Two Transformative Laborers in the Component Industry Joe Kannapell On Labor Day this year, I reflected on two component industry greats who escaped the drudgery of mill work that entrapped their fathers and created highly successful component businesses. Both were drawn to the nearest meccas of prosperity, Calvin Hall to Charlotte, North Carolina and David... Read More September 2024
Three-Generational Appeal of the Component Industry Joe Kannapell That our industry has come of age was illustrated by the carful of its members that I drove to Camden Yards on August 13. We fans of the Washington Nationals ventured into the opposition Baltimore Orioles’ territory, bound for our SBCA Chapter’s annual ballgame meeting. With me was... Read More August 2024
The Near Demise of Once-Great Companies Joe Kannapell To hide mental decline is nearly impossible, unless you’re the boss and have guardians, who are usually family members. I witnessed this with Walter Moehlenpah, owner of MiTek’s predecessor, Hydro-Air Engineering, and I had to leave the company before it nearly collapsed, as did many... Read More July 2024
The Little Machine That Could… Joe Kannapell An ingenious machine that is used in nearly every truss plant has been reborn 40 years after its introduction. It could fit in the back of a pickup truck, it sold for less than $5000, and it made an immediate impact. Yet, few would know the inventor, Donald Bowser, and know that his technology... Read More June 2024
A Rural Tract Builder for the Ages Joe Kannapell No one has put more people of modest means into their own homes than Mr. D.R. Horton, who passed away in May. Founding the D.R. Horton company in 1978, Mr. Horton began serving this market in the 1980s in Texas, when mortgage rates were 12%, and the company continues today in Virginia with 7%... Read More May 2024
He Bought the Plant to Save 10 Jobs – Now There are 150 Jobs and 4 Plants Joe Kannapell The tiny town of Sparta, North Carolina, turned out to honor Clint Bedsaul when he passed away in early 2021. Many among the crowd had been touched by the jobs he brought to their struggling remote community, but few knew the improbable details. And how Clint Bedsaul, the owner of a trucking... Read More March 2024
Two Tales: Survival or Not in the Component Business Joe Kannapell One gentleman owned the best plant in a fast-growing town. The other worked for the best supplier in a fast-growing role. Both had what seemed to be unassailable credentials and both adapted well to changing market conditions. But only one would survive. Their tales tell a lot about survival in... Read More March 2024
I-Joists or Floor Trusses? Ask a Framer Joe Kannapell Have you asked a framer lately what floor system they prefer? I did, after seeing a crew I’ve watched use I-joists for the last couple of years now switch to floor trusses. But I wondered why they did so only on town houses. Here’s what I observed: December 12, 2023 –... Read More March 2024
When the Small Builder Passed the Biggest Joe Kannapell The story of how Jim Price, selling homes one-at-a-time, passed William Levitt, who sold one thousand in two days, contains a lesson for today. Although Price is not a name known to many while Levitt’s will be forever associated with his Levittowns, both pioneered production lines that... Read More February 2024
A Welcome Diversion – The New American Home (TNAH) at IBS Joe Kannapell If you’re traveling to next week’s National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders Show (IBS) in Las Vegas, you can see what can be done with trusses at The New American Home (TNAH), a “cliff-dwelling” with a distant view of the Strip. See also what... Read More February 2024