Category Archive: News

The Infra Group Is Exhibiting At Fabtech 2026

The Infra Group to Showcase Vector Intelligence™ at FABTECH 2026 in Las Vegas

The Infra Group is excited to announce that we will be exhibiting at FABTECH 2026, taking place October 21-23, 2026, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. As North America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing event, FABTECH brings together industry leaders, innovative technology providers, and manufacturing professionals from across the globe to explore the future of fabrication and construction technologies.

This year’s event is especially significant as FABTECH returns to Las Vegas for the first time in a decade, offering attendees the opportunity to experience hundreds of technology demonstrations, connect with more than 1,500 industry suppliers, and discover new solutions designed to improve productivity, reduce costs, and strengthen competitiveness.

Experience Vector Intelligence™ Live

At FABTECH 2026, The Infra Group will be showcasing Vector Intelligence™, our proprietary estimating and material optimization platform developed specifically for the structural steel industry.

Built to address the growing challenges faced by fabricators, contractors, and project teams, Vector Intelligence helps transform the way steel projects are estimated, evaluated, and sourced. By leveraging advanced data analysis and intelligent workflows, the platform enables users to make more informed decisions earlier in the project lifecycle, helping improve estimating efficiency, material planning, and overall project execution.

Visitors to our booth will have the opportunity to participate in live demonstrations and see firsthand how Vector Intelligence is helping organizations simplify complex estimating tasks while improving visibility into critical project information.

The Infra Group and Vector Intelligence

Helping the Industry Work Smarter

Today’s steel fabrication and construction environments demand greater speed, accuracy, and responsiveness than ever before. Estimators and procurement professionals are often challenged by compressed project timelines, fluctuating material markets, and increasing pressure to deliver competitive bids.

Vector Intelligence was developed to help address these realities by providing powerful tools that support data-driven decision-making and streamline estimating workflows. Whether you’re looking to improve estimating consistency, enhance project planning, or gain deeper insight into material requirements, our team will be available to demonstrate the platform’s capabilities and discuss how it can support your business objectives.

Meet the Team Behind the Technology

FABTECH provides a unique opportunity for professionals to engage directly with technology providers and industry experts. During the event, attendees can meet with The Infra Group team to:

  • Experience live demonstrations of Vector Intelligence™
  • Discuss common estimating and procurement challenges
  • Explore opportunities for digital transformation in structural steel operations
  • Learn how data-driven technologies are reshaping project planning and execution
  • Discover ways to improve operational efficiency and project visibility

Why Attend FABTECH 2026?

According to FABTECH organizers, attendees can expect access to the latest manufacturing technologies, opportunities to compare solutions side by side, and valuable networking experiences with industry peers and suppliers. The event is designed to help businesses discover new methods for increasing productivity, reducing costs, and maintaining a competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving marketplace. As innovation continues to transform the steel and manufacturing sectors, events like FABTECH provide an important venue for connecting ideas, technologies, and industry expertise under one roof.

Join Us in Las Vegas

We invite fabricators, contractors, engineers, estimators, procurement professionals, and industry leaders to stop by The Infra Group booth# C2513 and see how Vector Intelligence™ is helping define the future of steel estimating and project intelligence.

FABTECH 2026
October 21-23, 2026
Las Vegas Convention Center
Las Vegas, Nevada

We look forward to connecting with you in Las Vegas and demonstrating how smarter data, better visibility, and intelligent technology can create new opportunities for success throughout the structural steel supply chain.

Learn more and register for FABTECH 2026: FABTECH 2026 Registration Information

Manual vs. Automated Steel Estimating: Pros, Cons, and the Future of Fabrication

As one of the largest structural steel service centers in the United States, Infra-Metals supplies carbon steel products and extensive processing services to the industrial fabrication sector. In complex structural builds, accurate project estimation directly determines financial success. Evaluating manual vs. automated takeoffs is critical to mitigating risk and protecting modern fabrication margins.

