American Iron and Steel Institute’s (AISI) Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI) announced May 4 that David C. Jeanes, P.E., president of the Steel Market Development Institute (retired), is the recipient of the 2010 Market Development Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes steel industry professionals who have made significant contributions over the course of their careers in advancing the competitive use of steel in the marketplace. These contributions include influencing strategic direction and increasing interest in market development by their colleagues. The award was presented by AISI Chairman Dan DiMicco, chairman, president and CEO of Nucor Corporation, during a ceremony held at AISI’s 118th General Meeting.
“Dave Jeanes was the catalyst for and the driving force behind the industry’s commitment to growing the markets for steel,” Lawrence W. Kavanagh, president of AISI’s Steel Market Development Institute, said. “He instituted the Five-Year Business Plan approach to charting the industry’s roadmap for the future, bringing together strategic partners to define the opportunities and challenges to growing the automotive, construction, and container markets, as well as value-added long markets and steel recycling. This strategy has been key in helping our industry to deliver steel-intensive solutions to the marketplace, and it is the foundation for our planning to keep steel competitive in the years ahead.”
The award inscription reads: “Presented to DAVID C. JEANES, P.E. in recognition of your profound and enduring accomplishments in making steel the material of choice.” This is only the third time that the Market Development Lifetime Achievement Award has been presented since it was launched in 2004.
David Jeanes was the first president of AISI’s Steel Market Development Institute. He retired from AISI in March 2010 after 34 years of service. As SMDI president, he was responsible for developing and implementing an industry-wide strategic plan to advance the competitive use of North American steel in the marketplace. Through the plan, he emphasized the importance of strategic customer/partner alliances as essential to establishing real market growth. Results from the SMDI/customer partnership include achievements such as development of the UltraLight Steel Auto Body (ULSAB), which helped to define the next generation of vehicles; advancement in the design and development of the market for cold-formed steel structures; the development of durable, cost-effective High-Performance Steel for bridges, which is now in use in more than 300 bridges in 44 states; and the engagement of the food processing industry in promoting canned food nutrition.
Jeanes’ professional career concentrated on management, engineering, marketing research and construction. Since joining AISI in 1976, he has held positions as Director of Construction Codes and Standards; Manager of Engineering Operations; Research Associate at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); Senior Engineer; and Codes and Standards Engineer. He served as Senior Vice President, Market Development before becoming president of AISI’s Steel Market Development Institute in 2008.
He was instrumental in the establishment of work plans leading to the formation of the Steel Framing Alliance, the Metal Roofing Alliance, the National Steel Bridge Alliance, the Auto/Steel Partnership, the Canned Food Alliance and the Steel Recycling Institute. He has served on the boards of directors of the Steel Construction Roundtable, National Steel Bridge Alliance, American Society for Testing and Materials, and the Steel Recycling Institute.
Jeanes is a licensed Professional Engineer. He received his education at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in civil engineering (cum laude), the Wentworth Institute of Technology in architectural engineering, and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in engineering administration.
Prior to joining AISI, Jeanes worked as a structural engineer and construction project manager. He served as an officer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he was active in facilities planning, design and construction. He is a decorated Vietnam veteran.
The Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI) is a business unit of AISI that grows and maintains the use of steel through strategies that promote cost-effective solutions in the automotive, construction, and container markets, as well as for new-growth opportunities in non-traditional steel markets, value-added long products, and steel recycling. SMDI is comprised of eight member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers: AK Steel Corporation, ArcelorMittal Dofasco, ArcelorMittal USA, Nucor Corporation, Severstal North America Inc., SSAB Americas, United States Steel Corporation, and USS-POSCO Industries.
He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, Society of American Military Engineers, and the Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Society.
