The quickening of innovation will be on display at BCMC this month, and, undoubtedly, so will be the uptake. Suppliers use this platform to launch new products, sometimes rather humbly. Art DePauw sold his prototype “automated” saw to two industry giants, Charlie Barnes and Dave Chambers, with Polaroid snapshots. And not all inventions are ready for prime time. Dick Rotto, scion of Trussway, praised Auto-Jigging at Louisville BCMC 25 years ago, but his company waited a dozen years to buy it—albeit a much advanced version. But this year’s best ideas won’t be displayed humbly, and many will be ready for prime time, making for record results.
Where we stand, 50+ years into our industry’s cyclical turns, explains our current opportunities. While we are still using upgraded versions of our 1960s roller gantries and saws, they have been fundamentally transformed in the 1980s. Interestingly, automation entered truss cutting and fabrication during the housing down cycle, explaining their belated uptake. Likewise, robotic truss assembly faltered due to its introduction as housing bottomed. Today, however, our low level of housing starts suggests continued opportunity. And truss manufacturers, in the aggregate, have enjoyed the most stable 3 to 5 years of growth in history. Stability is the key to manufacturing efficiency, and the best justification for new equipment purchases. When a plant operator can be reasonably sure that he’ll have a base level of business for the next several years, he can easily determine the likely return of an equipment investment. And he is likely to purchase new equipment for the following reasons:
- Capital from lenders is abundant, “scarily so,” according to Larry Dix, owner of Apex Truss in Virginia. Banks, lessors, and manufacturers are flush with money seeking greater returns.
- CMs are in better financial shape. Having survived the huge housing recession, they have had seven years to rebuild their balance sheets.
- Large investor-owned and publicly traded companies have aggressively invested in labor saving technology, and individual plant owners are compelled to follow suit.
- Continuing scarcity of labor.
Likewise, equipment manufacturers will bring their best to BCMC because:
- Several years of robust sales have funded the addition of talented engineers and technical resources.
- Computerized shop floor software has come of age, enabling greater automation.
- Optimization algorithms and automation now allow just-in-time cutting and fabrication.
- Manufacturers are seeking to automate every factory job.
And, if MiTek’s plans are indicative of the direction of innovation, it is significant that we’ve begun construction of our most advanced truss machinery plant in our 70 year history. Clearly we’re bullish on the future of automation.