Recap: Partners in Progress: The Future is Now

The 2024 Partners in Progress Conference took place February 27-28 in Orlando, Florida. Our Executive Vice President, Tony Adolfs, attended with Hank Artlip, Mike Suggs and Ken Wiesbrook, along with representatives from our labor partners, John Daniel of SMART Local 265 and Ray Suggs of Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 73.

The two-day conference was geared toward labor and management leaders throughout the country. This year’s theme was “The Future is Now,” and focused on creating a collaborative environment for all to discover innovative strategies to shape a more prosperous future.

“You’ll never accomplish by yourself more than you could accomplish together.” - Mike Coleman | General President, SMART

SMACNA President Carol Duncan and SMART General President Mike Coleman delivered the conference welcome to more than 600 attendees before breaking into smaller sessions. Topics ranged from ways to maximize communication strategies, to navigating future industry challenges and trends, to mental health and wellness and more. Based on the presentations, contractors and their counterparts can expect continued growth in technology adoption, including project management and parametric software, and increased collaboration across major projects. Our industry will also continue to face a workforce shortage and must find innovative ways to engage the next generation through workplace flexibility, a focus on developing soft skills and targeting underrepresented groups.

“Can we see beyond our current situation to imagine an industry and partnerships that are different? Do we have the courage to step into it?” - Dushaw Hockett | SPACES

Overall, this year’s Partners in Progress Conference offered realistic knowledge and information to chapter executives, contractors, union leaders and young professionals that can be used to further elevate the sheet metal industry.