September 2008: President's Message

Industry Cooperation for Positive Change

Tom Daniel President, Mason Contractors Association of America

I am returning from the NCMA mid-year meeting in Hunting Beach, Calif., and I want to share some exciting news about the renewed spirit of cooperation among the industry. I've spent the last few days sitting in on meetings with one of our industry partners (the National Concrete Masonry Association) and have come away very enthused about the future direction of our industry.

For years, we have been talking about and asking for better cooperation within the industry. Among key concerns is the coordination of activities, so we do not spend precious industry resources duplicating efforts. Another concern that is incredibly important is winning back lost markets. The ability for the masonry industry to effectively promote our individual products as one complete system to our customers is paramount.

One such activity that was presented at the meeting is www.masonrysystems.org. This innovative Web site will be rolled out later this month. After seeing the power and proficiency of the site, I think "innovative" is an understatement for the site. A better phrase would be "industry changing." This site will be the go-to site for everything and anything masonry. From having downloadable details (in CAD) to helping the design community select the right wall system, the site will become one of the primary aids and an excellent teaching tool for the design community.

In addition to the www.masonrysystems.org site, there was a renewed and sincere desire to work collectively to tackle some of our most challenging industry issues. Tackling such monumental issues as legislative and regulatory change and reaching our customers as a collective system were all part of the discussions. I was pleased to have been a part of this event, and I am happy to report the industry can expect to see renewed industry cooperation for positive change that they have never seen before but had always hoped to. Make sure you check out www.masonrysytems.org later this month, when one of the most incredible sites on the Web today is launched. It will truly change the way our customers interact with our industry.