The Traditional Approach: Pros and Cons of Manual Estimating

For decades, structural steel estimators relied on printed blueprints, physical scale rulers, and colored highlighters to build a deep understanding of project architecture. Physically reviewing every connection point, wide flange beam, and steel plate helps veteran builders catch design inconsistencies early.

While the initial cost of basic spreadsheet software is low, hand-calculating structural steel requirements has become an unsustainable business practice. Modern fabricators face distinct operational risks under the traditional model:

  • Time consumption. Reviewing massive structural blueprints by hand takes weeks to complete for large commercial builds.
  • Human error. Missing a single line item on a spreadsheet cascades into massive material shortages during active fabrication on the shop floor.
  • Revision bottlenecks. Architects update drawings frequently during the active bidding phase. Manual estimators must restart their entire calculation process to accommodate these sudden design changes.

The Modern Approach: Pros and Cons of Automated Takeoffs

Transitioning from physical drawings to digital 3D models accelerates the pre-construction workflow and changes how fabrication shops bid on commercial projects. When evaluating manual vs. automated takeoffs, fabricators must weigh upfront capital for BIM software licenses and employee training against long-term operational efficiency.

Digital estimation platforms such as Vector Intelligence, deliver distinct structural and processing advantages:

  • Accelerated bid generation. Automated quantity takeoffs extract material counts, weights, lengths, and assemblies directly from design documents, reducing estimating time by up to 80% while improving consistency and accuracy.
  • Real-time design adaptation. Material lists, pricing assumptions, and project quantities update automatically when drawings or connection details change, allowing estimators to respond to revisions without restarting the process.
  • Integrated fabrication workflows. Estimating data flows directly into detailing, project management, and fabrication systems, creating a seamless digital thread from bid submission through production and delivery.
  • Enhanced project visualization. Modern platforms generate annotated drawings, digital reports, and 3D model outputs that help teams identify scope gaps, constructability concerns, and project risks earlier in the bidding process.
  • Greater estimating accuracy. Automated calculations eliminate many manual spreadsheet errors and provide standardized outputs across estimators, improving confidence in material requirements and project costing.
  • Scalable estimating capacity. By reducing manual effort, estimators can evaluate more opportunities, pursue larger projects, and respond to customer requests faster without increasing headcount.
  • Data-driven decision making. Structured digital outputs provide actionable insights into material consumption, project complexity, and cost drivers, helping teams prioritize the most profitable opportunities.

Why Automation is the Clear Winner for Fabricators

Relying on outdated calculation methods limits a fabrication shop’s ability to bid on large-scale infrastructure projects. The sheer volume of data in modern construction makes digital systems necessary for business survival. Automated systems optimize raw material usage to reduce expensive scrap on the shop floor.

Infra-Metals owns and operates leading estimation software to streamline your entire material procurement process. This specific integration proves that automation outperforms traditional estimation methods completely. We receive your automated data directly to process exact structural beams, steel plates, and metal tubes. This digital connection eliminates data entry errors and accelerates your material delivery schedule. Automated takeoffs eliminate the guesswork and protect your project profit margins from unexpected material shortages.

Securing Your Margins Through Digital Integration

Relying on outdated calculation methods exposes your business to the severe disadvantages of manual steel estimating. Upgrading your operational workflow resolves the debate between manual vs automated takeoffs permanently. Embracing digital integration protects your profit margins and accelerates your bidding capabilities.

Partner with Infra-Metals to supply your digitally estimated projects with exact carbon steel materials today. Request a quote or find a location to get started.

Lead Time Structural Steel Risk: Why Early Material Coordination Prevents Project Delays

Structural steel projects across infrastructure, energy, and industrial construction face tight mill schedules and rising demand across sectors. As a result, material planning now dictates project success just as heavily as connection design or site prep.

Addressing lead time early prevents procurement bottlenecks from becoming critical-path delays. General contractors, fabricators, and detailers must treat material availability as a core engineering parameter, not an afterthought.

