As each new year begins, we look at projected industry spending that might provide additional bidding opportunities for our partnering contractors. For the Central Region, the industrial-spending outlook on capital and balance-of-plant opportunities for the first half of 2023 totals more than $19 billion.
During the first quarter of 2023, growth will continue across the Western Region after a record year in 2022. There will be emerging work in clean energy and infrastructure funded by federal dollars, with multiple projects breaking the $1 billion mark on total insurable value.
The contractors of the Eastern Region – the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida – have hit the new year running. We are looking at several projects worth more than $1 billion this coming year.
The launch of a $450-million project to turn a brewery in North Carolina into a pet-food factory lined up perfectly with the opening of a union training center in that state, providing hands-on learning for newly recruited SSMRC millwrights and a skilled labor force for contractors working at the site.
The Southern States Automotive Contractors Association, a group the SSMRC was instrumental in creating, is hosting the Auto Focus 2023 summit March 1-2 at our Charlotte, North Carolina, training facility. The event is aimed at confronting – and finding solutions to – challenges in the automotive industry.
The Southern States Millwright Regional Council and Millwright Local Union 1263 invite contractors, educators, and elected officials to attend an open house at the Charlotte, North Carolina, training center on Thursday, Feb. 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Union millwrights have been instrumental in a multi-year project to install a high-tech baggage-handling system at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston that is the first of its kind in the Unites States.
2022 was a stellar year for the SSMRC and our partnering contractors. We handled a total of 19 nuclear outages. While dealing with high manpower demands, SSMRC stepped up to the plate and hit a home run, utilizing 895 millwrights to fill 1,110 requested millwright positions.
The Eastern Region’s 2022 man-hours have been consistent with man-hours from previous years. We are expecting 2023 to be a very busy year. Some major projects are going to launch in the first quarter of 2023 that will require significant manpower.
The Western Region of the SSMRC has enjoyed immense success in 2022. Comparing this year’s first- and second-quarter work hours to those of the past decade, we surpassed our best years by more than 200,000 hours.
2023 is looking to be just as busy as 2022 with the new Ford Blue Oval project and other large projects heading our way. We will continue our daily recruitment efforts.
Apparel-maker Carhartt, Inc. awarded a $25,000 grant in November to support the United Brotherhood of Carpenters’ Military Veterans Program, which helps service members transition from the military to civilian careers as millwrights and carpenters.
Both the UBC Millwright Safety tool and OSHA’s Safety Pays Program produce reports that allow companies to compare their workplace injury rates to those of their peers.
Military veterans have many hard and soft skills that make them great millwrights. In the South, we have two training centers that are part of the Military Veterans Program run by our parent organization, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters.
Construction should be complete before the end of the year on a 25,000-square-foot training center in La Vergne, Tennessee. This property is in a high-traffic area surrounded by residential subdivisions, which will greatly enhance our recruitment efforts.
In the state of Arkansas, the new 35,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art training center located right off Interstate 40 in Russellville was completed in May. The proximity of this facility to a major interstate has given us more visibility with contractors, state and local leaders, and the general public.
A collaborative partnership between labor and contractors is essential for growth. Together we maintain focus on, safety, productivity, and training while delivering a safe, professional and productive workforce.
The Western Region of the SSMRC expanded its growth in the light-conveyor distribution market by doubling our work hours compared to 2021 for the first two quarters of 2022. The fall season is looking extremely lucrative, with multiple projects across north and central Texas planned.
Work in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida has picked up significantly across all industries. I can assure you that our team is working diligently to ensure your jobs are manned with highly skilled millwrights.
Union millwrights from across the South will be needed to build the largest auto-production complex in Ford Motor Company’s history. The massive undertaking – which includes an electric-vehicle-manufacturing facility more than two-thirds of a mile long and a battery plant the size of 109 football fields – will provide a wealth of work opportunities for SSMRC members.