About 170 events planned nationwide for fourth annual SteelDay September 28

This year's fourth annual SteelDay is expected to be celebrated at about 170 event locations all over the country. Taking place on September 28, 2012 and hosted by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), its members and partners, SteelDay is a national event featuring free educational and networking opportunities for the design and construction community and the public. Guests can find and register for a free event in their area at www.SteelDay.org/events.

SteelDay events range from tours of steel facilities and job sites to educational presentations and special events in major cities. It allows architects, engineers, contractors, owners, students and others to see the industry's latest technologies and processes in action and learn directly from industry experts who are opening the doors to their facilities.

Here is what you can expect to see at some of this year's events:

• Structural steel fabricators: Learn how structural steel is prepared for a building or bridge using off-site, controlled conditions, which ensures a consistently high-quality product while reducing errors and costly fixes at the job site. Also see why most steel fabricators use 3D models/BIM to streamline production and increase efficiency.
• Steel mills/producers: Steel is the most recycled material on earth, and today's modern mills produce steel containing an average of 90% recycled material. Witness steel recycling capabilities and procedures at scrap metal recycling and steel production facilities, and develop an understanding of rolling schedules and steel availability.
• Steel service centers: See what thousands of tons of steel looks like! And learn about the crucial role these facilities play in the industry.
• HSS producers: Watch the fascinating process of manufacturing top-quality hollow structural sections (HSS), and learn about shape availability.
• Bender-rollers: Curved steel doesn't just happen; precision instruments and experts are responsible for these increasingly popular architectural and structural elements. Observe the very specialized and skilled process of bending and rolling steel shapes.
• Galvanizers: View the Hot-Dip Galvanizing (HDG) process, from staging the material through to its receiving a full protective coating against corrosion.

In addition to connecting the design and construction community with local structural steel experts across the country, this year's SteelDay also offers special events in major cities including New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Boston.

For example, on SteelDay Eve (September 27) at the McGraw-Hill building in the Big Apple, AISC is offering a luncheon and panel presentation by movers and shakers on NYC's construction scene. The panel discussion will focus on steel plate shear walls and how they can be incorporated into your next building project. Complimentary copies of AISC's Steel Design Guide 20: Steel Plate Shear Walls, will be given to all registered attendees.

Another special event that isn't taking place in a big city but is expected to draw a large crowd is a pre-SteelDay celebration on September 22 at PKM Steel Service, Inc., an AISC member/AISC certified fabricator in Salina, Kan. In addition to tours of PKM's facility and shuttle service to other major festivals happening in the area, the event will feature several high-profile speakers including Nolan Bushnell, founder of the Atari Corporation, known as the "father of the video game industry" and one of the few people to have hired the late Steve Jobs.

SteelDay also engages local dignitaries and government officials who recognize the structural steel industry's contributions to the nation's architecture and economy, its continuing progress and the dedication of everyone involved. In recognition of this year's SteelDay, government proclamations have been signed in the states of Colo., Idaho, Ill., Nev., Ore., and W.Va.

Click here to watch AISC's SteelDay video on YouTube that shows highlights from previous years' events and gives a glimpse of what you can expect to see this year.

For additional information on SteelDay and to find out what's happening in your vicinity, visit www.SteelDay.org. +