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Construction Marketplace Tuesday, January 10, 2017 1 6 WARD MANUFACTURING: AN AMERICAN SUCCESS STORY Pennsylvania native Joseph Ward founded Ward Manufacturing, L.L.C. in Blossburg, Pennsylvania, in 1924. Initially the company produced a small line of cast iron steam and drainage fit- tings, along with plugs and bushings. Within four years, Ward's reputation for quality was established, and demand skyrocketed. In 1928, the company's manufacturing facilities doubled in size and it introduced a new product line: Class 150 malleable iron fittings. Ward continued to grow, adding a facility to produce malleable iron pipe unions in 1938. An early adopter of automation, Ward opened a highly automated foundry in 1955 to keep up with demand for competitively priced Ward products. While it has been transformed over the decades through continued improvement and reinvestment, this facility continues to produce fittings using the fastest, most current automat- ed molding equipment. The spring of 1980 was a time of milestones for Ward, as it introduced a series of new products including Class 300 brass-to-brass seated unions, beam clamps, C-clamps, WARDLOX plain- end fittings and COUPLOX grooved end fittings. In 1990, the Ward product line expanded again to include TEELOX mechanical branch connec- tors, meter swivels and ferrules and connecting nuts. It was also in 1990 that Ward intro- duced a revolutionary new product: WARDFLEX. The flexible corrugated stainless steel tubing first came to the U.S. in 1986 under the name of SOFLEX. While the technology had been used in Japan for years, it was vir- tually unknown in the U.S. Ward Manufacturing became part of the Hitachi family in 1990, and took the lead in promoting SOFLEX technology under the name WARD- FLEX. Soon after, the AGA certified WARD- FLEX for use throughout the U.S. Since that time, WARDFLEX has gained recognition in the four major model codes in the U.S. and now has code recognition in all 50 states. In 2006, Ward Manufacturing acquired Wisconsin Nipple and Fitting Corporation, now known as Ward Nipples, adding a full range of welded, seamless and stainless steel pipe nipples to its product line. Ward has continued to add new products, always with the same high quality standards, introduc- ing a line of steel couplings in 2009. Ward Manufacturing is a leading maker and distributor of piping components used in thousands of installations worldwide, from upscale homes to commercial developments, institutional buildings, public utilities and grand edi- fices – including such American icons as New York City's Freedom Tower. Building on nearly a century of quality manufacturing, using only the best, most durable materials and advanced technology and techniques, Ward has become a fixture in the global pipe fittings industry. It is com- mitted to its customers and continually invests in facilities, product develop- ment and people. Its own rigorous qual- ity standards and drive for innovation demand it. Ward products, including WARD- FLEX, Ward Fittings and Ward Nipples lines, are available through professional plumbing and heating/HVAC whole- salers throughout North America. With numerous sales offices and warehouses across the U.S. and Canada, Ward has established a distribution network with inventories in thousands of locations, enabling it to fill orders quickly and accurately. Visit Ward Manufacturing at booth #S1757. For more information, go to www.wardmfg.com, call 800.248.1027 or email info@wardmfg.com. GROWTH, SUBFLOOR NEEDS SPUR SCHÖNOX SUPPORT FOR MULTIFAMILY SECTOR Across the United States, there are more than 26 million apartments. If those units need renovation only once in three years, that means 8.7 million apartments must be renovated each year, which is 167,000 each week or 33,500 each day. Those are astounding numbers. Many of those apartments have ordinary gypsum subfloors that degrade and crack over time. Others suffer from subfloor challenges that make it difficult to install the floor covering materials like LVT tile that are growing at the highest rates among floor categories. Pairing the renovation numbers with those subfloor conditions spurred Schönox to take a close look at the mul- tifamily housing sector. The result was a series of self-leveling compounds that are specifically designed for renovations and are ideal for the multifamily sector. An integrated set of Schönox self- leveling products have been produced that are ideal for renovating those cracked and crumbling ordinary gypsum subfloors. The company has focused on producing a subfloor that is smooth and sound using a faster process that is entirely safe and environmentally responsible. Schönox AP is a synthetic gypsum self-leveling compound that can be poured over a primed ordinary gypsum subfloor, and many other subfloor cate- gories as well. The result is an incredi- ble compressive