MetalCast with Robyn Ommen, Megan Pope, Joe Shimp, & Josh Nowlin - NFBA's 2024 Expo - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Robyn Ommen, Megan Pope, Joe Shimp, and Josh Nowlin with the NFBA Association. You can read the interview below, listen to the podcast or watch the webinar.

Karen Edwards: Hello and welcome to Metal Cast by Metal Coffee Shop. My name's Karen Edwards and we are here today to talk about what's happening with the National Frame Builders Association, and I'm super excited to welcome the executive director and board members to this episode. So I'm going to ask you guys to introduce yourselves and tell our listeners a little bit about what your role is with NFBA. And Robyn, let's start with you.

Robyn Ommen: Hello, my name is Robyn Ommen. So I am the current president of the NFBA Association.

Karen Edwards: Excellent. And Joe, welcome.

Joe Shimp: Hi, I'm Joe Shimp. I am the Vice President of the NFBA board, and I am the president of Conestoga Buildings out of Ephrata, Pennsylvania.

Karen Edwards: Welcome, Joe. Josh, please introduce yourself.

Josh Nowlin: Hi, Josh Nowlin here. I'm with Burrows Post Frame Supply, and I've been with the NFBA for several years now, and I'm on as the secretary right now of the NFBA Executive Board.

Karen Edwards: Excellent, thank you. And last but not least, Megan, please introduce yourself.

Megan Pope: Hi, I'm Megan Pope. I am the executive director of the National Frame Building Association.

Karen Edwards: So glad to have you guys all here. Let's start out, Megan, maybe you can give us a little bit of an overview about what NFB is.

Megan Pope: Yeah, sure. Absolutely. NFBA is the only National Trade Association that represents the post frame industry. We exist to support our members who are post frame builders and the associate members that supply them with everything they need to be able to create those buildings. And we do our best to promote the post frame industry and educate the public and owners about this method of construction as a way that they can, a method of construction they can use to build their buildings.

So we do a lot of different things for our members. We have industry tools and code resources. We provide different types of education for our members. Our members have access to legal and technical experts to help them along the way with their business day-to-day. And we also keep our members updated about any kind of latest news or OSHA developments, things like that. Yeah.

Karen Edwards: Well, thank you. We love industry associations at Metal Coffee Shop and know the value that they bring every day and they really help members succeed and be successful. So I'd like to talk about Robyn, you mentioned you're the current president. Can you talk about some of the accomplishments over the last year that you've been able to make happen at NFBA?

Robyn Ommen: Yeah, just to go off what Megan said, we have a lot of different committees and little focuses that we focus on from safety to technical. So one of the things that we'll be really focusing on at the current expo coming up in 2024 is women in post frame. So there's one thing that we really started working on. We want to build that part of the association, so we'll have a networking event for them, and then also an education event. So really trying to expand the audience that we focus on for the NFBA and the expo itself. So that's been a big initiative that we've been working on this last year. But then we also have an online curriculum that we have been working on and are currently launching as well that I know Josh will get further into, but those are some big initiatives that we've been working on to expand, but then also always educate on the association, what post frame is, and then also technical as well. So really making sure that we provide what everyone needs to be successful.

Karen Edwards: These are great initiatives. We're seeing a lot of different industries start groups for women and roll out more education and training programs because there's so many challenges that the construction industry overall faces. So it's great to hear that. Josh, I'd like you to dive in a little bit deeper about this new curriculum.

Josh Nowlin: Yeah, you'd mentioned some of the workforce challenges in construction and it's constant in every field, every association related to construction, we all ask ourselves the same question is how do we get more qualified individuals interested in our line of work? And as the NFBA association dove into that and we talked to what can we do to help make a difference in our industry. And as we looked into trade schools and community colleges, it became real apparent to us that although many of those have great construction programs for carpentry and even metal buildings, but none of them really went into post frame construction. So we kind of made it our goal to say, "Hey, what can we do to make a difference?" Because these kids are coming out of high school and unless they're right in a rural community, they may have no idea what post frame construction is.

So we made it our mission to develop a curriculum, and we partnered up with the University of Missouri to do so. And what we're planning to do with that is just to basically, is exactly what I said, is to get that into trade schools, to compliment their current programs and just make post frame more recognized within the industry. And then twofold, also for our association members to be able to have access to a real, true curriculum to help train their employees. And that's not just crew workers, that's office workers. I mean, it goes down the line, factory workers. Anybody in the post rank frame industry, they come in as a factory worker or a secretary, or even in the marketing department. They may not know what post frame is, right? They may be really good at what they do, but so this would be a good program to even send new employees through so that they can get a feel of what the industry is that they're going to be working in.

