Trusses are complicated yet the fabrication description is quite simple – pick the lumber, cut the lumber, and assemble the lumber. Now try doing this profitably at high volume and you will need to automate some or all of these processes, which all truss plants have done within their...

A new museum/hanger in British Columbia mirrors the shapes and curves of a plane Reprinted courtesy of Engineering News-Record, copyright BNP Media, February 7, 2022, all rights reserved. While having lunch with his executive director at the Four Points hotel in British Columbia’s...

From the quirky advance of truss machinery described in my Sixty Years of Machines series, one might conclude that we’re a quirky industry. We may be, but innovation in truss manufacturing is no different than advancement in U.S. industry in general. And, in fact, we are the epitome of...

Downstream and upstream, the linear saw continues to improve the flow of truss manufacturing. Increasingly, cutting and assembly are treated as interdependent processes and have begun to be tied together. Jim Urmson started this, others have followed, and a “cut truss-by-truss”...

One unique thing about our industry is the diversity among markets across the country. The upper Midwest does things very differently than the South. The methods used in the West don’t align with the those used in the East. None are wrong, but most are very different. At their core, each...

Can you spot the Lumber PickLine in the satellite image? Contrary to the myth that it will “take up too much space,” a lumber PickLine can actually save space by utilizing existing truck lanes and by following existing forklift flow. For example, this outside PickLine has ample 35 ft...

As shown on this month’s cover, building with wall panels makes any location possible, including out in the boondocks. We may have to get creative, but we can get there! [For photos, See PDF or View in Full Issue.] These wall panels have been delivered to Kresge College at the...

If you’ve ever spent a few hours working on your hands and knees to drill holes and drive screws, you know how time consuming and tedious it can be. Now, imagine spending consecutive weeks, months or even years fastening wood planks to steel on a manufacturing production line. For...

Has COVID-19, its aftermath, and raging inflation brought the multi-family truss business back to its roots? Bo Powers, co-owner of Panel Truss, sees fewer wraps and more garden style jobs further from cities. Kenny Shifflett, owner of Ace Carpentry, believes the plethora of these...

A second sales pro reacted to Jim Urmson’s Florida saw blitz, the redoubtable (now deceased) Jere Broedling. Few knew Florida CMs better than Jere, first as Gang Nail’s sales manager, then as Bemax salesman, and finally as a MiTek rep. Like Randy Yost, he relentlessly prodded his...