About

The Metals Group, LLC (TMG) is a structural steel, welding, and nondestructive testing inspection firm based in Tallahassee, Florida, serving Florida and the Southeast. TMG supports engineers, owners, agencies, general contractors, and fabricators on projects where weld quality, structural connections, and NDT findings have to be defensible to the controlling code.

TMG covers structural steel and welding special inspection under the International Building Code (IBC), Chapter 17; welding consulting across the AWS D1 family; nondestructive testing (UT, MT, PT, VT) per ASNT SNT-TC-1A — Personnel Qualification and Certification in Nondestructive Testing; bolted connections per the RCSC Specification for Structural Joints Using High-Strength Bolts; tank and pressure-equipment work per API 650 / 653 and ASME BPVC; and UAV inspection under FAA Part 107. Welding work is reviewed at SCWI level; NDT is overseen at ASNT Level III.

TMG's role on a project is observation and reporting. Authority to accept or reject work rests with the owner or the owner's designated representative.

Leadership

TMG is led by Charles E. Pennington, Jr., SCWI, ICC MSI, ASNT Level III — more than 29 years in welding and nondestructive testing, from welder, fabricator, and steel erector (1997) through technician, inspector, senior inspector, and principal roles. He has built and led inspection and NDT programs across the Southeast since 2003, and serves on the AWS B1 Committee and the AWS D1 Task Group 4 (TG4) on Inspection — the committees that author the welding and inspection codes TMG works to.

“Inspection is a judgment discipline. Codes set the acceptance criteria; field experience tells you where to look.”

Representative project domains:

• Transportation and bridges — FDOT statewide structural steel inspection; fracture-critical members and bascule bridges; emergency response and in-service NDT.
• Buildings, stadiums, and education — structural steel special inspection and NDT, shop through erection.
• Sign structures and high-mast assemblies — connection and weld inspection, including UAV-assisted access.
• Industrial — steel mills and paper mills; NDT and tank-coating holiday testing.
• Tanks and pressure equipment — aboveground storage tank inspection under API 653 — Tank Inspection, Repair, Alteration, and Reconstruction.
• Amusement rides — structural and weld NDT of ride structures and components.

Affiliations: AISC, AWS, ASNT.

Codes on file

Welding

AWS D1.1 — Structural Welding Code – Steel, AWS D1.5 — Bridge Welding Code, AWS D1.6 — Structural Welding Code – Stainless Steel, and AWS D1.8 — Structural Welding Code – Seismic Supplement.

Structural steel

AISC 360, AISC 303, and where applicable AISC 341; bolted connections per the RCSC Specification.

Special inspection

International Building Code (IBC), Chapter 17, and the project Statement of Special Inspections.

Nondestructive testing

ASNT SNT-TC-1A. Methods: UT, MT, PT, VT.

Tanks and pressure equipment

API 650 / 653; ASME BPVC Section IX and B31 pressure piping.

Credentials

AWS Senior Certified Welding Inspector (SCWI); ICC Master of Special Inspection; ASNT Level III (UT, MT); API 653 Aboveground Storage Tank Inspector; FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot; FDOT CTQP Quality Control Manager. View certifications.

Service area

Florida and the Southeast. Field work is dispatched from Tallahassee. For projects outside the standard footprint, contact us — travel-inclusive engagements are evaluated case by case.