Polk Mechanical at the 2018 ABC National Craft Championship
Polk Mechanical Congratulates 2018 NCC Award Winner, Curtis Williams!
Polk Mechanical employees have proven that their levels of skill and knowledge are among the best in the nation, after winning an award at the 31st annual Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) 2018 National Craft Championships (NCC).
Almost 200 craft trainees from companies across the country participated in the two-day event this spring in Long Beach, CA, which included 15 competitions representing 14 crafts, and a team competition. The event itself breaks down into individual craft competitions, which then involve two phases. Participants first take a two-hour written exam and then take part in daylong, hands-on practical performance tests in their particular categories: carpentry, electrical-industrial, electrical-residential, fire sprinkler, HVAC, instrumentation fitting, insulation, millwright, pipefitting, plumbing, power line, sheet metal, welding-pipe, and welding structural. Before moving onto the national event, to be eligible for preliminary local competitions, contestants must first complete hundreds of hours of classroom training and thousands of hours of practical field experience.
The event has come a long way since the first one was held in 1987. That year, a handful of participants competed in four craft competitions. Now, over 30 years later, more than 1,500 men and women have competed in what has grown to become one of the construction industry’s most recognized events to showcase craft skills.
This year, Polk Mechanical was proud to have two representatives at the National Craft Championship. Curtis Williams competed in the HVAC competition, while Nathaniel Munoz competed in the plumbing competition—both took the written and practical exam, before being judged by professionals in the industry. This independent panel of judges awarded projects with exceptional standards of craftsmanship and safety.
Polk is honored to announce that Curtis Williams won the Safety Award in the HVAC competition—the first award that Polk has received on the national level since we began attending the competition in 2014. “We are proud of Curtis’ accomplishment and encourage everyone to congratulate him on a job well done,” said Polk Mechanical CEO, Fran McCann. “The bar is now set as we continue to reach the next level in our training program here at Polk.” Curtis is in his final two months of the four-year training program and has done an exceptional job representing Polk Mechanical, alongside Nathaniel Munoz. Polk’s partnership with CEF (Construction Education Foundation) makes advancing our craft more practical and delivers a high level of education to those looking to advance their careers. Although Nathaniel did not place, we could not be more proud of the professionalism, passion and talent he displayed while competing. We congratulate him for being a part of the elite group of plumbing apprentices that competed at the NCC, and look forward to his continued growth at Polk Mechanical.
We hope to inspire everyone to further develop their skills, as we continue to live up to our commitment to construction training and education.
