2020 Metal Construction Hall of Fame
That the metal building industry has prescribed standards of quality can be directly attributed to Chuck Haslebacher, PE. When he was chairman of the Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA) certification committee, he helped transition the industry from a certification program administered by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) to an accreditation program administered by the International Accreditation Service (IAS), which is the AC472 accreditation program.
That program for metal building manufacturers inspired and was later supplemented by the AC478 program for metal building assemblers that was created by the Metal Building Contractors and Erectors Association (MBCEA). Now, building owners can be assured of standards of quality from the beginning of manufacturing to the completion of installation.
Haslebacher did this while also managing one of the largest metal building manufacturing companies in the country, Varco Pruden Buildings, Memphis, Tenn., as president from 2008 to when he retired in October 2018.
Accreditation Transition
Haslebacher’s involvement was essential to the success of the transition from the certification program to the accreditation program.
“MBMA invested a lot in the AISC program in terms of our members doing what they needed to do to be certified, to remain certified and to promote certification,” says Lee Shoemaker, Ph.D., PE, MBMA director of research and engineering and Hall of Fame inductee, “It was what the industry focused on to highlight the differences between certified manufacturers and ones that are not, and how that benefits building owners and architects.”
Chuck sets a great example. He’s a great person and you never see him riled up. He never lost his cool. He was our leader, our friend and our counterpart every day.”
Craig Edwards, regional sales manager, Varco Pruden Buildings
In October 2007, AISC announced it would end its sponsorship of the program a year later, giving MBMA an extremely short time frame to establish and implement a new program for all its members. The burden fell on Haslebacher as chair of the committee to lead the transition team to make it happen. “He started looking at as an opportunity,” says Shoemaker. “MBMA wanted the credibility of a third-party administering the program. Chuck directed the process, looking at options and making decisions. It could have been a painful transition, but it ran very smoothly. IAS was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the transition took place.”
A Calm, Steady Hand
Not only did Haslebacher serve as chair of the accreditation committee for 10 years, he also took on the burden of association chairman in 2010 and 2011, all while maintaining his responsibilities to Varco Pruden, which included navigating multiple ownership changes until it was ultimately acquired by Bluescope Buildings North America, Kansas City, Mo., in 2008. His leadership on the board of directors and as chairman of MBMA helped the association survive the 2008-09 recession without losing any members.
No matter who you talk to about Chuck Halsebacher, invariably they raise the issue of his calm demeanor. It is that steadiness, which is a foundation of his personality, that helped him lead Varco Pruden. Ross Braithwait is the retired vice president of sales for Varco Pruden, and has known Haslebacher since the 1990s when he served as service manager for Varco Pruden out of Kernersville, N.C. Of the ownership transitions, he says, “His leadership style was calm yet direct. He led us through multiple ownership changes and through one of the deepest recessions. Chuck did a lot of good, positive things and kept things together because anytime you have an ownership change you’re justifying a lot of things your currently have. I always admire how he was always calm.”
Perhaps that demeanor emerged while Haslebacher was an engineering student at West Virginia University, Morgantown, W.Va., where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and then went on to earn a Master of Science in civil engineering at the same institution. His pride for his alma mater was always evident in his ever-present coffee mug with the West Virginia logo.
“He sets a great example,” says Craig Edwards, regional sales manager, Varco Pruden. “He’s a great person and you never see him riled up. He never loses his cool.”
Edwards points out that Varco Pruden is an engineering-based company, and Haslebacher’s background brought him a lot of respect throughout the company. “Every position that he moved to,” says Edwards, “he owned it and he succeeded.”
The Varco Pruden computer system was launched during Halsebacher’s career. While developing it, “He put the builders first,” says Edwards. “He always asked, ‘What do the builders want?’”
Inclusive Direction
Bringing in the builders to help direct the creation of the computer system is the kind of inclusiveness Haslebacher gravitated toward. While developing the accreditation program at MBMA, there was concern among smaller manufacturers about the cost of the program, which is a requirement for MBMA membership. “Chuck exemplified the MBMA culture, which was very inclusive,” says Shoemaker. “Some of the larger members reached out to smaller members to offer help to get accreditation. Chuck was involved in developing workshops to help all members understand what they needed to do. Even though they were competitors, companies understood how important it was to have a strong accreditation program for the industry. Chuck showed that through his leadership.”
