Tim O'Toole

Building a Brand People Choose Without Thinking Twice

I still remember the morning at Con Expo, the largest trade show in the construction industry, when I was running on empty and in desperate need of coffee. My day…

Welder with a protective face mask welding steel pipe

2025 Reshoring Survey: 59% of Shops Reshored or are Quoting

A core goal of U.S. trade policy over the last decade has been reshoring manufacturing back to the United States and strengthening the domestic industry for economic and national security.…

Welder wearing protective gear working during metal fabrication in a fabrication shop.

A Stronger Skilled Workforce Would Boost Reshoring

The 2025 USA Reshoring Survey of 500 U.S. manufacturers, a collaboration between the Reshoring Initiative and Regions Recruiting, reached an actionable conclusion. A sufficient quantity and quality of U.S. workforce would bring…

7 on 7 with Bob Giammaruti

STI/SPFA recently spoke with Bob Giammaruti, CEO at Southern Heat Exchanger Corporation and Worldwide Air Coolers LLC, about his career in the steel fabrication industry. STI/SPFA: Tell us about the…

STI/SPFA members Bill New, New Industries; Mark Mooney, NBBI (left); and Michael Pischke, NBBI (right) meet with Speaker Mike Johnson (LA-4)

STI/SPFA Members Make Their Voices Heard in D.C.

The Steel Tank Institute/Steel Plate Fabricators Association (STI/SPFA) held its first Legislative Fly-In on July 22-23, 2025, in Washington, D.C. “We had very good meetings with each Senator and Representative,…

The word TRUST written in cracked concrete.

Trust Is the Cornerstone

If I can’t trust you, I can’t do business with you. I don’t care how talented you are. I don’t care how long we’ve worked together. I don’t care how…

Group of construction workers wearing safety vests and hard hats walking through an industrial facility.

Crisis in the Workforce: Can Reshoring Continue Despite Our Skills Gap?

Trump’s on again-off-again tariff volatility has caused widespread uncertainty, compromising strategic decision-making. The defunct ‘move fast and break things’ business model, originally devised by Mark Zuckerberg in 2012, that is being implemented by the administration today,…