Why Lead Time Threatens Project Execution

Lead time used to be a purchasing conversation. On today’s projects, it’s showing up as an execution problem instead. Long production cycles, tighter schedules, and steady demand across infrastructure and energy work are pushing material planning earlier into the project timeline than many teams are used to.

When a mill adjusts its rolling schedule, or a heavy wide-flange shape (such as a W36 section) encounters a production backlog, the disruption ripples downstream. Detailing stalls while BIM managers wait on confirmed mill member depths to finalize connection geometry. Consequently, shop fabrication schedules slip, leaving field erection crews idle.

Treating material sourcing as a late-stage purchasing task creates compounding schedule exposure before steel even hits the hook.

Shifting from Late Sourcing to Early Coordination

Mitigating schedule risk requires moving material planning upstream into early estimating and pre-construction while design modifications remain cost-effective. Identifying long-lead heavy shapes, high-strength plate stock, or mill tonnage minimums early preserves flexibility for the entire project team.

Early material coordination offers three practical advantages during pre-construction:

  • Estimating Alignment: Checking real-time mill rolling schedules during initial budget development prevents specifying obscure member sizes that require costly substitutions later.
  • Detailing Synchronization: Connecting structural detailers with service centers early ensures shop drawings reflect standard stock lengths (e.g., 40 ft or 60 ft stock), reducing drop waste and shop cutting labor.
  • Sequential Ordering: Staging mill orders around site erection sequences maintains steady fabrication shop throughput without cluttering field laydown yards.

The Role of Regional Inventory

Relying only on mill rolling cycles leaves a project exposed to transportation delays and production backlogs outside anyone’s control. Having reliable access to regional warehouse stock gives fast-track schedules a buffer they wouldn’t otherwise have.

Regional steel service center locations provide the buffer necessary to absorb primary mill delays and sudden field revisions. Having local access to warehouse inventory protects fast-track schedules when primary mill delivery dates slip.

Regional service centers stocking wide-flange beams, H-pile, structural tubing (HSS), channel, angle, and heavy plate allow fabricators to pull stock immediately. Sourcing stock shapes locally bridges the gap when scope shifts occur, or field conditions require swift repair and replacement material.

Building Schedule-Driven Partnerships

Solving lead time problems takes honest, ongoing conversation between owners, general contractors, fabricators, and suppliers. Traditional transactional purchasing tends to hide supply chain friction until it shows up as a missed delivery date.

Schedule-driven partnerships work differently. Sharing project milestones early and talking through mill lead times openly lets teams adjust to market conditions before they become a problem, rather than after. That kind of early, direct conversation is what keeps a critical path schedule intact.

Aligning Procurement with Project Execution

Structural steel teams that integrate lead-time analysis directly into project execution planning insulate their schedules against volatile supply chain shifts.

When estimators, detailers, fabricators, and material distributors align early, projects progress more predictably from Tekla models to final field erection. Establishing material coordination early grants teams control over lead times when changes are least expensive to implement.

Strategic Early Material Coordination Protects Critical-Path Schedules

Lead time pressures in structural steel will persist, but proactive material coordination prevents them from causing critical-path delays. Project success relies less on expediting mill shipments and more on transparent, early-stage communication between all stakeholders.

Integrating procurement insights into early pre-construction conversations ensures schedules stay intact from initial design through final steel erection.

Building Forward Together: The Infra Group Brings Vector Intelligence and Steel Innovation to Kansas City.

Building Forward Together: The Infra Group Brings Vector Intelligence and Steel Innovation to Kansas City

The structural steel industry is standing at an inflection point. Global infrastructure demand is accelerating, digital workflows are reshaping how projects move from bid to build, and the fabricators who will lead the next decade are the ones pairing decades of craftsmanship with modern, data-driven tools. That’s exactly the conversation The Infra Group is bringing to Kansas City this fall — and we would love for you to be part of it.
We’re proud to announce that The Infra Group will be exhibiting at Booth #2 at the ALLPLAN Build Forward Conference, taking place September 30 – October 1, 2026, at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown in Kansas City, Missouri.

