According to the Insulation Contractors Association of New York City, Inc. (ICA), president, Joseph Leo, spoke at a special seminar presented by The Building Trades Employers' Association (BTEA) on January 19, focusing on "Market and Construction Trends for 2012."
The presentation was led by Hank Harris, Jr., president and CEO of FMI Management Consultants, who was joined by Leo and other leading New York contractors to analyze trends shaping the construction industry, and determining the success and failure of individual firms.
Leo is the president of Atlantic Contracting & Specialties, LLC, a premier specialty contracting company of mechanical insulation and abatement contracting services throughout New York and New England. He was recently named to the board of directors of the National Insulation Association (NIA). Leo also serves on the board of governors at BTEA and the board of directors at The Eastern States Insulation Contractors Association (ESICA).
The seminar discussion focused on the fact that the recession plaguing the construction industry is far from over, with 2012 promising to be another challenging year. Although there will likely be a reduction in the amount of Federal funding attributed to construction, infrastructure across the United States will still require attention. As such, public private partnerships will continue to grow as a potential funding mechanism for quasi-public projects like high-speed rail and water treatment plants. And though new technologies have strengthened the art of integrated project delivery, the industry faces a growing shortage of design engineers, project managers, superintendents and future executives.

Leo and Harris were joined by a number of speakers including Charles Avolio, vice president and operations manager of Turner Construction Company, Peter Cafiero, president of Island Painting and the Association of Master Painters and Decorators of New York, Inc., and Anthony Mann, president of E-J Electric Installation Co. Tags: