AMCA Members-Only Newsletter

Nov. 30, 2020

MEETINGS AND EVENTS

Virtual 2020 AMCA Annual Meeting, Part 2: General Session
Dec. 8, 9 a.m. ET
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AMCA insite Webinar: Louvers—Selection and Application
Dec. 9, 2 p.m. ET
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Four Nominated for AMCA Board for 2020-2023


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The AMCA Nominating Committee this month put forth four candidates for election to AMCA’s board of directors:

  • Jürgen Albig, director, product management, ventilation technology, Ziehl-Abegg SE.
  • Charlie Black, director of air-control solutions, Ruskin.
  • Asokdas M. Damodaran, managing director, Systemair India.
  • Mark Saunders, vice president, sales and marketing, Pottorff.

The vote will take place during the general session of the 2020 AMCA Annual Meeting, which will be held virtually Dec. 8 from 9-11 a.m. EST (to register, click here).

Albig has more than 40 years of experience in the fan business, with an emphasis on fans used in combination with high-efficiency motor and drive systems. In addition to serving as director of product management, he is responsible for regulatory and governmental affairs globally for Ziehl-Abegg. He serves on the AMCA Fan Regulation and European AMCA Steering committees and is a member of the European Ventilation Industry Association, Fachverband Gebäude-Klima e. V. (FGK), and Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI).

Since joining Ruskin in 2014, Black has held a number of positions, including director of sales and marketing, regional sales manager, sales pricing strategist, and project manager. His involvement with AMCA includes work on damper, airflow-measurement-station, and louver test standards as well as participation on the Air Control Code Action and Review and North American Regional Steering committees. Possessing a bachelor’s degree in finance from The University of Kansas and a master-of-business-administration degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, he has undergone continuing-education HVAC/mechanical-engineering training and is involved in executive mentoring and coaching.

Damodaran, who holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, has 20 years of HVAC-industry experience, the last 13 years spent with Systemair. After leading efforts to establish Systemair in the Middle East, he moved to India as head of marketing for fire and safety products. He was appointed managing director of operations for India in 2011. In this role, he has built a team of 400 people with two factories and nine sales offices across India, including a LEED Platinum-rated plant and office in Greater Noida. Also, he was instrumental in establishing an AMCA-accredited acoustics laboratory and airflow test rig. He is chair of the Asia AMCA Steering Committee and an active member of the Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers and ASHRAE.

Saunders has 23 years of HVAC-industry sales and marketing experience, including more than 10 years with Pottorff. His involvement with AMCA includes service on the Louver Marketing Task Force, the Statistical Committee, and the Air Control Code Action and Review Committee, which he chaired from 2012 to 2015. He is a member of ASHRAE and the National Fire Protection Association.

The term for each seat on the board is three years. If elected, Albig, Black, Damodaran, and Saunders would serve until October 2023.

“This year’s candidates were among the most experienced and diverse I can recall,” AMCA Executive Director Mark Stevens said. “All would be wonderful contributors to the board of directors and demonstrate the quality and commitment of our membership and their leaders. I thank everyone who stood for consideration.”

In addition to the nominations of Albig, Black, Damodaran, and Saunders to the board, AMCA members present during the general session will be asked to vote on the board’s appointment of Louis Shum, marketing and technical director, G.E. Aluminum Technology Company Ltd., to complete the remainder of the term for which he was elected in 2018. Shum had to forfeit his seat on the board when he left his previous employer. Because he joined another AMCA member company, the board this year appointed him to complete the remainder of his term, which will expire in October 2021. Per AMCA’s bylaws, the appointment needs to be approved by AMCA membership.

Shum has more than 30 years of experience in ventilation/passive fire protection and smoke extraction, including product design and testing, system application, and the establishment of sales and marketing channels and licensee production. He is a member of the Asia AMCA Steering Committee, which he previously chaired, and active in promoting AMCA standards in the Asia region.

The general session of the 2020 AMCA Annual Meeting will see the conclusion of the terms of two members of the board: Chairman Dave Johnson, director of engineering, Berner International Corp., and Yongning Chen, senior engineer, Zhejiang Yilida Ventilator Company Ltd.


Board Proposes Changes to AMCA's Bylaws


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Changes to AMCA’s committee organization chart and proposed changes to AMCA’s bylaws will be presented during the general session of the 2020 AMCA Annual Meeting, which will be held virtually on Dec. 8 from 9-11 a.m. EST (to register, click here).


“With AMCA’s growth and increased activity in all areas, the AMCA board of directors concluded the organization of AMCA’s committees, particularly how they relate to AMCA’s regions and divisions, needed a reorganization to facilitate and energize member engagement,” AMCA Executive Director Mark Stevens explained. “The board … looked at every facet of AMCA’s existing structure and determined if it made sense or needed improvement. … The board’s work resulted in changes to AMCA’s committee org chart and in proposed changes to AMCA’s bylaws. Changes to AMCA’s organization are within the purview of the board of directors. … Proposed changes to AMCA’s bylaws must be approved by AMCA’s members.”

