One Hundred Five Days in 2002 Dave McAdoo The true story of how Alpine revolutionized saws In early 2000, sales of truss equipment began to taper off. By the end of the year, the Equipment Division had reduced its employment by more than half and had shrunk its occupied floor space by 40%. The most dramatic reduction took place in... Read More December 2021 Issue #13269 Page 88
Sixty Years of Machines, Part XXIV: Opposites Attract Joe Kannapell A David and Goliath struggle was brewing over the linear saw, and it was ready to boil over at BCMC in October 2002. It would pit Jim Urmson, a lone mechanic who was pioneering his first machine, against Alpine’s engineers, who had launched multiple winning machines. Though Urmson had... Read More November 2021 Issue #13268 Page 10
Back from BCMC, Our Welcome Friend Cullen Ellis It was great to see everyone back at the BCMC show this year in Omaha. Seeing all the familiar faces reminds us all how tight knit our industry is, especially after missing last year due to Covid. It felt like a typical annual family gathering with some relatives you talk to on a regular basis... Read More November 2021 Issue #13268 Page 19
Thanks from Triad for an Outstanding Show TRIAD / Merrick Machine Company Team BCMC 2021 in Omaha, NE gave customers the opportunity to see first-hand the new Triad ProFusion sheathing bridge—Triad’s latest programmable bridge with many new features to provide increased speed and increased flexibility while reducing labor. [For photos, see See PDF or View in... Read More November 2021 Issue #13268 Page 72
Driving Modeling and Marking Advancements with EstiFrame Coby Gifford Although EstiFrame Technologies is mostly known for our EasyFrame Automated Marking System, we have provided estimating and framing design services since we were founded in 2017. We can handle anything from commercial buildings to multi-family housing and have done thousands of single-family... Read More November 2021 Issue #13268 Page 79
The Last Word: Witnessing Integration at BCMC Joe Kannapell At each BCMC, we’re able to see the evolution of our industry in real time. Right now, we’re seeing how to integrate machines that used to operate independently. These machines, the saws and the tables, have had sixty years of improvements, and a billion dollars of CM investments.... Read More November 2021 Issue #13268 Page 134
Sixty Years of Machines, Part XXIII: Linear Saw Wave Joe Kannapell As the new Millennium dawned, it still hadn’t dawned on CMs that a linear saw was a sure bet. Jim Urmson was getting great results with his rough prototype, but he didn’t know whether other truss shops would. Fortunately, Jim’s plate salesman, Sid Gwyn, was so confident in... Read More October 2021 Issue #13267 Page 10
The Spida Approach to a Wall Panel Line Cullen Ellis About 4 years ago, we introduced the first of the new generation of Spida wall panel extruders, and we just keep getting better! Beginning from the combined knowledge and experience gained with the merging of three technology-savvy companies—Multinail, Spida, and Mango Tech—we have... Read More October 2021 Issue #13267 Page 19
Triad Machines Introduces: ProFusion Sheathing Bridge with Autonomous Operation! TRIAD / Merrick Machine Company Team For over 60 continuous years, Triad has helped builders produce hundreds of thousands of homes and multi-family dwellings on our cutting-edge machinery, making the American Dream a little more affordable for thousands of families. Once again, Triad is proving that we are not only pioneers but... Read More October 2021 Issue #13267 Page 62
Strengthen and Rebuild with Vekta Ed Serrano For Vekta USA, for our customers, suppliers, and the whole world, 2020 was a challenging year! For us, our strength as a global team was tested as we worked all hours to stay connected and support our US customers. In 2021, the pandemic is still causing chaos, with lumber shortages, supply chain... Read More October 2021 Issue #13267 Page 66