PORTLAND, Ore. - The HVAC and Metals Institute, a $2.5 million, 38,000-square-foot training center in Portland, built "to meet the demand for qualified and trained workers" for the HVAC and metals industry, is featured at the Web site (www.sheetmetal-16.org) of the local Columbia Chapter of the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association (SMACNA).

The training center opened in the fall of 1995. An additional 7,200 square feet were added in the summer of 2001. It is funded and operated by the Sheet Metal Training Trust, Union Local #16, and the SMACNA Columbia Chapter. According to the institute, "The center is both an example of the finest in training facilities and of how union contractors and organized labor cooperate to insure the best for all involved in the trade."

Publication date: 06/07/2004