Millwright Local 1192, which covers Alabama, Mississippi, and the Florida Panhandle, is purchasing a 6,080-square-foot office building to accommodate rapid growth. The local once consisted of 150 members; today, membership exceeds 750. The office building, pictured below, is located at 624 28th Street North, Birmingham, AL 35206.
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The Eastern Region of the SSMRC is focused on continued growth.
In 2021-2022, we are expanding our 2019-2020 successes in the light-frame-conveyor market in Florida. The Eastern Region is also beginning to focus on the automotive market in the Carolinas and Georgia. Our region has been blessed with the completion of the Charlotte training center, which houses two Fanuc robots and an automotive conveyor prop. The Florida training trust is moving closer to breaking ground on a new classroom building at the Tampa training center.
In the membership arena, our goal this year is to grow our membership in the Carolinas. 2020 brought us lots of growth in the Carolinas, and the new Charlotte training center will help launch many careers. We also are focusing on the south Georgia/north Florida region by building upon our relationships with both contractors and members. South Florida is another focus point for membership growth.
Eastern Region staff members have been meeting weekly with contractors to introduce ourselves and our capabilities. We are looking to grow our partnerships specifically in the identified goal industries. Our current contract partners are gaining work in plants and locations where we have not worked in the past. We have upcoming projects at Amazon centers, hydro facilities, automotive and power plants, and the plutonium pit project at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
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The SSMRC Nuclear Office, with our industry partners, stands ready every outage season to keep turbine maintenance and updates on schedule across our 11-state jurisdiction.
Currently, SSMRC millwrights are at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant installing upgrades to Unit 2's three low-pressure turbines. These upgrades include new rotors, inner casing steam piping, and various other equipment. This, along with the usual scheduled maintenance on Unit 2, will produce an estimated 7 megawatts of additional power.
The SSMRC Nuclear Office coordinates with our partnering contractors to provide highly skilled millwrights for six to 14 outages every spring and fall outage season. The close coordination of labor supply assures not only our contractors, but also the utility companies that they will have the manpower they need for their outages.
COVID-19 education provided by the SSMRC and preventive measures taken by contractors and utilities have minimized exposure risk during the pandemic. The SSMRC has met the challenge of providing the manpower necessary to keep the nuclear industry running.
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COVID-19 preparedness course helps millwrights keep jobsites safe |
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In April of 2020, SSMRC millwrights began taking an online course that educates them on how to protect themselves and their fellow workers from COVID-19 at jobsites. Based on OSHA guidance, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (our parent organization) developed the course and updated it as more became known about the virus. The 20-minute course includes a quiz to ensure knowledge retention. SSMRC members who have successfully completed the course can show it on their training verification cards. |
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Check out how we've helped our industry partners work safely and efficiently |
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The SSMRC partners with more than 170 contractors to help them meet and exceed their customers' expectations while remaining within budget. Read the content below to see how these partnerships have made recent projects successful. |
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Massive Mazda Toyota Manufacturing project in Huntsville, Alabama, meets milestones with help of SSMRC millwrights |
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This article about the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing construction project was written last year, and here are updates on work progress:
- Local 1192 has partnered with 13 contractors so far at Mazda Toyota Manufacturing.
- Between 430 and 470 millwrights have worked at the site.
- The local has filled all calls from contractors.
- There have been no lost-time accidents.
- Conveyor work in the paint shop, which is shared by Mazda and Toyota, is 95% complete.
- The conveyor system in the Toyota assembly building is complete.
- The Mazda conveyor system is 75% complete.
- All robots have been installed in the Toyota body weld portion of the plant.
- The Mazda body weld area of the plant is almost finished.
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SSMRC millwrights help contractor Walbridge restore a tornado-damaged automotive plant in record time |
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Southern States Millwrights were among the first workers to answer a contractor’s call for assistance after a tornado struck and severely damaged a Seneca, South Carolina, facility that is the sole manufacturer of transfer cases for some Ford, Toyota, and Fiat Chrysler trucks and SUVs. While parts of the plant were still undergoing repairs, employees were able to resume work less than a month later, thanks to contractor Walbridge and the SSMRC millwrights it employed.
Read more about the project here. |
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SSMRC millwrights and contractor MHS get a 1.1 million-square-foot UPS distribution center back on track |
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When a previous contractor fell behind on a $200 million project at a United Parcel Service regional hub spanning more than 1.1 million square feet in Arlington, Texas, Millwright Local 1421 helped MHS Technical Services turn around the job in time for the facility to process essential supplies for health-care workers at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.
Read more about the project here. |
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SSMRC appoints Thomas Brown to lead Local 1421 in north Texas |
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The Southern States Millwright Regional Council has selected Thomas Brown as business agent for Local 1421, which covers north Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. Brown has been a member of Local 1421 since 2003, when he started as a first-period apprentice, working through the apprenticeship program and graduating in 2006. He has extensive experience in the auto industry as well as in the fossil, wind, and nuclear-power sectors. Brown began working in his new position March 1. "I look forward to growing Local 1421 and helping our partnering contractors and members be successful on projects. |
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SSMRC names Robert Jeffers business agent of Local 2411 in north Florida |
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The SSMRC has named Robert Jeffers business agent for Local 2411, which covers north Florida. During the past 12 years, Jeffers has worked in every industry millwrights serve, including the power-generation industry. His experience will help him manage Local 2411’s relationships with contractors and members, build new business, and coordinate labor supply for projects throughout Local 2411’s area. Jeffers replaces Paul French, who retired Dec. 31. Read more about Jeffers here. |
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Rickey Moore tapped to lead the Mid-South Training Program |
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Rickey Moore has been named executive director of the Mid-South Carpenters Regional Council Training Trust Fund. He will oversee seven training facilities and several millwright and carpenter instructors. Moore worked for more than three decades as a union carpenter and began his teaching career 21 years ago. In his new role, one of his first major projects will be supervising construction of a new training facility in Nashville, Tennessee. Moore replaces Greg Williams, who recently retired. Read more about Moore here. |
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Learn more about the SSMRC and how we can meet your millwright labor needs |
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Launched in late December, our new website, www.southernstatesmillwrights.org, contains an "Industry Partner" tab to assist current and potential industry partners in learning more about our organization and finding millwrights to man jobs.
Check out some of the content by clicking the buttons below.
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