Recapping Success: ACMA’s 2017 Infrastructure Day

In mid-February, ACMA held its second annual Infrastructure Day fly-in event in Washington, D.C. Nearly 40 composites company owners and managers headed to Capitol Hill for the three-day event. Participants conducted approximately 90 meetings with policymakers who represent major composites plant locations or serve on key House and Senate panels that direct federal infrastructure policies. This year’s event featured twice as many participants and more than three times as many policy meetings than last year’s inaugural event. While policy development is deeply complex, our message can be boiled down to something very simple. We can continue building critical public assets the same way we always have and expect the same pitfalls our crumbling system currently faces, or we can use modern technologies to build 21^st century infrastructure that last longer, performs better, has a lower environmental footprint and costs significantly less over the course of its life. As always however, the devil is in the details. So, let’s unpack a few of the industry’s key messages. In 2016, both parties committed to a significant investment in modernizing America’s broken infrastructure during election campaigns. While many such promises are often broken, we learned through our engagement with Congress during Infrastructure Day that both parties are focused on advancing significant infrastructure legislation and that President Trump is equally committed to seeing this completed. As part of this effort, ACMA members put forth some specific proposals that were warmly received. ACMA has proposed the creation of a new program out of the Department of Transportation that focuses specifically on the rapid deployment of pre-fabricated short and medium span bridges. One of the great benefits of composite bridge components is their ability to be fully fabricated offsite and installed in a way that greatly limits the disruption of traffic and economic activity. Projects constructed with traditional materials that once took weeks or months to install can be completed with composites in a matter of hours. This keeps installation costs lower and gets people moving faster, while capitalizing on the superior performance and durability of composite materials. We recognize composites are not the only materials in town, but such an effort allows us to play to our strengths and compete on an even field. There’s more to our infrastructure agenda than just bridges, however. In coastal areas, due to environmental constraints and severe weather, virtually all critical infrastructure is at risk. ACMA has proposed a broad coastal infrastructure resiliency program. Water treatment and delivery systems, dams and other maritime structures, utility poles, crossarms and bridges need to be built to stronger performance requirements. Composites allow asset owners to meet performance demands and build structures that can last a century rather than a decade. ACMA was successful in including language in a House energy bill last year that directed electric utilities to incorporate high-performance poles and cross-arms in their resiliency efforts, but unfortunately that legislation never made it to a final vote. The industry used their meetings to press on House and Senate energy policy leaders to ensure this directive is included in this year’s energy legislation. ACMA may be the industry’s voice in Washington, representing about 3,000 composites manufacturers on a daily basis, but the message is strongest when it comes from you. “The ACMA Infrastructure Day is a tremendous opportunity for our company to speak directly to Congress on the legislation and policies that will shape our future infrastructure,” says Scott Holmes, ‎director of business development for Highland Composites, who attended Infrastructure Day. “This is a rare opportunity to educate our government leaders on the benefits of composites and create awareness of how our industry can help create a longer lasting infrastructure using American made products, which is good for the economy and the country. Our message was very well received.” The congressional effort only accounted for the first day-and-half of the three-day event. The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) also hosted a workshop to help the industry better understand the measurement and testing needs that will enable widespread use of composite materials in sustainable infrastructure and construction applications. During the NIST workshop, the composites industry heard some very candid impressions of our industry from end users, architects and engineers. One of the key findings is that although composites manufacturers have many established guidelines and specifications, they are not always visible to the end users and engineers who specify materials. In fact, a consensus emerged that the composites industry needs a “clearinghouse” for composites guidelines and standards. Also, a few of these guidelines and standards that are commonly used require some additional work to complete the formal adoption by the relevant governing body. A formal roadmap, based on the results of the workshop, will be published by NIST within the coming months to inform the work of federal agencies and other stakeholders in the development and adoption of standards and guidelines. After publication, our work is just beginning to accelerate the development of standards and guidelines. With guidance from our end users and specifiers, we can target the highest leverage opportunities to focus on the standards and education that our customers need to incorporate more composites in their designs. There is no question that ACMA’s Infrastructure Day and the accompanying NIST Workshop were great successes, but they cannot be seen in a vacuum. Now begins the hard work of turning ideas into law and key insights into actionable standards. We can break down the door and capture the infrastructure market, but we can’t do it without you. Get involved and help us advocate for a better future. After all, this is your industry’s – and more importantly your nation’s – prosperity and strength at stake. Are you all in?