Forum Presentations

Union Contractors Subcommittee Meeting (Open only to Signatory contractors of the International) | Wednesday, April 18, 2018 (1:05–3:00 p.m.)

Understanding Multiemployer Defined Benefit Plans

Learn the latest about multiemployer-defined benefit plans, including withdrawal liability, liability of the contractor for plans they participate in, general statistics on the state of multiemployer plans, understanding a plans status, and advice and insight on actuarial assumptions used in measuring the financial condition of a plan.

Speaker: Judy Goodstein, Vice President and Actuary, Segal Consulting

Merit Contractors & Union Contractors Subcommittee Meeting (Open only to Signatory contractors of the International) | Wednesday, April 18, 2018 (1:05–3:00 p.m.)

NIA's Insurance Program Discussion and Q&A

NIA's new Environmental/Pollution Liability Insurance Program, offered by Navigators and Alliant/Mesirow, is available exclusively for NIA members and offers supplemental protection and liability coverage. Matt Stevens will provide details about coverage for pollution incidences, protection for key pollution risk exposures, and will answer member questions during the session.

Speaker: Matt Stevens, CIC, Vice President Property & Casualty, Alliant Americas

Joint Union/Merit Contractors Meeting | Wednesday, April 18, 2018 (3:05–3:50 p.m.)

Past, Present and Future: How Contractors Succeed and Which Trends are Emerging for the Future

Numerous contractors, from small to large, struggle to keep existing clients and maintain a foothold in their market. Other contractors, however, gain traction, build backlogs, run profitably, and penetrate new areas of specialization. What is their secret? Why do some companies do well while others just barely survive? FMI will present several case studies and distill the relevant factors that make these companies unique and successful. The information in this presentation will help you:

Understand the business imperatives for surviving in the construction industry;
Recognize the common mistakes contractors make; and
Build a company fit for the next challenge.

FMI will also give an outlook on the economic forecast and the trends that are driving the future of our industry.

Speaker: Jim Schug, Principal, FMI Corporation

Young Professional Advisory Committee Meeting | Wednesday, April 18, 2018 (4:00–4:45 p.m.)

Driving Best Practices in Business Development

As organizations try to make sense of the changing markets around them, many are putting renewed efforts into their business-development approach. After observing a significant shift in this direction, FMI conducted an extensive, in-depth survey of contractor CEOs and top executives in an attempt to identify the current challenges of the business-development process and the solutions that are yielding positive results. Key results from this research can lead to a greater focus on what works based on the direct experiences of contractors who are leveraging a total business development culture within their firms. The information in this presentation will help you:

Determine why the same old sales tactics do not work anymore;
Implement successful new business-development activities and measure the results;
Instill a company-wide business-development culture to drive new business opportunities; and
Establish creative strategies that focus all of your resources on the customer.

Speaker: Jim Schug, Principal, FMI Corporation

2018 Convention