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I don’t mind having solicitors from time to time, even though the neighborhood has a sign against it. In fact, when someone tells me they’re doing work on a neighbor’s house that interests me, I’ll have a conversation and get a quote. Why not? It’s not as if...

Technology, like we observed at last month’s Annual MSR Workshop, is the main reason Southern Pine has surpassed Douglas Fir as the predominant truss material. But, making this challenging transition has taken the work of lumber producers and their truss plant consumers. What’s more,...

Purchasing the correct grade of lumber to match your design drawing requirements is only one step in selecting the right lumber. Previously, we’ve discussed lumber quality in “Who is Responsible for Lumber Quality in Your Trusses?,” but let’s expand that discussion with...

Frame and truss machinery has always competed on mechanical engineering design, and it still does. But, when you ask a plant manager where the day-to-day pain and gains in their plant actually come from, increasingly the answer is software. Throughput, uptime, operator experience — these...

Affectionately dubbed 3.0, the latest generation of Enventek’s NEXPLATE injects Formula 1-style velocity to truss build tables. Building on the foundation of version 2.0 — which debuted last year at the Building Component Manufacturers Conference (BCMC) in Omaha — NEXPLATE 3.0...

Approximately 50 companies again made the trip this year, from across the US, Canada, and Brazil, to view Triad wall panel, sub-component, and stair manufacturing equipment as well as the Ruvo line of interior pre-hung door equipment at the Triad/Ruvo (Merrick Machine Company) National Trade...

One of the most common problems in component manufacturing is not that companies lack effort, experience, or good people. The problem is that many companies are still trying to price, schedule, and measure labor using methods that were never accurate enough for the decisions being made. Board...

Component manufacturing is a constant balancing act. People, timelines, communication, production realities, and customer expectations, all at once. Estimators are trying to turn quotes around faster, designers are solving problems that keep getting more complex, and production teams are...

How fast should a wall panel line be? A lot faster than it takes to frame on site. Sure, if the framing and sheathing speed is the same as on site there are still savings in reducing overall build time and the accompanying finance and insurance costs. But, framing on site doesn’t require...

Perhaps you’ve seen our company name or maybe you’ve watched my episode of The Common Chord by Paragon, People First Innovation in Truss Design. But if we haven’t met, let me introduce myself. I’m Jarred Frescura, Managing Partner and Director of Design Services for...