Why Build Forward Matters for the Steel Industry

Build Forward — the evolution of the former SDS2 Summit — has established itself as the premier event for SDS2 and ALLPLAN users in design, fabrication, and construction. The conference convenes steel detailers, fabricators, precast concrete professionals, rebar detailers, and civil and structural engineers under one roof to trade insights, benchmark best practices, and shape the industry’s next chapter.
The 2026 agenda reflects the pace of change in AEC technology, from breakout sessions on workflow innovation to a keynote by Katherine Nelson Galke, Head of AI Innovation & Strategy at Trilon, on how AI is reshaping the industry. For steel professionals evaluating the SDS2 2027 roadmap and the broader ALLPLAN ecosystem, Build Forward is where the conversation is happening.
The Infra Group is exhibiting because our story sits squarely at that intersection — where physical steel supply, value-added processing, and next-generation software converge.

At Booth #2: Vector Intelligence, Our New Digital Utility for Steel Estimating

For decades, the industry has been held back by a stubborn bottleneck: manual takeoffs. Printed blueprints, highlighters, and hand-keyed spreadsheets create a ceiling on how many projects a fabricator can pursue and expose every bid to compounding human error.
Vector Intelligence is our answer. Recently acquired by the Reliance Carbon Structural Group — of which The Infra Group is a proud member — Vector is a proprietary automated-takeoff platform purpose-built for structural steel. Its algorithm reads vector PDF drawings generated in Revit or AutoCAD, identifies structural members, and returns a data-rich output package to your team, often within an hour of upload.
At Booth #2, our team will walk you through what Vector delivers:
  • A 50%–80% reduction in bid time on every job, giving your estimators the capacity to pursue more work.
  • Data-enriched outputs — annotated PDFs, CSV/XML files, and 3D models that plug directly into leading fabrication tools.
  • A secure, AWS-hosted portal that adapts to your existing workflow rather than forcing you to rebuild it.
  • An integrated pipeline from estimation through material procurement, because Vector is offered as part of doing business with The Infra Group.

The Full Weight of The Infra Group Behind Every Project

Software is only half the story. What makes Vector Intelligence uniquely powerful is the physical infrastructure standing behind it. The Infra Group unites Infra-Metals, Delta Steel, and Sugar Steel — three legacy names in structural steel service — across 21 strategically located facilities from New England to South Florida, through the Midwest, and across the Southwest.
At Booth #2, our specialists will also be available to discuss:
  • A comprehensive product portfolio: wide flange beams, structural tubing, plate, angles, bars, channels, I-beams, pipe, sheet, and manufactured products.
  • Value-added processing services including Hi-Def plasma plate burning, drilling, CNC saw cutting, forming, blast & prime, cambering, and T-splitting.
  • Regional distribution tailored to your projects, backed by the scale of one of North America’s largest metals distribution networks.
Together, Vector Intelligence and our nationwide service-center network give fabricators a rare advantage: one partner that helps you bid faster, quote more accurately, and receive pre-processed steel that’s ready to move straight to fabrication.

What is steelXML? How Digital Procurement Is Transforming the Structural Steel Industry

If you’ve ever watched a structural steel order bounce between emails, phone calls, and manually re-keyed spreadsheets, you already know the problem. Entering data manually eats up hours, and even small mistakes can delay the quote before it ever reaches the customer.

SteelXML simplifies how buyers, fabricators, and service centers exchange structural steel information. Companies that still rely on spreadsheets, PDFs, and manual data entry can use this to reduce slow handoffs and avoid unnecessary errors in the quoting and procurement process.

What is steelXML?

SteelXML stands for the Common XML Schema for the Electronic Procurement of Structural Steel. It was developed by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) to provide a more streamlined and automated method for purchasing steel.