strength of 5800psi. Schönox AP contributes to LEED cred- its and includes significant amounts of recycled content. Installers are pleased with the installation method, specifiers have a great environmental choice and facility owners are getting apartment subfloors that are ready for many years of use. A variety of demo- graphic trends are sup- porting the growth of multifamily housing and indicate that further growth may be just around the corner. More than a third of young adults, ages 18 to 31, live in their parents' homes. That's more than 21 million young people. Several factors are driving this stat, including declining employment prospects, extended college enroll- ments, delayed marriage and declining marriage rates. While living at home with parents is a short-term answer, it is not one that is sustainable into the dis- tant future. As such, a wave of Millennials will be moving into their own households, and many if not most will likely be apartment dwellers. Further growth in multifamily housing is coming. Just as the need for additional mul- tifamily housing units is set to grow, many owners of existing facilities are feeling the need to renovate and upfit their structures to compete with newer units that are coming online. Schönox has answered this need with Schönox, APF, fiber-rein- forced synthetic gypsum based self-leveling com- pound. It's a great answer for subfloors made of timber floor boards, OSB board, ply- wood and wood-cement boards. The fibers within Schönox APF create an incredibly strong subfloor drying to a compressive strength of 6200psi. It's a tool that owners and renovators of older multifamily housing units can use to successfully prepare the subfloor for the fastest growing floor coverings which require smoother subfloors. Schönox APF is opening up exciting options for the renovation of older spaces paired with those newer floor coverings. Schönox is acutely aware that more than 57 million Americans live in multi- family housing and that number is set to rise substantially. Those apartments and condos will need renovation and strong subfloors ready for years of use. The company is well positioned to meet this need. Visit Schönox at booth #S3016. ICC EVALUATION SERVICE EXPANDS ACCREDITATION ICC Evaluation Service (ICC-ES), the experts in building product evaluation and certification, has expanded its cur- rent scope of accreditation through the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) to include evaluation of post-installed anchor products, including both mechan- ical and adhesive type anchors, to the provisions of the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) and CAN/CSA A23.3-14 Annex D qualification require- ments of post-installed anchors. This new SCC scope extension allows ICC-ES report holders to apply for recognition under the National Building Code of Canada and CAN/CSA A23.3-14 Annex D for anchor products that have been qualified to the require- ments of ACI 355.2 and ACI 355.4. "This is great news for anchor man- ufacturers seeking Canadian distribution for their anchor products," said ICC-ES Quality Systems Director David Pereg, P.E. "ICC-ES report holders will now be able to seek Canadian code recognition through our ICC-ES Building Products Listing Program. This is another example of ICC-ES continuing to deliver on its pledge to find more ways to add value to the ICC-ES listings obtained by manu- facturers." The Building Products Listing Program for the Canadian market pro- vides manufacturers a way to indicate to code officials, designers and specifiers that products com- ply with consensus standards referenced in the National Building Code of Canada. Manufacturers can go to jurisdictions in both the U.S. and Canada and have their products readily approved by code officials of the two countries. Call 800.423.6587, ext. 1 to speak to an ICC-ES Connect+ Customer Care rep- resentative or email es@icc-es.org today to find out if your products may qualify for this program. About ICC-ES A nonprofit, limited liability company, ICC-ES is the United States' leading eval- uation service for innovative building materials, components and systems. ICC- ES Evaluation Reports (ESRs), Building Product Listings and PMG Listings pro- vide evidence that products and systems meet require- ments of codes and techni- cal standards. The ICC-ES Environmental Programs issue VAR environmental reports that verify a product meets specif- ic sustainability targets defined by today's codes, standards, green rating systems and ICC-ES environmental criteria. The Environmental Programs now offer Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), to meet global market demand for science-based, transparent, quality- assured information about a product's environmental performance. ICC-ES is a member of the ICC Family of Companies. Visit ICC-ES at IBS booth #W6283 and KBIS booth #W681. For more informa- tion, go to www.icc-es.org.