As all prefabricated wall panel manufacturers know, you are always trying to predict the amount of wall panels required for your business daily, what their true cost is, and when they will be delivered to your customer – and you want to do this efficiently and on time. With a Spida wall...

February means different things to different people – Valentine’s Day, the Super Bowl, Family Day (in Canada) – but to me, February is also the anniversary of my most complicated and challenging installation. What’s more, the installation was completed in the middle of...

Two linear saws were set to battle one other at BCMC: Alpine’s, never having operated in a truss plant, vs. TCT’s, running in 10 truss plants. But few expected the competition at the 2002 Show. Alpine’s entry was the result of a crash effort, largely behind the scenes, to...

I’m excited to seize all of the opportunities in front of me with my new position here at Spida, so I’ve decided to start with a little introduction about how I got involved in this industry and what has led me to this great company. How So Many of Us Got Our Start in...

Last year should have been a record profit year for wood truss and wall panel component manufacturers (CM). Many of my clients have mid to upper-twenties EBITA. A few made it to the mid-thirties of their total sales. Yet, so many find this hard to believe. Too many believe mid to high teens for...

Feed the Beast! That’s what I call it — and that’s what I suggest to every component manufacturer striving to optimize their plant. A Lumber PickLine will ensure that your saw never goes hungry for lumber. Using inefficient, expensive, and labor-intensive “forklift...

Alpine Engineered Products’ new owners greenlighted both a new linear saw and a major upgrade to their component saw, but they gave Dave McAdoo a nearly impossible deadline. He would have to deliver both by BCMC 2002, just 3½ months away. And the most difficult of these, the linear...

As we head towards Christmas and think about a well-earned break, I can’t help but reflect on the work done in 2021 and the wonderful support received from our customer/partners. Spida again demonstrated our machinery at BCMC – and were embraced by our customers and new friends to...

There has been a big push to reduce labor. In response, more than one equipment vendor has suggested that component manufacturers (CM) should purchase linear saws directly tied to roof gantry tables. The idea is simple: fewer crew members and more automation to increase efficiencies and reduce...

Most component manufacturers know Triad because of framing, squaring, and sheathing tables. If you attended the BCMC show in Omaha in October, you also saw our newest innovation—the ProFusion Sheathing Bridge with Autonomous Operation. But do you know all of the products that Triad/Merrick...