This schema defines the specific data and formats needed to convey information specific to the steel procurement process, built in collaboration with steel mills, service centers, and software vendors.

In plain terms, steelXML gives every party in a steel transaction a shared language. Instead of each software system speaking a different dialect, the schema defines a single standard for how procurement data gets structured, sent, and received.

The schema covers the full procurement lifecycle by standardizing data exchange across multiple transactional checkpoints:

  • Initial availability and inquiry. Checking supplier stock and lead times.
  • Requests for quotation (RFQs). Automating bidding and estimating workflows.
  • Purchase orders. Transmitting direct buy commands without re-keying data.
  • Production scheduling. Syncing fabricator timelines with service center delivery.
  • Material test reports (MTRs). Digitizing traceability and quality assurance logs.
  • Advanced shipping notices (ASNs). Optimizing logistics, receiving, and material handling.
  • Invoicing. Streamlining final accounting and financial reconciliation.

That’s end-to-end digital steel procurement, handled through a standardized electronic handshake rather than manual touchpoints.

Key Benefits of steelXML

Transitioning from manual data entry to electronic data exchange directly optimizes supply chain touchpoints. Standardizing workflows under a unified schema delivers key performance improvements across the production lifecycle.

Faster Procurement Cycles

Conducting inquiries and orders via electronic data exchange completely eliminates manual data re-entry bottlenecks. As an early adopter of the AISC steelXML schema, Infra-Metals digitized this exchange to optimize response times.

Our sales team can import a complex Request for Quotation (RFQ) file in seconds rather than spending hours typing out structural line items. This acceleration allows us to return accurate, structured pricing files that import seamlessly back into your ERP, MRP or estimating software solution, preserving tight project timelines.

Reduced Data Entry Errors

Manual procurement means information gets re-typed at every handoff, and every re-entry is a chance for a mistake. Wrong dimensions, incorrect grades, and transposed digits aren’t hypothetical. They cause real delays and real costs.

SteelXML removes that exposure. Data moves directly between systems, so teams no longer need to re-enter quotes, orders, and other information by hand at every stage of the process. That cuts down errors and speeds up communication between parties.

Better Inventory and Material Tracking

When procurement data flows digitally, material visibility improves across the board. steelXML helps everyone work from the same set of information instead of passing around duplicate files, outdated spreadsheets, or manually updated data.

For buyers managing multiple projects or large volumes, that clarity is significant. Our services are built around this kind of operational transparency, from order through delivery.

Improved Communication Between Buyers and Suppliers

One of the less obvious benefits of structural steel procurement automation is what it does to buyer-supplier relationships. When both sides work from the same standardized data, there’s less room for miscommunication.

AISC designed steelXML specifically so the industry wouldn’t need a different EDI portal for every vendor. A shared standard means less clarifying, less back-and-forth, and faster decisions on both sides. That’s something we’ve experienced directly. It’s part of why steelXML compatibility is a core part of how we operate across our service locations.

Greater Efficiency Across the Supply Chain

Standardizing electronic data exchange reduces structural lead times and enhances order accuracy across the supply chain. Mills, Structural steel fabricators, and service centers utilizing the AISC steelXML schema increase processing capacity and resolve downstream logistical bottlenecks.

We integrate these digital capabilities across our extensive processing and fulfillment infrastructure. This ensures that your automated procurement data directly drives our inventory allocation, plate burning, and structural sawing services.

Start Streamlining Your Steel Procurement at Infra-Metals

Infra-Metals has built an expansive regional service center network around high-capacity fulfillment and digital integration. By removing manual transaction touchpoints, we help your engineering and procurement teams reduce lead times and eliminate expensive procurement errors.

Incorporate digital steel procurement into your workflow to optimize your structural steel supply chain. Request a quote from our team today, or explore our service locations to connect with a regional specialist.

