When you hear the word "STEEL", you may think this word refers to a single type of metal. But actually, according to the World Steel Association, there are at least 3,500 different types (or grades) of steel. Also, did you know at least three-quarters of the products we know of as "steel" today have only been in existence for about two decades? Each generation of steel gets lighter and stronger than its predecessors, and advancements continue to be made daily. In this guest blog post, learn five fascinating facts you never knew about steel. By learning more about steel, you can better appreciate how this valuable alloy has contributed to our life today!

Number XXVII of our ‘Meet the Team’ leadership spotlights. Today, I got the opportunity to interview Tom McCadden. Tom is the Account Manager of the Plainville branch and has been with the organization for 27 years. On Facebook we run an album called “Faces & Places of AH Harris” and we also feature snapshots of our crew on Instagram. But we want to give some insights into who our company leaders are, what their background is and include some ‘personal touch’ that goes beyond what you would find on LinkedIn. Let’s hear it from Tom!

Number XXVI of our ‘Meet the Team’ leadership spotlights. Today, I got the opportunity to interview Bob Tetrault. Bob is the Credit Manager of the Plainville branch and has been with the organization for over 8 years. On Facebook we run an album called “Faces & Places of AH Harris” and we also feature snapshots of our crew on Instagram. But we want to give some insights into who our company leaders are, what their background is and include some ‘personal touch’ that goes beyond what you would find on LinkedIn. Let’s hear it from Bob!

Episode XXII of our ‘Meet the Team’ leadership spotlights. Today, I got the opportunity to interview Rob Rob LeClerc, nominated by Lou Viscarrondo. Rob is the Forming and Shoring specialist at the Newington branch. On Facebook we run an album called “Faces & Places of AH Harris” and we also feature snapshots of our crew on Instagram. But we want to give some insights into who our company leaders are, what their background is and include some ‘personal touch’ that goes beyond what you would find on LinkedIn. Let’s hear it from Rob!

Being a part of a project, big or small, is always exciting for the A. H. Harris team. This year, we are thrilled to be involved with the construction of the new Dunkin’ Donuts Park in Hartford, CT home of the Yard Goats. The Yard Goats name is ironically not named after the animal, but is it actually in tribute to the nickname of a Railroad Engine originally used on site in the early 1900’s. The job for this project was awarded to Centerplan Contractors of Middletown, CT in February 2015. The original job cost of this development was $56 million, part of a proposed $350 million Hartford Urban Development Plan. This past March, Harris’ Sales Account Manager at our Newington facility, Jay Pellegren, sat down with Centerplan superintendent Guy Murphy and President Dan Rossi to discuss our forming capabilities and materials. Forming and shoring specialist Rob LeClerc, had already completed a pre-bid proposal on the job and was prepared to discuss a possible rental of our signature forming solution and clamp system Harris 1500. On February 23, Russ Tooker, of the Harris Albany facility was accompanied by Branch Managers John Morin from Newington and Rob Cicero from New Haven to arrange a demo of Harris 1500 (our Harris 1500 demo trailer [http://bit.ly/1I4ZFBL] visits contractors and jobsites all across the East Coast). To our pleasure, they were impressed. A.H. Harris was able to secure the initial PO for the stadium formwork in April 2015. In May 2015, Dunkin’ Donuts purchased the naming rights to the stadium, making the official name, “Dunkin Donuts Park: Home of the Hartford Yard Goats”. This project will provide 18,000 temporary jobs for construction and development along with 1,000 permanent jobs at the venue. The stadium will have 18 luxury boxes and 6,000 general admissions seats. Harris materials for the project will go towards the forming of the interior and exterior walls of the stadium, as well as the dugout and scoreboard. In addition to the forming and shoring rentals, A.H. Harris is also supplying:

[by A.H. Harris branch manager Chris Gilbreth]

We have been at Saw Mill River Road in Ardsley for 5 years now, continuing to service Westchester County, The Bronx, and some northern parts of Manhattan with pick up business from the Tri-state area. Keeping up with high delivery demand we’ve upgraded to a CDL flat bed with 30,000lb cap. We pride ourselves on our great customer service and quick turn around on orders. We currently have 2500+ days without a lost time accident and safety is our number one concern everyday.

Here at A.H.Harris & Sons, Inc. Chesapeake, VA we opened our doors at our new location in 2012 and have been serving the construction needs of our customers in the Seven Cities (Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, and Newport News) and beyond with outstanding service and dedication. A.H.Harris Chesapeake also serves the Northeast North Carolina markets, as well as the Outer Banks. Located conveniently off of Interstate 64 in the heart of Greenbrier, Chesapeake, we can serve our customers and contractors with the ability and resources to deliver material to any jobsite in the Tidewater area. Our strategic location in Greenbrier Chesapeake also allows for our customers to conveniently visit our store and get the building materials, equipment and supplies needed in a timely manner and reduced travel time to jobsites.

Hello, and welcome to AH Harris Portland, Maine! We have been serving the southern counties (Cumberland, York, Oxford) of the state since 1994. Originally opened on Warren Avenue off Exit 48 of the Maine Turnpike, we now operate just up the street at 14 Rainmaker Drive (for some GPS use 585 Riverside Street). Service to our valued customers with the new location has been greatly improved with multiple pick-up areas around the facility. A full service loading dock with forklift access allows both incoming and outgoing materials to move with ease. 3 smaller loading doors facilitate customer service, as well as our large 16-foot overhead serving as our main pick-up area. Getting you in and out and back to your jobsite is our top priority!

Our AH Harris Plattsburgh, New York branch opened its doors in 1997. Located about 1 mile off interstate 87 exit 38N, we have 2 full time employees at our location, myself, branch manager Warren Robare, and inside sales/warehouse man Jeff Ouimette. I started working for Harris in July of 2001, displaced from my old job of 10+ years at a local Lumber yard/home center. Jeff will be here 6 years in May. We carry a wide variety of construction industry specialties for heavy highway, road and bridge, commercial and your residential construction needs. We have close to a 10,000 sqft warehouse/yard and showroom to stock all your material needs. We serve the tri-county area (Clinton, Essex, and Franklin). We currently don’t have delivery capabilities, but if you would like a delivery in the area, we can easily set up delivery out of our Albany hub for you, as we have regular stock trucks coming north twice a week on Monday and Wednesday’s.

After years of covering the Rhode Island market through our Medfield, MA (now Plainville, MA) location, A.H. Harris Construction Supplies opened its Rhode Island Branch in February of 1995 on Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick, RI. Twenty years and two location changes later, we have gone from a modest 4,000 SF building to our current 17,000 SF store and warehouse at 30 Freeway Drive in Cranston where we have been serving our customers from since 2008.