Proposed changes to the bylaws include:

  • The expansion of eligibility for associate status to include “a company that designs and sells a product under AMCA’s scope, but subcontracts assembly and fabrication” (Article III, Section 7). This change has the potential to grow AMCA’s base, augment AMCA’s technical expertise, and increase non-dues, non-assessment revenue. If there were a flood of new associates or a small number of AMCA members in a particular product section, however, membership input could be diluted (associates are not members and cannot vote on association-wide issues or hold leadership positions, but can serve on committees).
  • The chair of each region becoming the region’s steering-committee chair (Article VII, Section 5) and each region steering-committee chair (or his or her designee) serving on the Nominating Committee (Article IX, Section 2C). This would strengthen the connection between the board of directors, the steering committees, and the regions; improve communication; increase opportunities for coordinated leadership; and simplify the nominating process. At the same time, however, it would reduce the number of volunteer positions.
  • Limiting committee chairs to terms of two years and not more than two consecutive terms (Article IX, Section H [new]). This would increase churn at the chair level, increasing leadership opportunities, and prevent staidness from a committee working under the same leadership for an extended period. Conversely, it would force a chair-position change when one may not be wanted or needed.
  • The replacement of an association-wide engineering committee with product-section engineering committees (Article 9, Section 2B). This would formalize the role of committees responsible for product sections and eliminate a “speed bump” in the standards-approval process. However, it would diffuse responsibility for avoiding technical conflicts among divisions.
  • The mandate that each region have a marketing committee (Article IX, Section 2D) and an advocacy committee (Article IX, Section 2E [new]). This would place responsibility for marketing and advocacy strategies with the regions, where the outcomes are most keenly felt. However, it would increase the effort required to ensure alignment with general AMCA and board policies and initiatives.

A redline version of AMCA’s bylaws with the proposed changes and explanations of the changes can be found here.


AMCA Members Urged to Join NFPA to Protect Remote Damper Testing


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In 2018, AMCA enjoyed a hard-fought victory when allowances for remote inspection of life-safety dampers were approved for two National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards: NFPA 80, Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives , and NFPA 105, Standard for Smoke Door Assemblies and Other Opening Protectives .

By avoiding the need to inspect smoke and combination fire/smoke dampers manually, remote testing saves facility owners thousands of dollars in maintenance costs and makes dampers a more attractive option.

With NFPA 80 and NFPA 105 undergoing periodic revision and updating, the AMCA Air Control Code Action and Review Committee (ACCARC) is expecting organizations that conduct manual damper inspections to move to lessen or remove the provisions allowing remote testing during the 2021 NFPA Conference & Expo June 22-25.

ACCARC, thus, is asking employees of AMCA member companies who are not already a member of NFPA to register to become one for the purpose of voting to maintain the allowances for remote inspection of life-safety dampers in NFPA 80 and NFPA 105. To be eligible to vote, you must have been an NFPA member for a minimum of 180 days prior to the meeting. The cost for a one-year membership is $175. If you wish to vote virtually (the 2021 NFPA Conference & Expo will be held in Las Vegas), there is expected to be an additional fee of $50.

If you are interested in joining NFPA, ACCARC requests that you:

  • Click here to register to become an NFPA member no later than Dec. 18.
  • Select the one-year “Engage” membership for $175, and complete checkout.
  • Share this information with others in your company.
  • Contact AMCA Advocacy Manager Aaron Gunzner at [email protected] and let him know that you and/or others at your company registered for NFPA membership or already are NFPA members.
  • Look for related communications from AMCA leading up to the 2021 NFPA Conference & Expo.

For more information, contact Gunzner at [email protected] or +1 847-704-6337.


AMCA Announces PDH Assistance Program


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For AMCA members desiring to issue professional-development-hour (PDH) credit for their educational activities, help is available through AMCA’s new PDH Assistance Program.

“As AMCA has learned firsthand, starting up a PDH credit-issuing program is a very time- and labor-intensive undertaking—and not inexpensive,” AMCA Education Manager Lisa Cherney said. “Because AMCA already has established a program and streamlined the process for granting PDH, we are offering this to members for their own benefit as a ‘value-added’ service.”

Through the PDH Assistance Program, credits will be issued by AMCA via its Registered Continuing Education Program (RCEP) subscription.

To qualify for PDH credit, an educational activity, which can be presented live (e.g., webinar, in-person technical training or educational course) or made available on demand (recorded presentation, online course), must be:

  • At least an hour long. Beyond an hour, credit can be issued in quarter-hour increments (e.g., 1.25, 1.5, 1.75).
  • Unbiased and nonpromotional.
  • Free of proprietary information. Only the first and last slides of a presentation may contain company names and logos.

All presenters must sign a quality-commitment agreement that AMCA will provide.

The fees are as follows:

  • One program, $250.
  • Three programs, $500 total.
  • Six programs, $800 total.
  • 10 programs, $1,000 total.

For more information, contact Cherney at [email protected] or +1 847-704-6328.


AMCA Announces Food-Drive Campaign


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AMCA this month announced its second AMCACares philanthropic campaign, Feeding Our Communities, an initiative designed to encourage member companies to stock the shelves of their local food pantries.

“As the world continues to come to grips with COVID-19, many families in our communities are struggling,” AMCA Director of Marketing, Membership, and Education Robb Clawson said. “AMCA understands and appreciates these hardships and, with the Feeding Our Communities campaign, looks to play a small part in helping people to put food on their tables and make these difficult times a little bit easier.”

The food-collection box in the lobby of AMCA’s headquarters in Arlington Heights, Ill.

AMCA is asking members to establish in their facilities collection boxes for non-perishable goods, such as canned foods, pasta, cereal, bottled juice, baby formula—whatever items their local food bank accepts and needs—and share on social media photographs and updates of their efforts with the hashtag #AMCACares.

The campaign will culminate with a social-media blitz of photographs and videos of participants delivering their collections to their local food pantries—all with the accompanying #AMCACares hashtag—on Dec. 16.

AMCA launched the AMCACares brand in May with the HVAC Challenge, a viral Internet activity that generated more than $6,000 in pledges for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières to aid the organization’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information about AMCACares or Feeding Our Communities, contact Clawson at [email protected] or +1 847-704-6325.

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