How Automated Software is Revolutionizing Structural Steel Takeoffs

In the structural steel industry, winning bids relies on a delicate balance of speed and accuracy. General contractors demand rapid turnarounds on project estimates, but a single miscalculation in material requirements or labor hours can turn a profitable job into a costly liability. To stay competitive, modern structural steel fabricators are increasingly turning to advanced digital tools to eliminate bottlenecks in their estimating workflows.

The Traditional Takeoff Process: Time-Consuming and Prone to Error

Historically, performing a structural steel takeoff has been a highly manual, labor-intensive process. Estimators and detailers spend hours, sometimes days, poring over complex architectural and structural drawings. They must manually identify every required piece of material, calculate lengths and weights, estimate labor costs, and account for potential scrap.

While this meticulous approach is necessary for accuracy, it creates a significant bottleneck. Manual takeoffs limit the number of bids a fabricator can submit and increase the risk of human error. In an industry where lead times and tight margins dictate success, relying solely on manual estimating processes is no longer a viable long-term strategy.

Enter Automation: Letting Software Do the Heavy Lifting

Vector Intelligence is software that allows users to streamline their fabrication process. Rather than spending days on manual calculations, a fabricator will download drawings and inspect and do a takeoff.

The software provides annotated PDFs designed for seamless integration with most existing on-screen takeoff platform. These are built with measurement object functionality, enabling clients to easily adjust lengths and input additional data directly within the working PDF.

Additionally, Vector produces a CSV / XML document. The CSV / XML and PDF output contain all essential data points for each steel member captured by the program. The structure of the output, regarding the order and naming conventions, can be altered and saved to match existing estimating and material report templates. By completely digitizing this workflow, fabricators can bid on more projects with a higher degree of confidence.

How Vector Intelligence Benefits You

At The Infra Group, we are committed to providing our partners with the tools they need to succeed. That is why we are proud to highlight our acquisition and integration of Vector Intelligence.

This powerful platform ensures that the software automatically does the take off versus the manual process. By integrating this technology into your bidding strategy, your fabrication shop can achieve a 50-80% conservative time savings on estimating workflows. This massive reduction in administrative overhead allows your team to focus on what you do best: delivering high-quality fabricated steel on time and on budget.

Ready to Modernize Your Bidding Process?

If you need a partner dedicated to serving your projects with the same unwavering commitment you provide your own clients, The Infra Group is standing by to meet your structural steel supply and processing needs. Contact us today or submit a request for quote for your next fabrication project, and learn more about how Vector Intelligence can help your business Bid More, and Win More.

Reliance Carbon Structural Group acquires Vector Intelligence, LLC

THE RELIANCE CARBON STRUCTURAL GROUP DISRUPTS CONSTRUCTION ESTIMATING WITH ACQUISITION OF VECTOR INTELLIGENCE, LLC

The Reliance Carbon Structural Group is proud to announce the acquisition of Vector Intelligence, LLC, a revolutionary digital utility that automates material takeoffs from PDF project drawings. Leveraging extensive expertise in both software development and steel construction, Vector Intelligence aims to optimize the bidding process and detailing phases, thereby enabling businesses to enhance operational efficiency and concentrate on strategic growth areas. By bringing this technology in-house, the Reliance Carbon Structural Group now offers a fully integrated bidding solution designed to help fabrication partners scale faster and bid more accurately than ever before.

READ MORE…

 

Join The Infra Group at NASCC 2026

Accelerating the Future: Join The Infra Group at NASCC 2026

The countdown to NASCC 2026 is on!

Registration is now open for #NASCC26 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta this April. NASCC is the premier event for the steel industry, featuring over 300 technical sessions and thousands of pros. The steel industry is built on precision and heavy materials, yet the “front-end” estimating process often remains stuck in the past. Manual takeoffs—using rulers, highlighters, and spreadsheets—create a growth ceiling, consuming hours that should be spent on strategic analysis.

