AWCI is highly regarded by members of our industry as providing valuable technical and product information, education and training, industry contacts and the collaborations essential to operating a successful business, and is the principal organization advocating the interests of contractors, suppliers and manufacturers in the wall and ceiling industries.
Twenty-six lathing and plastering contractors assembled March 11, 1918, to form the Contracting Plasterers International Association. The founders of this new organization planned for the CPIA to perform two important functions: to establish friendly and cooperative interests among the members and to provide service to the building public.
As time passed, the CPIA would change its name four times to mirror a change in the industry or in the association’s membership. The first name change occurred in 1955. In an effort to oppose any effort to separate the lathing from the plastering trade, the new name became the Contracting Plasterers’ and Lathers’ International Association. In 1969, when the volume of drywall/acoustical tile being contracted by CPLIA members had increased significantly, the association changed its name to the international association of the Wall & Ceiling Contractors. After a successful merger with the Gypsum Drywall Contractors International, iaWCC’s name was changed to a combination of the two merging organizations, iaWCC/GDCI. The two associations consolidated July 1, 1976.
Finally, after the merger had “settled,” the name was changed to the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industries International, and more recently, the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry.
Today, more than 100 years since its founding, AWCI continues to provide benefits for acoustical, ceiling, drywall, EIFS, fireproofing, insulation, plaster, steel framing and stucco contractors, suppliers and distributors, manufacturers and those in allied trades.
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After decades of service, having given out many awards, the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry has achieved a pinnacle of its own. AWCI is 100 years old. Few organizations survive a whole century. So, how did this happen?
One, it was bound to happen. Wall and ceiling construction is a basic service, and always has been. Ancient wall and ceiling “contractors” built the pyramids and the Parthenon. Their modern counterparts, our members, worked on the Chicago Merchandise Mart, the Pentagon and countless other jobs. Despite facing some tough times, our members generally had work.
Two, AWCI filled a need. It was something new under the sun. At AWCI’s birth, in 1918, plasterers had unions. Plastering contractors had local associations. But, to our knowledge, no international plastering contractors’ association had ever existed. The Contracting Plasterers’ International Association, which became AWCI, was a forum for unity and direction. It transformed early 20th century contracting into an industry—setting standards, negotiating union agreements, protecting and promoting the trade. From the start, take-charge folks put AWCI at the highest levels of influence with government and industry. These Web pages will show how it was done.
After decades of service, having given out many awards, the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry has achieved a pinnacle of its own. Today, AWCI is 100. Few organizations survive a whole century. Even fewer thrive. So, how did this happen?
