Don Allen, P.E., S.E., LEED® AP, joined the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry as its full-time director of technical services on Feb. 21.
In his new role Allen will monitor industry codes and standards and represent AWCI at meetings of various code bodies and allied trade associations. He will also serve as technical advisor and write for AWCI’s Construction Dimensions and AWCI’s Codes & Standards Digest, a monthly e-newsletter for members of the association. In addition, Allen will serve as staff liaison to the AWCI Construction Technology Council, its committees and lead AWCI’s ceilings and specialty products initiatives.
Allen has been involved in commercial and residential steel framing since 1990, but he was most recently director of engineering for steel framing manufacturer Super Stud Building Products. During his tenure he helped design and develop their patented floor joist system, redesign and grow their specialty clip system, implement a new design for their RC1 resilient channel and spearhead Super Stud’s sustainability efforts.
For almost 10 years Allen concurrently served as technical director for three associations in the cold-formed steel industry: the Steel Stud Manufacturers Association, the Steel Framing Alliance and the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute. He chairs the education committee of the American Iron and Steel Institute and serves on AISI’s committees on specifications and framing standards.
“Don has been active in AWCI for years and is well-respected throughout the industry. As he joins the AWCI team as our full-time director of technical services, Don’s knowledge and experience of codes, standards and technical matters will greatly benefit AWCI members and the entire wall and ceiling industry,” said AWCI CEO Mike Stark.
Allen replaces Robert Grupe, who was AWCI’s part-time technical director for seven years and prior to that worked for USG for 28 years. He is currently the principal at Grupe Gypsum Consulting, LLC.