At The Infra Group, we believe your growth shouldn’t be limited by manual data entry. We are thrilled to head to NASCC: The Steel Conference to showcase Vector Intelligence, a revolutionary business utility designed to bridge the gap between traditional estimating and modern digital efficiency.


Why Visit Booth #1107?

Stop by our booth to see how Vector Intelligence transforms the bidding bottleneck into a competitive advantage. Our team will be performing live demonstrations of the software’s core capabilities:

  • Automated Takeoffs: Reduce bidding time by 50% to 80% per job.

  • Seamless Integration: Vector produces annotated PDFs and CSV/XML outputs that plug directly into Tekla PowerFab, Excel, or your existing on-screen takeoff platforms.

  • The 3D Advantage: Move beyond 2D abstractions. Vector generates 3D model outputs for Tekla Structures or SDS2, allowing you to visualize complexities at the bid stage and impress General Contractors.

  • Strategic Synergy: Designed specifically for our partners, Vector synchronizes your workflow with ours, leading to faster pricing and reduced material waste.

Let’s Build the Future Together

NASCC is the perfect venue to discover how automation can empower your team to shed “time burdens,” pursue larger projects, and increase your win rate.

Whether you want to scale your operations or simply reclaim your weekends from manual calculations, Vector is your engine for growth.

Where: Booth #1107

What: 1-on-1 consultations and live demos of Vector Intelligence

We look forward to seeing you there and helping you bid tighter, win more, and grow faster!

 🗓️ April 22-24, 2026 📍 Atlanta, GA 🔗 More info: https://www.nascc.aisc.org/ See you there!

 

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The Infra Group Welcomes Smith Pipe & Steel

An Exciting Announcement: Smith Pipe & Steel Joins The Infra Group

We are proud to announce that Smith Pipe & Steel is now a part of the Infra Group, operating under the ownership of Infra-Metals Co. and Delta Steel.

To our valued customers and suppliers, we want to assure you that our commitment to service remains our top priority.

What This Means for Our Valued Partners

To our customers and suppliers, this partnership combines the excellent service you already know with powerful new advantages:

  • Business as Usual: You will continue to work with the same great local management, staff, and operations team. All business will be conducted under the established Smith Pipe & Steel name.
  • Expanded Capabilities: This new affiliation provides access to expanded resources, a larger nationwide reach, increased steel availability, more stocking locations, and enhanced processing capabilities.

We are excited about this new chapter and look forward to our continued growth together!

Smith Pipe & Steel Company

SDS2 Build Forward

Building Forward Together: A New Chapter for the SDS2 Summit

The SDS2 Summit is evolving. For years, this user conference has been a vital hub for steel detailers and fabricators, fostering a strong community and sharing knowledge. Now, it’s taking a significant step forward, rebranding as Build Forward.

The new name, Build Forward, reflects an expanded mission and a shared vision. While the conference will still feature the same community-driven spirit, with engaging breakout sessions and networking opportunities, it will now welcome a broader audience from the entire ALLPLAN ecosystem. This includes professionals like precast concrete fabricators, rebar detailers, and civil and structural engineers, creating a truly inclusive event.

The name “Build Forward” was carefully chosen. “Build” speaks to the core of what ALLPLAN customers do—turning concepts into tangible reality and developing skills and relationships. “Forward” signifies the commitment to innovation, progress, and looking ahead to new challenges. This rebranding is about uniting diverse professionals with a shared goal: to innovate and build for the future.

The inaugural Build Forward conference will be held in Omaha, Nebraska, on October 15-16, 2025. Attendees are encouraged to participate in several ways, whether by attending, applying to present a breakout session, or submitting their projects to the newly expanded ALLPLAN Awards. These awards now include new categories for both individuals and teams, with the winners to be announced at the Customer Appreciation Banquet.

Whether you’re a long-time SDS2 user or new to the ALLPLAN family, Build Forward offers a unique opportunity to gain inspiration and ideas to put to work in your business and career. The Infra Group is looking forward to exhibiting and connecting with you. Register here!