Earl R. Hall, Executive Director
As the Syracuse Builders Exchange (“SBE”) prepares for a new year, and the abundance of opportunities that await the Association and our member employers. Let’s reflect upon the highlights of 2024 and the importance of the region’s only not-for-profit construction industry Association.
Membership
The stability of SBE’s loyal and diverse membership remains our greatest strength. While the membership data reflects a consistent composition of general contractors/construction managers, specialty subcontractors, suppliers, manufacturers’ representatives, and professionals (architects, engineers, accountants, etc.), the core of SBE’s membership remains specialty subcontractors (72%) followed by general contractors/construction managers (11%).
Membership activity experienced an unusually high number of membership applications from out of area employers (both from within and outside of New York State) as contractors are eager to take advantage of anticipated economic development opportunities throughout central and upstate New York.
Today, SBE remains New York State’s largest construction industry Association with approximately 960 member firms.
Electronic Plan Room
Enhancements to the e-plan room were well received by our 900+ firms and over 4,500 end users. Upgrades to the e-plan room during 2024 included:
- The elimination of jpg and tif files and the implementation of PDFs for all bidding documents, thus making it easier for end users to export such to various estimating and take-off software platforms.
- Launching a new blueprint viewer with additional and user-friendly features.
- Deploying state-of-the-art estimating and take-off software features within the new blueprint viewer, providing firms with limited budgets to use built-in estimating and take-off software.
In addition to the enhancements, SBE reported on over 6,000 projects in 2024, including projects in the planning stages, projects in the bidding stages, addenda, apparent low bidders and contract awards.
Education and Safety Training
Never in the history of SBE has the Association provided more in-depth education and safety training classes and content to member employers, and their employees.
New in 2024 was the launch of SBE’s Building Information Modeling (“BIM”) classes. To accommodate SBE’s investment in BIM, SBE purchased laptop computers for the classroom for students to use, along with pre-loaded Autodesk material. During the process, SBE was awarded the title of an Autodesk certified and approved training center, the only Builders Exchange in the country with this designation. To teach our BIM classes, SBE hired BIM expert Eric Wing, who is the director of BIM at C&S Companies and professor at the Syracuse University School of Engineering.
SBE continued our relationship with the Rochester Institute of Technology, providing construction industry employers throughout central New York the ability to receive the many highly regarded RIT construction education curriculum right here in the Association’s classroom. SBE and RIT will continue this relationship into the future.
Mohawk Valley Builders Exchange Merger
As reported throughout 2024, the Mohawk Valley Builders Exchange (“MVBE”) and Syracuse Builders Exchange (“SBE”) Boards of Directors and memberships voted to merge. While the New York State Attorney General’s Office Anti-Trust Bureau still must approve of the merger, such is anticipated to occur on or about January 1, 2025.
Although this merger marks the end of an era, it does not erase MVBE’s rich history and tradition in the Mohawk Valley region. This new chapter reflects an evolution in which employers will begin to receive enhanced services built on collaboration, innovation, trust, and strong values. Together, we aim to provide a more vibrant, impactful, and cohesive construction industry community throughout a large geography of upstate New York.
Social and Networking Events
SBE’s social and networking events continue to be well attended and supported. As a result of the MVBE merger, SBE anticipates hosting additional social and networking events in the Utica region.
Conclusion
2024 was an excellent year for the organization, driven by increased income, reduced expenses and strong investment performance. SBE has no debt and remains fiscally strong in many ways, enjoying revenue streams only made possible by the support of our resilient member employers and their employees.
On behalf of SBE’s staff, Officers, and Board of Directors, I would like to thank our membership for the tremendous, continued support of your Association. The success of SBE is attributed solely to the incredible membership our staff has the privilege of serving. Thank you for the trust and confidence you have placed in SBE as we remain excited about playing an important role in your business. Thank you for including us on your team.