Category: News & Announcements

On August 30th, East Coast Metal Systems, Inc. (ECMS) held its official Grand Opening Event in conjunction with the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce (WACC) Business after Hours.

The event started at 5 p.m. with a blessing of the building by Bishop Michael Joseph Bransfield and a ribbon cutting at 5:30. ECMS Vice President John Trifonoff said, “The official Grand Opening was an opportunity to showcase the new facility as the result of all the hard work and dedication from our East Coast employees.”

The new comprehensive 60,000 square foot metal fabrication facility doubles the production capacity with new equipment, added efficiencies, and expanded the product breadth. The fab-reaction shop utilizes state-of-the art technology to minimize lead times and deliver custom metal products on time, within budget, and within specific tolerances. With this new sheet metal shop, ECMS can now do coil processing which provides an expanded reach for customization and efficiency for field technicians. “We will now be able to better serve our customers locally and throughout the country ” said President and CEO John Kalkreuth.

Now all under one roof, ECMS employees earned a special thanks from Executive Vice President Jim Hurley, “It’s all about our people. It will always be about our people and that’s just what we’re doing, making a better opportunity for them.”

The Grand Opening lasted until around 7 p.m. During the event, facility tours were available for guests to learn about what we do, food and beverages were available and live music was performed by Roger Hoard.

The entire East Coast Metal Systems family extends a special ‘thank you’ to everyone who played a role in the coordination of this event. A special thank you also goes to the dignitaries who attended and shared this special event with us.

In 2013, East Coast Metal Systems (ECMS) served as a metal panel fabricator for Dunbar Senior High School in Washington, D.C., which achieved a LEED Platinum certification through the United States Green Building Council and stands as the “greenest” high school in the world.

ECMS’ contract on this record-breaking high school included 36,135 square feet of composite panels in a two-coat custom mica gray finish, plate panels, perforated aluminum panels, and custom matching architectural flashings and accessories.

The school features a subterranean geothermal well system, a solar panel roofing system, energy-efficient floor to ceiling windows, a storm water conservation system with two 20,000 gallon cisterns, innovative wastewater technology, and nearly 98% waste diversion at project completion among others.

Dunbar Senior High School has earned more than a dozen various awards since its completion, and ECMS is honored to have been involved on this project.

Sources: Architect magazine, United States Green Building Council, Engineering News-Record, Metal Architecture, Metal Construction News

In the January 2016 issue of Metal Construction News, East Coast Metal Systems (ECMS) was featured in a two-page article focusing on the consistent growth of the company since its inception in 1990. At that time, ECMS was focused on architectural metal roofing and expanded into MCM panel fabrication in 2001 when we couldn’t find a third party fabricator who could produce them as proficiently.

Today, ECMS is a full-service fabricator and installer of engineered architectural metal and exterior envelope systems. From project development and design to fabrication to installation, ECMS helps its customers realize the potential of every project. Our full-service estimating team assists architects and designers with design-build and design-assist, detailing, engineering and budgeting. ECMS’ in-house fabrication shop utilizes state-of- the-art technology to minimize lead times and deliver products on time, within budget and within specified tolerances.

ECMS is one of less than 10 certified Premium MCM Fabricators in the country through the Metal Construction Association and also has the capabilities to fabricate any architectural metal from copper to zinc and beyond with product offerings ranging from gravel stop to custom panel systems or flashings and accessories.

ECMS has a superb ability to adapt to project specifications, no matter the complexity or degree of customization. We perform all shop drawings in-house and utilize the latest in CAD technology and 3D scanning capabilities. Technology has allowed us to take an architect’s drawing and fabricate it—that’s what our team does.

Source: Metal Construction News magazine

In 2015, AIA Pittsburgh announced the projects that were selected for their Design Awards, and one of East Coast Metal Systems’ (ECMS) projects received the People’s Choice Award in 2015.

The Charleston Area Medical Center Cancer Center in Charleston, West Virginia earned the award due to its clean lines and sleek use of metal panels. ECMS’ contract included 8,366 square feet of metal wall panels in a two-coat custom mica bronze as well as various soffit, fascia, and coping.

Congratulations to the East Coast team!

Source: AIA Pittsburgh

In the October 2014 issue of ENR Mid Atlantic, one of East Coast Metal Systems’ (ECMS) projects received an Award of Merit among the Best Projects of 2014 encompassing the region including Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Tidewater Community College Student Center received the Award of Merit in the Higher Education/Research category. ECMS’ portion of this project included 16,368 square feet of metal wall panels, phenolic panels, and composites as well as louvers and vents.

Congratulations to the East Coast team!

Source: Engineering News-Record

In the February 2016 issue of Metal Architecture, East Coast Metal Systems (ECMS) was featured in an article that focused on MCM panel in project specifications and the various aspects of panel features that can affect the cost/benefit analysis for a project.

“The metal panel is the wrapping paper for the building,” says John Trifonoff, vice president, metal operations for East Coast Metal Systems, Bellaire, Ohio.

“You’re really not limited on panel size – only the size that the manufacturers can produce – but for workability in the field, the largest we like to promote is 5 by 16.’ When it gets bigger than that, you get into excess costs. The substrate needs to be designed in a certain way, and it becomes a very cumbersome panel size in anything larger.”

“Color is also limitless, but the only thing about color is a lot of times they spec a custom color in small quantities. We’ll have a job that only has 2,000 or 3,000 square feet on it, and it calls for two or three custom colors. The cost is astronomical, and it usually gets value-engineered out due to the misunderstanding of this cost impact to produce such small quantities of custom colors.”

“The panel shape is only limited to your imagination except for a few little things – one is acute angles. If it is spec’d at over 135 degrees – on a bull nose for example – we’ve had to work with the architect to alter the design. You can’t bend the material like that. Or, when they try to incorporate small bump outs or features in a panel that are smaller than an inch, these can be cumbersome. Usually you have to change the design to allow for fastening points and the thickness of the material. A lot of times architects look at it like it’s a piece of sheet metal, but it’s not. It’s thicker. It doesn’t work like sheet metal.”

Source: Metal Architecture

In the July 2016 issue of Metal Construction News, East Coast Metal Systems (ECMS) was featured in an article pertaining to CNC routers and software as they relate to automating the fabrication and estimating process as technology continues to improve and develop.

ECMS noted the improved accuracy of automating the estimating process by proficiently projecting material yield, material requirements and usage, and time and labor. We are able to fabricate more efficiently than ever, which allows us to offer the best price for our customers. ECMS’ trained professionals work with the AXYZ International CNC router and PANELBuilder system to efficiently fabricate and produce even the most complex geometry and curves at a practical price. These capabilities position ECMS as an indispensable tool for architects. If they can draw it, we can fabricate it.

Source: Metal Construction News