Building Capacity Without Breaking Workflow Wendy Boyd Let’s face it: growth is exciting, scary, and a great problem to tackle. But in component manufacturing, increased demand can quickly expose pressure points on the floor. What once felt smooth starts to feel tight. Work in progress (WIP) builds up and becomes expensive. Teams must work... Read More March 2026 Issue #18320 Page 29
Automation for Greenfield OR Retrofit Truss Plants Edmond Lim, P.Eng. For inspiration to Feed the Beast! in 2026, the mandate is clear to automate, however, the path to automation looks different depending on your starting point. Let’s compare two standout 2025 LimTek installations—a greenfield plant and a modernizing retrofit—to see how... Read More March 2026 Issue #18320 Page 36
Board Foot and Work Minutes Can Coexist Todd Drummond Board foot has been used for decades in component manufacturing, and it still serves its purpose for sales reporting, legacy KPIs, and corporate roll ups. There is no need to abandon it. But for scheduling, pricing, and determining how much work a plant can actually handle, board foot alone will... Read More March 2026 Issue #18320 Page 46
Team Performance Depends on Your Flow Wendy Boyd When your team is set up right, performance takes care of itself. In manufacturing, it’s easy to assume better results come from pushing harder – longer shifts, tighter schedules, more pressure on the floor. But the highest performing plants know something different: real performance... Read More February 2026 Issue #18319 Page 29
Polar Vortex? A PickLine Works Better in the Snow! Edmond Lim, P.Eng. Whether you’re facing a Polar Vortex, a Snowmageddon, or just another pending storm, a wintry winter forecast can strike fear in anyone. But the good news is that a Lumber PickLine will make it even easier for you to cope with these tricky situations. [For all photos, See PDF or View... Read More February 2026 Issue #18319 Page 38
The Future of Automation Delivered By Hundegger Steve Shrader My March 2025 article, “Getting Up to Speed at Hundegger: The Future of Automation is Here,” outlined what I expected to be a pivotal year for Hundegger USA. In preparation for continued growth, we added two key team members: Sales Manager Carlos Lozano and Technical Sales Manager... Read More February 2026 Issue #18319 Page 52
Stop Chasing Efficiency, Remove the Bottleneck, and Let Profits Rise Todd Drummond Most companies don’t have a performance problem. They have a flow problem. They have good people, decent equipment, and plenty of effort on the floor, but the numbers that matter most still refuse to move. Output stays flat, lead times stretch, overtime becomes the norm, customers feel... Read More February 2026 Issue #18319 Page 62
Growing with Intention at Classic Truss I recently had the opportunity to visit Classic Truss and spend time with Marty Scott, Operations Manager, and Clarence Houk, Design Manager. It was one of those visits that reminds you how much this industry has changed, and how much of that change comes from steady, intentional progress rather... Read More February 2026 Issue #18319 Page 114
Using Smart Machinery to Help Your Team Do Its Best Work Wendy Boyd As we start a new year, many frame and truss manufacturers are focusing on a familiar challenge – how to support their teams, maintain output, and continue delivering a quality product in a labor market that’s tighter and more competitive than ever. While technology and automation... Read More January 2026 Issue #18318 Page 29
When the Going Gets Tough, Innovate! Edmond Lim, P.Eng. In 2013, I launched LimTek Solutions with a clear mission: to promote, market, and sell Enventek’s groundbreaking truss manufacturing technology, first developed in 2007. For over a decade, it’s been full steam ahead and we have cultivated an impressive Feed the Beast! customer base.... Read More January 2026 Issue #18318 Page 48