And there's just so many things centered around this curriculum. We're excited about it. Robyn mentioned the online portion, so we do have the physical textbooks, right? And we also now have a version of study guide. And the testing is all online through the University of Missouri. So it's a big, big deal. We're excited about it. We're going to talk more about it at the expo during some of our educational sessions. Yeah, I hope that I covered it well for you.

Karen Edwards: Yeah, I think the online is great, because people can kind of do that on their own time and at their own pace, and the importance of education, just you're kind of standardizing so that everybody's learning the same thing and understanding the industry just that much better and what they're doing. I'd like to move on to talk about some of the trends that we're seeing in frame building. Joe, Josh, you guys are on a contractor and supply side. Then what are you seeing out there.

Joe Shimp: Sure. So I feel the market over the last few years going through COVID and then our real estate market across the country sort of shaped what is trending now. People, the word barndominium means something to people. The issue TVs and all those type shows picked up on that. And so, there's definitely, we can't ignore the trend in for poster and barndominium. Some of those are rural, large buildings in the Midwest to even, I'll say modern farmhouse style homes that can be built using post frame. So it's an exciting trend. It's something that's new to some of our membership and our builders. So we're learning as fast as it became popular in a sense. But definitely in addition to that, on the residential side, a lot of families needed new spaces and what I call multi-use. We're seeing more and more clients who they're building a pool house, but it has a shop and it has a little living area and family quarters or in-law suites or things like that. And a lot of those structures and a lot of that design is post frame friendly. So of course our industry members jumped on that with that draw.

And other little things that are kind of cool projects, we see sport courts, things like that. People are thinking about how they can spend better quality time at home, do things, change. And probably as much as that now that we're coming out of years of being stuck at home a little more, I think a lot of our commercial clients are building advanced spaces and the brewery thing is really hot. Distilleries, places that are, the building is sort of the hangout of the commercial space.

I can speak to us. We just built a golf simulator slash bar type structure. So that's really cool. And post frame lent itself well to that with the open space for all the simulators. So definitely experience type structures, I would say has been popular for us here on the East Coast. So very unique, very commercial, yet have barn-like spaces or ample spaces in them.

And another trend I think that has, and Josh will touch on this probably a little bit, but we've seen the application of what we will say, non-traditional post frame products and sidings and things like that, windows, doors. Even on the metal side, we've seen a different type of panel being used, heavier gauges, more modern architecture with metal, which is really cool. So we've really enjoyed that creativity that we've seen coming to post frame and sort of upping the architectural standard over the last few years.

Karen Edwards: Nice. And Josh, what kind of things have you been seeing out there?

Josh Nowlin: I'd just like to add onto what Joe said basically, and he had mentioned a lot of different types of structures and how they're being used now with post frame. And he didn't mention agricultural or equestrian. That's kind of where post frame got its start. But today is very much heavy residential, the experience space. And we've done light commercial over the years, churches, grocery stores, convenience stores, things of that nature. So post frame is a unique way to build that lends itself to really all types of construction. So I don't want to say limitless, because we do have our limits as do a lot of things, but post frame is a really good choice for a lot of different applications.

And to go on a little further about what Joe said about different types of windows and doors and sidings and things, and that is a big deal. It's important that people understand that just because you're in a subdivision outside of the city that is full of million-dollar homes, post frame does do well in there, because we can match the siding of the house, we can match the roofing products and that's what a lot of associations require in the suburban areas. The standing seam metal roof or the tile roof, the stucco siding or lap siding with stone wainscot. And we can do all that just fine. And in fact, we can many times do it, and it's more affordable than if you were to go an all steel route or a conventional route. So post frame is a good option for people. And so, I'm happy to be a part of this association and just have ourselves positioned in such a way to be successful.

Karen Edwards: Well, it's really cool to see how things are shifting from how they got started to, people are finding these new uses for it, and I think this is a good lead into our next topic. How does somebody stay on top of the trends? Well, I think one of the best ways is by attending the NFBA annual conference. Megan, I am going to turn to you to tell us the dates and the location, and let us know just the overall about the conference.

Megan Pope: Absolutely, I'd love to. We have our 2024 conference and expo coming up, March 6th through the eighth. We're going to be in Des Moines, Iowa this year, at the Iowa Event Center. And we had a show in Des Moines in 2020. It was the first time NFBA ever went out to Des Moines for the annual expo. And so we weren't sure how it was going to turn out, but it ended up being a fantastic show, very well attended. Everybody was happy coming out of there, exhibitors and attendees. So we're excited to go back and see our friends from out more west and hopefully make some new friends as well.

And we've got a very full trade show floor so far. We are not done selling booths. We still have booth space available, but we have over 130 exhibitors already signed up to do the show. And it's been a real treat to be staff for NFBA, because this group is growing and there's a lot more to grow into. Like everybody's kind of said, there's some trends happening that have really encouraged the use of post frame. So our show gets bigger and bigger every year. 2020 was our first show as staff for NFBA and it has just gotten bigger every year since we've been with them. So this is going to be our biggest one yet, and we're super excited about it. So yeah, there's a lot going to be going on there. Yeah.

