At Eagle Metal, our TrueBuild® software gives you an advantage in efficiency. Our software gives our customers the flexibility they need to build more. We offer fabricators the options they need to make operating their facility as simple or as complex as they want it to be. From design to batching to estimated-versus-actual labor comparison, we have the tools you need. But more importantly, we have the people who make a difference.
One of my favorite quotes is from the late Maya Angelou:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Many may view connector plates as a commodity, but our business is not as simple as that. We are more than steel and software. Every plate supplier has a value proposition consisting of three things: the consumable (the plate itself), the software, and the service (the people). All three matter, and I think the last item on that list matters the most.
Every component fabricator who builds metal plate connected wood trusses uses connector plates. It’s in the very description of the products that a fabricator builds and sells every day. But all plates are not engineered with identical values, and the slight differences make ours a unique industry. To the untrained eye, a 3x4 20G connector plate from each manufacturer looks the same. Indeed, all connector plates are manufactured with the same code-required steel and galvanization specifications. But “how it looks” is where the similarity ends.
The software is the next arrow in the quiver of the plate supplier value proposition. Software is an absolute necessity to today’s fabricator. Long gone are the days when you could buy a book of designs or print cutting from a small machine. Technology has changed tremendously and so has the complexity of what our industry can produce. When I started in this industry thirty years ago, the definition of a complex roof system was very, very different than it is today. Advances in software and automation in the plant have paved the way for much more complexity day in and day out. Today we have software that is powerful enough to run an entire truss operation start to finish. And it will do so with extreme efficiency. Most software on the market today has similar core functionality, but the layout and engineering elements are extremely different.
Finally, there are the people. What is your favorite place to do business and why is it your favorite? Mine is my local feed store. They don’t have the largest selection, they don’t have a website for online ordering, their establishment isn’t the biggest and brightest, and they don’t have shopping carts or a points reward system. Then why on earth do I choose to spend my money there? It’s how they make me feel. They know my name when I walk in the door, they know my regular order, and they know the details of my animals. They know me because they take the time to ask all the details and connect on a level that makes me feel important. I can ask them anything about everything from seed to feed to fertilizer, and they help me with sound, friendly guidance. They want me to be successful, and they will do anything to help me achieve it.
As a component fabricator, you must buy plates. Are you buying them from someone who makes you feel comfortable, appreciated, and like a true partner? Someone who will stop at nothing to ensure you are successful?
We are rapidly approaching BCMC 2021. If you are a first-time attendee, you will not regret it. If you are a returning visitor, then you’re already looking forward to it just like I am. Either way, please stop by and say hello. We would love to meet you and prove how our people make the difference.