Howard Schapira & 47 Years of Action

Howard began working for his father Jerry Schapira when he was only 13 years old at Action Equipment and Scaffold Co. He spent many hot Arizona summers working for the family business, until he came to work full time in 1977, while majoring in business at Arizona State University. By 1987, he was managing the Phoenix branch and 2 years later, became President in 1989.

Howard and Maret Schapira

Howard is a safety pioneer implementing the highest standards for crews and day-to-day operations. The safety seminars he launched have been a staple as the scaffold industry he helped build began to grow in prominence and size.

As an independent company, Action remained competitive by not only upholding the highest standards of safety, but also priding themselves on developing and retaining top-tier members of the scaffolding industry. Howard cemented Action as a top scaffold company by treating people well and doing what’s right, while the landscape of construction labor remained fluid.

Action, under Howard’s leadership, has remained a place where scaffold and access professionals can make large strides in their career as an industry professional, while having a proper work life balance and bright future.

Action began its expansion outside of Arizona with the acquisition of Waco Scaffolding in Colorado around 2006. From there, the company continued to thrive as an industry leader providing installation, rentals, sales, and manufacturing for the Rocky Mountain region.

Currently, Action is the scaffolding leader in the Southwest with recent expansions in California and Utah with plans of additional expansion on the horizon.

Kevin Kapelke, CEO | Howard Schapira, Chairman | Dave Schroder, President | Action Equipment and Scaffold Co

Industry achievements:

President of Phoenix chapter of Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) in 1988 after having served on their national Board of Directors, local board, and chairman of the Safety Committee. Recipient of several awards for Safety Management in 1981 & 1982 and was elected a member of the Beam Club for membership recruitment.

Industry Vitals:

· President (SAIA) from 2004-2006

· National Board of Directors (SAIA)

· Executive Committee (SAIA)

· Platform Council Chairman (SAIA)

· Recipient of the Outstanding Company Contribution Award (1994)

· Coupling Pin Award (1995)

· Outstanding Council Chairman Award (2000)

· Outstanding Service Award (2002)

· Unsung Hero Award (2003)

· Spirit Award (2003)

· Victor Saleeby Award (2006)

· President’s Award (2007)

· Hall of Fame Award (2010).

· Benefactor of (SAIAEF) Scaffold & Access Industry Association Education Foundation

· Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver & Bronze Benefactor Awards.

· Chairman of the (NFIB) National Federation of Independent Business

· Safety Committee 2012-2014.