My favorite place to meet with a customer is on the job site. Always has been. I started in this industry approximately 20 years ago as a young truss salesman for UFP in Southern California. My training consisted of building trusses in the yard, creating estimates, and completing engineering...

We tend to think in terms of black and white, good and bad, but reality is seldom that straightforward. For example, take the case of needing to ask someone for help. In my experience, that leads to three kinds of people. Who Hears Your Dilemma Most of us are slow to ask for help. Perhaps...

At Moducore, a Bill of Materials (BOM) is more than just a simple list of materials and parts. It is the backbone of your production process, and harnessing its true potential requires an advanced and interconnected system. Our BOM solution lies at the heart of our software, but its real...

It’s been a long time since I took driver’s training, so I honestly don’t recall if they did back then, but I wonder if today’s young drivers are told how important it is to realize that many people will NOT be following the rules of the road. I am 100%-positive that...

Determining the smartest time to buy machinery depends on various factors, including your specific needs, budget, market conditions, and the nature of machinery itself. When we have a conversation with our customers to help them determine their machinery requirements and decide whether it is...

The summertime build season is upon the industry. For most wood component manufacturers (CM), and other manufactured suppliers of building materials, the lead time of new orders typically easily exceeds four weeks. Inevitably, a salesperson will ask, “Hey, can you do me a favor? I have an...

Many years ago, early in my career as a truss designer, I was interrupted by the production manager. He loudly entered my office with a piece of 2 x 12 and a circular saw and abruptly slammed both on top of my drafting table that was sporting a newly created truss layout. (We did not have...

As we venture further into the second half of this year, we have some important updates to share. After almost 17 years of dedicated service, Tim Kaasa, Panels Plus Lead Sales Representative will be retiring at the end of this year. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere...

AI isn’t new, just in the national news lately. Recently, I visited a former student who did his PhD research on AI applications about 35 years ago at Texas A&M University. During our conversations, he shifted to the AI subject in his current work and suggested I try using...

MSRLPC President George Hamilton summed up this year’s MSR Workshop in three simple words: quality time together. “The Workshop has always been centered on networking and education but this year’s event was particularly focused on the opportunity for people to enjoy some...