Orlando Events Center Roof Truss Assembly Begins

Orlando, FL – Seven short miles from the site of the new Orlando Events Center, six 380-foot long, 150-ton steel roof trusses for the world-class arena will be fabricated. Roof truss erection began Tuesday (July 14), as the first portion -- a segment weighing 140,000 pounds -- of the first truss was put into place. Steel roof truss erection will continue over the next five months.‪ Orlando’s new events center will open in the fall of 2010 and compete to host major national events, concerts and family shows, while serving as the home to the Orlando Magic. “This is a local success story,” said Schuff President and Chief Executive Officer Glen Davis. "The local construction community needed this project quite badly as did Schuff Steel. We are proud of the Orlando Magic and the City of Orlando for recognizing those needs and for living up to the commitments that they made to keep as much of the work local." The entire structural steel portion of the new Events Center is in excess of 3,000 tons. The cutting, shaping and assembling of the raw steel involves 200-plus local steel workers. An estimated 100 workers will take part in erecting the steel at the site of the New Orlando Events Center. "The effort the Magic, its program manager (Turner Construction) and the construction manager (Hunt Construction Group) put forth made the local and MWBE program a success —bringing people together with a goal of improving the community," added Davis, whose company has a workforce which is 39 percent diversified in administration and 64 percent diversified in operations and production at its Orlando plant. An estimated 95 percent of Schuff’s workforce resides in the City of Orlando and Orange County area. Bolts, supply and fabrication of raw materials, trucking, painting of the steel and engineering are all part of the 24 percent minority package that Schuff is committed to accomplish. Schuff Steel has been involved with the construction of many local and recognizable structures including the new UCF Arena and many phases of The Orange County Convention Center.