MCA Chicago, BuiltWorlds Partner to Aid Mechanical Contractors

MCA Chicago, BuiltWorlds Partner to Aid Mechanical Contractors

F O R   I M M E D I A T E   R E L E A S E

Media Contact: Crystal Milburn, crystal@ncpr.com, 309-736-1071 

(CHICAGO IL, FEB 29, 2016) – The Mechanical Contractors Association of Chicago (MCA) and BuiltWorlds Media are pleased to announce a new partnership that will bring emerging technology and other industry best practices, and thought leadership to area members via informed multimedia platforms that include videos, interactive events, writing and speaking opportunities, and more. 

Bulley likes the BW tie.

“We have known BuiltWorlds for the better part of a year now, and have already participated in several events with them,” says Dan Bulley, MCA Chicago executive director, who moderated an industry panel at BuiltWorlds last fall, All Hands on Tech. "We have always been impressed with their work, so we are now very excited to forge partnerships like these, which we feel are crucial to maintaining our edge in technology.” 

MCA Chicago embraced this opportunity to partner with BuiltWorlds to increase its exposure to the many new technologies that may benefit contractor members. As a for-profit forum for innovation and collaboration, BuiltWorlds regularly hosts workshops and other educational events that seek to “lift all boats,” across all disciplines, in this still-fragmented industry. Just 19 months old, the Chicago-based startup partners with local and national tech providers, universities, contractors, architects, developers, owners and nonprofits like the AEC Hackathon, USGBC, the Illinois Institute of Technology, and Northwestern University. 

Abeles in June @ McD-U.

“To date, we have hosted programs on mobile apps, augmented and virtual reality, wearable technology, 3D printing, drones, robotics, you name it,” says Matt Abeles, BuiltWorlds co-founder and managing director. Last June, Abeles also hosted the well-received ‘Technology Tool Chest’ panel at the national MCAA Technology Committee’s annual conference hosted by MCA Chicago at McDonald's University in Oak Brook IL. “We aim to improve the construction technology ecosystem across the board and we see the MCA mechanical contractors as playing a particularly vital role in literally forging those connections on projects big and small,” adds Abeles. 

MCAA Technology Committee convened last June at McDonald's University in Oak Brook IL and BW was there.

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About the Mechanical Contractors Association of Chicago: 

The Mechanical Contractors Association (MCA) of Chicago, established in 1888, is a professional trade association representing contractors in the union mechanical construction and services industry throughout the Chicago area. MCA Chicago contractors work with highly trained pipefitters and service technicians at Pipefitters Local Union 597 to build the powerhouses that generate electricity; to install and service heating and air conditioning systems; and to install piping on a range of projects, from oil refineries to food processing plants to pharmaceutical facilities. MCA Chicago comprises approximately 400 union mechanical contracting firms through the Piping Education Council (PEC), whose members employ nearly 8,000 Local Union 597 pipefitters in the Chicago area. For more information about the Mechanical Contractors Association of Chicago and its contractor members, please visit mca.org. 

About BuiltWorlds: 

Based in Chicago, BuiltWorlds is a broad-based collaborative network fostering a smarter built environment and promoting best practices that serve that goal. Started in 2014, it is a growing media platform focused on instigating innovation, enabling collaboration and educating our industry as a forum for thought leadership and creative problem solving. Its mission is to help create a thriving global industry that is more efficient, productive, sustainable and attractive to the next generation.