Karen Edwards: Well, and just to note that while this may be, Megan, you’re since 2020 as part of NFBA, this is the 56th year that this conference and expo is happening. So this has been around for a while.

Megan Pope: Yes, 56th Post Frame Expo. Yes.

Karen Edwards: Wow, that's impressive. And yeah, the trade show floor, I mean, talk about wanting to see the latest products and trends, and what you can do and what the possibilities are. There's no better place than to walk up and down the aisles and talk to the manufacturers, talk to the suppliers. They're the ones that are doing this every day. And it would even be a great opportunity for somebody that says, "Hey, I think I might want to get into this industry." Why not come to this show and check it out?

Megan Pope: Absolutely.

Karen Edwards: So, let's talk a little bit about other things that attendees should expect at this show. Education is going to be very important, and I know Josh, you're going to be doing a presentation. Can you tell us about that?

Josh Nowlin: Yeah, yeah. But right before I get into that, I wanted to say, Megan had mentioned that there is booth space and there is, but it's very limited. I mean, we have almost sold this show out. So as far as booth space concerned, so if somebody is listening to this and they're thinking about it, now is the time to get on with that.

But yeah, we do have a lot of education. We have a few days, several different tracks of education. So whether you're a business owner or an upper level manager or if you're in maybe the sales and marketing field, or more technical related things, or safety, there are different tracks. So we try to make sure that we have something that would pertain to everybody working in our industry and including the construction workers. So the guys out in the field doing the work, we want to help educate them on what's going on in the industry and what we can do to help them evolve professionally and just be the best they can be. So this show is really driven towards the builders and business owners more so than say a homeowner. It's a builder driven show.

Karen Edwards: Excellent. And Joe, there's going to be some demos on the show floor. Can you talk a little bit about what's going to be happening there?

Joe Shimp: Sure, absolutely. So in addition to the honestly great amount of vendors there to go and visit with and learn from, the NFBA focuses the show floor to also have what I'll call more experiences, demonstrations, a little different than the educational track where you're more in a classroom setting. This is hands-on in a sense or a good way to look at challenges in the field. So Kyle Stumping Horse is going to return and do some demonstration. He was there with us last year and drew an awesome crowd of people and went over some of the challenges they deal with every day. So it's real. It's in your face and it's great that it's included in the middle of the floor. You can kind of come and go and learn.

We'll have some contests again for nail pounding and screw driving, which are always exciting. The three-hour firewall has some updates from TNR, so we're going to get to see that. So I really encourage people to participate as much as they can in that and learn from it. It's live, it's in your face, and while you're going to see all those vendors, you also get this added element where you can just learn quite a bit.

Karen Edwards: Yeah, there's nothing better than seeing it in person and experiencing that. So I love that you use the word experiences at the event. One of my favorite experiences whenever I attend trade show is the opportunity for the networking that happens. And Robyn, I'd like you to just talk a little bit about what those networking opportunities are going to be at the expo.

Robyn Ommen: Yeah, absolutely. That's one thing that we really want to have people take away from the expo is meeting new people. So meeting exhibitors on the show floor to even meeting additional builders within the industry. We can all learn from each other, so we make sure that we have those opportunities for that networking. For example, we have a plyco event the first night of the show that really brings everyone together, but then we also have other activities to make sure there's networking each day of the event from the expo with the plyco, and then we have Christians in Construction event on the second day of the expo where really that group of individuals can get together.

Then the expo itself has a social, so we really want to make sure that there's key opportunities each day of the event where people can meet each other, talk about their challenges, talk about even just learning from each other as Joe mentioned. I mean, that's one thing is that communication. Making sure that we communicate and talk to each other, get to know each other, because you can find out that, hey, you might have a friend that can help you with your next project or find that product that you've been looking for by talking to an exhibitor at one of these events. So really want to make sure that we keep those networking opportunities open and that they're inclusive to everyone.

In addition to that, I mentioned earlier the Women in Post Frame, so that's new, but it's not just women that we are focusing on. Yes, we want to highlight that that's a part of it, but anyone that works with women in post frame, it's really that networking, getting people aware of the industry and to communicate to each other.

Karen Edwards: Excellent. Yeah. So you mentioned talking to exhibitors, and I'm just curious, as Josh said, there are some booth spaces available, but it's going to sell out and they're selling fast. Why is it important? What's it like from an exhibitor perspective to be at this show?

Robyn Ommen: So, for exhibitors, it's networking as well. So it's really an opportunity to show your product, to show your new product or product that you've had around that really works within the post frame industry. And this networking is getting to meet the builders, getting to meet the people that are walking around the show. It educates yourself as well on how that post frame works. And it's really learning. I mean, the excitement on the show floor with all the items, with the demos and the contests that happen. I mean, it's just exciting to be on the show floor and talking to people and how they work within the post frame industry. So again, it's really networking and an ability to show your product and how it can fit within this market.

