2013 Top Job Awards!

The National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association (NOMMA), a trade association of the ornamental and miscellaneous metalworking industry, presented Compass with two awards — Silver for “Interior forged railings” and Bronze for “Interior railings with less than the 5% hand-forgings.” Both projects were created from 97% recycled content and located in the Greater Philadelphia and New Jersey area.

Each year, NOMMA invites its 600 member firms throughout the U.S. and in seven foreign countries to compete in The Ernest Wiemann Top Job Contest. The competition recognizes outstanding work and is judged by NOMMA members. This year’s awards presentation was held at NOMMA’s METALfab conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Says Todd Daniel, NOMMA Executive Director, “The Top Job competition is to Ironworks, what the Olympics is to athletes. Just as an athlete works for days, months, and years to be a better competitor, these craftsmen work for constant improvement too. Ironworks competed on an international level for these awards and for Compass Ironworks to win an award is a sign of their level of dedication and craftsmanship to their trade.”

The first award-winning project was hand-forged interior railings created for a private residence near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “The design intent was a railing to compliment the unique characteristics of the architecture and the surrounding stone wall,” says John Kelly of Interior Design Inc., Philadelphia, a contractor who worked with Ironworks on the project. “The finished hand-forged iron railing is the focal point in this extraordinary two-story space. The custom designed marble flooring, carpeting, and lighting were designed to coordinate with the intricate details of the railing and make this entire space an enriching experience to be enjoyed for decades.”

The second project was for Brigalias Catering, a popular banquet hall in New Jersey. The challenge was to appeal to a more sophisticated client base and add elegance for special events and weddings. Compass had to work as far in advance as possible, as the hall couldn’t tolerate construction mess with up to five weddings each weekend. Four months and 392 hours later, Tina Brigalias exclaimed, “The space is awesome, my brides, their families just love it! It has increased the demand for the hall and I’m going to duplicate the ambiance in all my other rooms to have the same visual impact.”

Kevin McClarigan, a Certified Public Account active in the Lancaster County business community, adds, “It is an indication of Compass’ dedication to aesthetics and harmony within a project, to have their peers award two medals on their first participation ever.”
In addition to the METALfab conference, Compass Ironworks participated in the world-renowned Architectural Digest Home Design Show in New York City this past March. The event showcased trend-setting designs, products and ideas from around the world. With over 300 exhibits featuring modern furniture, cutting-edge kitchen appliances, and a host of world-class artists, including designers and artists from the U.S., the focus was on American-made integrity and quality. Compass Ironworks was recognized by Inhabitat New York City as one of the “Top Ten Best Green Home Designs” at the show.

Recently, Compass Ironworks launched an educational program to educate designers, architects and landscape architects on the sustainability of iron and solid aluminum gates, fences, and railings. The course was created in response to a growing demand from specifiers to learn more about ironwork and proper specifications. The course also teaches about an eco-friendly pretreatment and powder-coat process that emits no VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) into the atmosphere, and is 99.99% reclaimable, yet withstands the brutal salt air elements at the shore.