CM Toolkit Search

CM Perspective: We Need You to Attend SBCA Meetings!

As an active member of SBCA, the greatest value I receive is through the relationships I’ve formed at Open Quarterly Meetings (OQMs) over the last few years. Sure, SBCA does a lot of great things with the magazine and the services and products they offer, but the ability to pick up the phone and call a fellow component manufacturer (CM) from somewhere outside of my shipping area is the most powerful tool SBCA has put in my toolbox.  

Construction Industry Workflow Initiative

The SBCA Marketing Committee embarked on an ambitious new effort to map the entire construction industry process through a series of flow charts.

Editor's Message: What Does Your Company Actually Sell?

On the surface, your company is selling its people and their expertise in using highly specialized software and equipment to design and manufacture a series of structural components. Additionally, you’re selling your ability to assemble those components as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible and deliver them to the jobsite exactly when the customer needs them.

President's Message: Protecting the Value of Your Business

With respect to your business, what do you dwell on before you go to sleep? What’s the first thing you think about when you wake up in the morning? If I were to hazard a guess, I would say the most common answer in our industry right now is related to labor challenges and greater production. Given all we have been learning at the SBCA meetings over the past year, I would argue we also need to be constantly focused on our exposure to risk.

Plumbing Damage Costs & How to Avoid Them

This article will briefly explore how these calls can impact a CM’s bottom line and a few ways in which CMs can proactively work with tradespeople to avoid such issues. Truss repairs can very easily turn a profitable job into a money losing project. The cost incurred with this type of repair goes beyond the price of the materials. Costs for determining the issue for repair, designing the repair, and implementing a repair solution shouldn’t get lost in your accounting books. 

Create a Future Vision that Supports Interns

“Internships are a perfect way for us to get to know an individual and for the individual to see what a career in the component manufacturing industry would be like. If both sides come to the conclusion that it’s a good fit, it’s a win-win situation and an opportunity for both parties to be successful,” says Mike Petrina, plant manager at Wisconsin Building Supply. “The internship exposes them to a lot of different projects and you can figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are in designing and determine where their passion lies.”

Using the Codes to Benefit Your Business

Rick Parrino will tell you that one of the most important business decisions a component manufacturer (CM) can make is to foster new and beneficial relationships with building and fire officials, builders, elected officials, and all other trades. Doing so gives CMs a new lens through which to view the manufacturing and installation of the trusses, wall panels, and engineered products they sell.

Giving Tours to Students – A Willingness to Try

An SBC Industry News poll earlier this year engaged our readers in a conversation about giving tours to student groups that resulted in some common themes we thought were worth exploring. The April article explored the primary commonality among those component manufacturers (CMs) that take the time to engage with students: They all simply believe it’s the right thing to do. As we continue to delve into this topic, a second important trait to explore about CMs who host student tours is they all have a willingness to try to engage with local educators. 

Opening a New Door

In May of 2018, Door Creek Church broke ground on their new DeForest Campus just minutes north of Madison, Wisconsin. The church was given ten acres by a local developer in what amounts to a suburb of Madison on the edge of urban reach mixed with strong agricultural ties. Originally, a metal building was designed for the church but costs redirected the church’s architect to wood frame construction.

Put Your Best Electronic Foot Forward

Although the majority of component manufacturers (CMs) have a website according to our website poll, the question remains: Is your website up-to-date and attractive enough to be effective? We all know there are countless reasons to have a website but just having a website, especially an outdated one, is no longer enough in this day and age to be effective and could in fact detract from your business. To this point, a website redesign could help tap into new business opportunities and be a huge return on investment for your company. 

Faces of the Industry: Larry Dix

Since I was 14 years old, I just wanted to own my own business. In 1986, I was selling lumber in Texas when the economy collapsed. With the market tanking, they laid off half of the employees. I was fortunate, I was pushed back down to retail sales but I wanted to get back into outside sales. The company’s truss plant began to struggle and I was asked to sell trusses. I said yes, despite not knowing what a truss was, and I have never looked back from there. 

Parting Shots: Getting Fresh Ideas

When looking at opportunities to increase structural component production capacity through equipment automation, one of the primary examples many point to is the automotive industry. Component manufacturers (CMs) and lumber producers had a chance to tour one of the nation’s most advanced vehicle manufacturing facilities run by Nissan in Smyrna, Tennessee, as part of the 2019 MSR Workshop in April. Plant tours like these give everyone a fresh perspective on production issues. 

CM Perspective: Be an Innovator in Off-Site Construction

Having just attended the ProSales 100 Conference in San Antonio this year, one thing is very evident: Builders are looking for off-site construction solutions (wall panels, floor panels, roof trusses, etc.) that will limit the number of tire tracks onsite and help address the skilled labor shortage. The national builders also understand the importance of reviewing their workflow and portfolio of plans to eliminate wasted steps and streamline designs.