Karen Edwards: Thank you, Robyn. Now from a builder's perspective, Joe, what's your take on that perspective of the show being a builder?

Joe Shimp: I may be partial, but I feel that the show is for builders, and I know the exhibitors, as Robyn has stated, get a lot out of it. But I do feel like the whole event caters to this, and we've probably used this term 20 times now, but networking with the people that are really important and involved in our industry. Where else do you get the opportunity to see the majority of your vendors and product specialists in one place? So the ability to be at expo as a builder, get an education on, honestly, normally it's common challenges we all are experiencing, and it could be general business or it could be post frame specific, but we are all in the same boat in many cases. And this is a place where, as well as networking with all the vendors and exhibitors, you're getting the opportunity to meet builders just like you, maybe in a different geographical area or a little different expertise, but there's this awesome learning opportunity while you're there to improve.

The other thing that I really love about it is we have a building award type ceremony and time, and I love personally just being able to look at the work that people in our industry and our members do. I mean, it's our opportunity to kind of push our industry forward and improve what we are to the rest of the world in a sense. In post frame, when I see an award given to a company that really went out their way to do something special, I mean, that is exciting. It's exciting if your own company wins an award, but for me, it's just as exciting as a builder to be a show and really see the excellence done in our industry and see them, we'll say showing off. It's cool. Show off how your company did this. So I really, really enjoy that part of it.

Karen Edwards: Nice, nice. And Josh, anything to add?

Josh Nowlin: These guys covered it pretty well, but I do agree that it's so awesome as a builder to go to that show. And I remember my very first time I ever went to an NFBA expose a builder, I just could not believe it. It was so awesome to get to see the products and get to meet the people behind it, and the vendors and to meet other people that grind every day the same way I did. And it was definitely a career changer for me, and it could be for others as well. And it's the biggest thing we do every year, and there's a reason for that. So hopefully people can keep up with that.

We talked a little bit about the educational sessions earlier and there will be a schedule. So if you're wondering, if you're listening to this wondering, oh, I wonder what's going to be there, rather than me go through it one by one, just keep an eye out for the magazine. If you don't currently receive that magazine in the mail, you can nfba.org to view that magazine. It's called the National Frame Builders Magazine. It's our official association magazine. So it's going to talk a lot about the trade show here in the upcoming months, especially the January issue. So be sure to check that out for all the show information.

Karen Edwards: Okay. So let's give a little tease, because one of the exciting parts of any conference is usually the keynote speaker. So I know that this year, Joe, I'm going to ask you to share information about the keynote and maybe why we picked you to talk about this.

Joe Shimp: Sure. So most people are aware of Auntie Anne's pretzels, and have heard of that brand. They might be less aware of Ann Byler, who is from Lancaster County. I myself am from Lancaster County as well. And Anne grew up in a different world here in Lancaster County, in the Amish world. And she took an idea and a really good pretzel and turned it into the Auntie Anne's that we all know. And honestly, from her upbringing, comparing that, overcoming the adversity it takes as a woman from that background and building a business as large as she did without formal training and education, she had to do it. She had to grind and it's very respectful. She had a lot coming at her and she worked through it. But she'll tell you how important hard work was to achieve the success she did, but also that she wanted and built a culture that was trusting and respecting for her team. It wasn't at the expense of people. Her whole desire was to do what was right. And I think when you think of what it takes to grow a business, and especially to the level she did and from her roots, she's just an amazing speaker. And I think everyone will leave that feeling inspired. You got to be from her story. So super excited to have her at our expo.

Karen Edwards: Excellent. Excellent. So now let's talk about how can someone register to attend? What's that look like, Megan?

Megan Pope: Well, the good news is we have registration open on our website. We have online registration at nfba.org. You can also find a downloadable printable version of the registration that you can fill out and send in to us, however you can get it here, email, fax, mail, whatever. So yeah, just go to our website, nfpa.org. Registration's up. We also have the building of the year program, nominations open right now. So that's another thing. If you're at the website, like Joe was talking about, the award ceremony, if you can get some pictures of your best project from this year and submit those for a building of the year awards, please do that as well so you can get recognized for your excellent work. But yeah, just you can call us, hop on over to the website and we will help you get registered.

Karen Edwards: Excellent. Well, I just want to thank everyone for listening or watching this Metal Cast and encourage you to please visit nfba.org or visit the NFBA's directory on Metal Coffee Shop and be sure to subscribe to Metal Cast on your favorite podcast platform. Set your notifications so that you don't miss a single episode, and we'll be seeing you next time on Metal Cast. Thank you all.