Scaffold Resource claims industry championship

For the second year in a row, Scaffold Resource has won the Scaffold and Access Industry Association’s (SAIA) scaffold-building competition.

Conducted during the 2026 World of Concrete trade show, the SAIA competition challenged teams from the United States and the United Kingdom to complete a time-limited “surprise build” — a scaffold design presented to teams just hours before the event. Judges scored teams based on their speed, safety, accuracy and product quality.

The design was a complex arrangement of a scaffold with cantilevered sections that extended out in seven-foot increments.

“You had to interpret the drawings, come up with a plan on how you were going to tackle the build and then execute under pressure,” said Ulysses Medina, Director of Operations at Scaffold Resource.

The Scaffold Resource team, comprised of four builders and one coach (Juan Martinez, Henry Gutierrez, Kevin Carbajal, Antony Guevara and Coach Carlos Guevara), had prepared through an internal competition among employees. Team members spent the week before the trade show completing different builds in the company’s yard and developing a team chemistry, Medina said.

Claiming the championship for the second year “is a big deal in the scaffold access industry. Everybody is super proud. Internally, we were all sending text messages congratulating each other,” he said.

Beyond the thrill of the win and some bragging rights, the SAIA victory also produces some business benefits for Scaffold Resource, said Steve Quaerna, Vice President of Business Development and Event Infrastructure.

“We’re not the biggest scaffold company in the country, but we are growing fast and getting tremendous exposure as one of the most reputable and capable scaffold companies in the United States,” Quaerna said. “From a talent standpoint, it also improves our positioning in the industry. It’s hard to find good scaffold builders. Name recognition and recognition for our skill helps with recruitment.”