Sheet Metal Institute

Featured Partner: Umpqua Sheet Metal

We’re proud to recognize Umpqua Sheet Metal as a featured partner of Sheet Metal Institute.

For 50 years, Umpqua Sheet Metal has served Roseburg, Oregon and the surrounding areas with expertise in HVAC maintenance, industrial metal fabrication, and air purification solutions.

Their support helps strengthen the future of the sheet metal trade by investing in skilled training, hands on learning, and the next generation of union sheet metal professionals.

Partnerships like this make a lasting impact. Together, we are building more than careers. We are building the future of our industry.

Hands Steady. Hood Down.

There is a price to becoming a sheet metal worker.

It is paid in early mornings, steady hands, sharp focus, and the discipline to keep showing up until skill becomes second nature.

Under the hood, there is no shortcut.

Just heat. Precision. Control. Patience. Pride.

Sheet metal workers are not just learning a job. They are learning a craft. They are learning how to take raw material and turn it into something strong, functional, and lasting.

Our apprentices are craftspeople.
They are problem solvers.
They are builders.

This trade takes grit. It takes focus. It takes the kind of skill that cannot be faked. And when the work is done right, you can see it. Learn more about careers in sheet metal on our website: https://sheetmetalinstitute.org/

A deeper dive on our expansion from the Northwest Labor Press.

Our Northeast Portland campus training center is growing with a 9,000 square foot expansion designed to give apprentices more hands-on training in real jobsite conditions, including a building within a building where they can practice installation, ductwork, and working safely at heights.

“We’re looking toward the future,” said Rob Postma, regional representative of the Northwest Regional Council of SMART Union. “We want to provide better training and stay current, and use our members’ money wisely.”

This project is about more than adding space. It is about investing in the future of our trade, strengthening union training, and preparing the next generation of skilled sheet metal workers.

Read the full article from NW Labor Press to learn more about the expansion, the union-built project, and what it means for apprentices, members, contractors, and our industry.

Building for the future A Local 16 training center expansion doubles as test run for private-sector project labor agreements.

From Apprentices to Journeymen. LFG!

These SMI Springfield campus graduates didn’t just finish a project. They killed it from concept to completion, the way real sheet metal workers do.

They designed the look, submitted it to their instructor, drafted the plans in AutoCAD, built the system, and installed roof, fascia, gutter, and wall panels on an architectural mock up structure.

That’s skill. That’s grit. That’s five years of showing up, learning the trade, doing the work, and earning the title.

Congrats, journeymen. Well deserved! Show some love, people! Drop a comment.

Outside shot, front of training center: (L-R) Jacob Peel, Jacob Kovachy, Trace Graham, Ryan Anderson, Jayden Grimsbo, Dustin Comer, Joe Tasa, Devin Maple, Tyler Kitcher

Built by Hand

From flat piece of metal, they built it.

These apprentices completed their architectural projects during the Northwest Regional Council Apprentice Competition, showing the skill, precision, and patience this trade demands.

Every finished project tells a story of training, focus, and pride in the craft. These are the types of skills we need to keep our communities working.

Does this type of career interest you? Learn more about our trade on our website https://sheetmetalinstitute.org/

Clear communication keeps jobs safe, efficient, and on track. Listening well, asking questions, and speaking up when it matters prevents mistakes and builds trust across the crew. These skills are a must in our trade.

Hard skills build systems. Soft skills build careers. Got what it takes to listen and speak up? Visit our careers page to learn more about the careers we offer in our trade. Link in bio.

Thank you Perlo Construction! We are super excited and so ready for this expansion.

Faces of the Future

Serious faces. Real focus. Driven and passionate about their craft. The next generation of sheet metal workers is already putting in the work.

At the Northwest Regional Council Apprentice Competition, apprentices stepped in ready to test their training, trust their hands, and represent their programs with pride.

We are proud these apprentices will be the builders of our communities.

Montana Sheet Metal Workers JATC - Butte, Montana

We are still looking back on the 2026 Northwest Regional Council Apprentice Competition and the apprentices who made it such a strong event.

Thank you to Montana Sheet Metal Workers JATC, representing SMART Local 103, for participating and bringing your skills, work ethic, and program pride to the competition.

These apprentices represent the future of the sheet metal trade: hardworking, capable, and ready for what comes next.

Shout out to union and JATC leadership for the great support. And to Training Coordinator MacQuaid Brennan, you wear the stash so well!

Sheet Metal Institute was proud to host this year’s competition and celebrate the next generation of sheet metal professionals.

MEMORIAL DAY

On Memorial Day, we remember the men and women who gave everything in service to our country.

Their sacrifice gave us the freedom to gather, work, build, and spend time with the people we love.

As you enjoy time with family and friends this Memorial Day weekend, please take a moment to remember what the day is really about.

We honor them. We remember them. We are grateful.