TMI Reaches Over 90 Builder Owners in Kansas City BOMA Meeting

On February 15, 2007, The Metals Initiative (TMI) team made a presentation to more than 90 building owners and facility managers at the Kansas City chapter of BOMA, the best yet for a TMI meeting with a local BOMA chapter. One of the most effective ways to reach building owners is through meetings with local chapters of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), which has more than 19,000 members who own or manage commercial properties in North America and abroad.

Butler Manufacturing's Ray Heisey, a TMI member who handled the meeting, reported that the owners expressed a great deal of interest in cool metal roofing, with several attendees admitting that before the presentation they had been unaware of the potential benefits of metal roofs.

The U.S. Department of Commerce reports that in 2005 (the most recent data available), nonresidential construction accounted for 25% of spending for the $1.12 trillion construction market. With projections for the nonresidential construction market to grow in 2007, AISI—as a founding member of The Metal Initiative—is making sure that building owners are directly hearing about the benefits that steel can bring to their new construction projects.

TMI's strategy is to meet directly with building owners, architects and contractors for commercial, industrial and institutional buildings to talk face-to-face about the advantages of metal roofs and wall panels. These are "heavy hitter" customers like Home Depot,WalMart Stores, Inc., and Microsoft.

The timing for the BOMA meeting was perfect, as Kansas City officials recently committed themselves to take an active role in the fight against global warming. The city has formed a Climate Protection Plan Steering Committee, and TMI is exploring the possibility of meeting with this committee to further discuss the "green" benefits of steel.

For more information on TMI, contact Dan Snyder or visit www.themetalinitiative.com.