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ANODIZING next," Baker says. "While institutional construction activity should lag behind with modest single-digit gains over each of the next two years, healthcare is expected to be the strongest institutional sector." The forecast from the AIA's Consensus Construction Forecast Panel, which is comprised of the nation's leading construction predictors, are consistent with information derived from the AIA's Architecture Billings Index (ABI). Baker says the national ABI numbers were mixed in 2011, suggesting an uneven performance for construction in 2012, but they were more uniformly positive in 2012. "Eight of the 12 months of 2012 showed positive national ABI readings, including the final five months of the year," he says. "The ABI readings in the fourth quarter of 2012 were the strongest quarter since the downturn began in early 2008, suggesting that construction activity should begin to accelerate significantly in the first half of 2013." Great Reputation That is something SAF is banking on with its new California plant, as well as with its existing facilities in Atlanta and Tennessee, where the company has a great reputation among architectural specifiers, glazing contractors, sign manufacturers, wood and millwork companies, and other commercial construction trades. A survey of glazing contractors published A view of the new anodizing line at SAF's Redding, Calif., plant. 30 SEPTEMBER 2013 — pfonline.com in the October 2010 issue of US Glass magazine listed SAF as the best metal supplier in the country for its ability to meet schedules, the information provided during the building process and its quality of materials. A lot of that praise may be based on SAF's "3-Day Out" program, whereby the company will shear, form and ship qualifying orders within three business days or give the customer a 10-percent discount on the entire order. This guarantee has been a major boon for SAF's sales effort, as builders and contractors love the ability to order material on short notice in order to operate a lean construction site. SAF also says it is the only supplier in North America that can custom anodize and ship sheet and extrusions for its customers in 24 hours or less. Customers who place orders before 5 p.m. will see them shipped the next business day. Popular Program "It's been a popular program that we've offered, but it also has been one that has been driven by market demand," Penn McClatchey says. "It takes a very disciplined operation to meet these requirements, and our people have done a tremendous job of fulfilling those obligations. The program sends a real message to the people who do business with us." That has pretty much been the way SAF has been run since the late 1940s when family patriarch Marvin McClatchey