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- Everyone buying raw materials for structural components or conventional framing applications is purchasing design values and related properties for use in engineering equations to resist loads for a given load path.
- It is not well known that lumber design values are global in nature and not specific to the piece of lumber being used.
- Design values written into the building code become the law, whether they are scientifically correct or not.
- If the law is treated forthrightly as written, professional engineers have great value in the market.
Meet Joseph Maez at Katerra in Phoenix, Arizona.
Most of the conversations I’ve had with component manufacturers (CMs) about increasing production efficiency inevitably focus on one thing: bottlenecks.
Trusses are engineered components that will perform as intended if installed correctly. However, those who are installing trusses are not always adept in deciphering truss layout drawings.
SBCA’s Jobsite Package is likely the most economical risk management tool a component manufacturer (CM) can deploy.
Learn more about the National Framers Council (NFC), Cold-Formed Steel Council (CFSC), Truss Industry Business Council (TIBC) and the Equipment Council.
How’s your I-joist and floor truss business? SBCA Marketing Committee Chair Jess Lohse wants to know.
Meet SBCA board member Gene Frogale, President of Annandale Millwork and Allied Systems in Chantilly, Virginia.
Erickson staff, including CEO Rich Gallagher (left) and COO Reed Graham (back row, right of center)
Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve (center), Reno High teacher Karl Kuhles (right) and his students in the STEM-based Project Lead the Way program, cut the ribbon to open the High Desert Truss and Lumber plant.
Designers are under tight deadlines; they are constantly being pulled from one project to another, and are routinely being asked to make changes to a project. All of this can create an environment that burns them out and pushes them out the door.
One of the most significant benefits of SBC Magazine’s new online polling approach is it gives component manufacturers (CMs) a glimpse into how their business model and/or local market compares to the industry as a whole.
Global markets, technical expansion and industry growth all contribute to making SBCA a leading force in further development of the structural building component industry—now and in the future!
Advocacy
With a mission to protect and advance the interests of our members, SBCA is the voice of the structural building components industry to legislative, regulatory and standards-generating agencies. SBCA formulates policies concerning the operations of component manufacturers.
Educate your customers and protect your business with best practice information regarding handling and installing components.
A CM, a framer, and a supplier collaborate to significantly innovate shear walls.
Given that our industry is in the component design and engineering business, which is closely related to the building design business, accurate and reliable engineering is central to every CM’s future success.
Apparently, the secret to surviving 50 years in the truss business is to begin by selling lumber, and then working your way into it. Heart Truss & Engineering in Lansing, MI, and Littfin Lumber (Truss) Company in Winsted, MN, are both celebrating half a century of success this year, and they share some common characteristics: one, they both hail from Midwestern states; two, their founders all started by selling lumber and building materials; and three, they all resisted the urge to expand beyond their means.
$270 million project required 9,250 floor trusses, 1,580 roof trusses, and zero call backs
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Joe Hikel’s main focus for this year was to establish better connections with the supply chain. The foundation has been set.
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Collaborative work on the lumber design value issue and forging relationships at all levels of the supply chain goes a long way toward helping the industry survive today and thrive in the future.
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Hikel’s personal return on investment on time working within SBCA has been invaluable, both in business opportunities and the personal reward from the relationships formed.
Welcoming the future of the industry
Homebuilders are shifting their focus, and that’s good news for component manufacturers.
“We need to take every opportunity to sell more trusses!” That was the sentiment of many of the component manufacturers (CMs) sitting around the table at the most recent SBCA Marketing Committee meeting in Tampa, Florida.
Innovation is a word that is currently criticized in the business world for being over utilized. However, I would argue its actual application is being seriously underutilized in our own industry.
- Examine each operational area for changes that could help improve overall economics.
- Make sure the design department is up to date on price changes of stock lengths of lumber, especially changes due to design value adjustments.
- Factor customer needs into optimization, along with producing a more efficient truss using less material and plant labor.
There was so much information to absorb at this year’s show! And there are more resources online to help you catch up on anything you missed.
SBCRI Testing & SBCA Research Reports can transform your market.