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Perhaps the most important question in our lumber industry is: “What's next?” We are in the heat of the September Surge. That will soon be coming to an end, but the clock doesn't stand still. Lord willing, the sun will rise tomorrow. So, the question is, “What's...

The knowledge we take for granted today on MSR lumber is due in large part to the pioneering work of Professor Robert Hoyle, P.E. In the early 1960s at Potlatch Forest, Inc., he conducted basic research on the relationship between stiffness and strength of lumber, paving the way for the MSR...

The pace of today’s business requires agility and change to maintain success. That is the reality of our situation. But be warned: “change” is difficult. Sometimes it requires tinkering, other times it means tearing down the very structures that have taken you to the point of...

At the beginning of this year, the job opportunities JobLine had were mostly for in-office designers. Some employers were looking ahead to the summer rush and made a few proactive remote designer hires in March, but only a few. As the season approached, more remote options were on the table,...

With Hurricane Irma wrapping up, the cleanup after Hurricane Harvey’s devastation underway in Houston and more big storms already churning in the Atlantic, it seems like a good time to discuss hurricanes and high wind. There is a great deal of good information out there to help us better...

Only one part of our being can be fairly gauged: our physical heath. Our other parts—the mental, emotional, or spiritual aspects don’t register on any objective scale. But if we get a handle on that one part, we do gain insight on the others. We can gain this data via our...

They always say, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Okay, but do they really look at it from the dog’s point of view? Think about it. Hopefully, the dog is in a nice, comfortable routine. Then, here comes a person wanting him to do something new, which takes a lot...

In the 1960s, Ed Ryan set basic standards for panelizing walls, and for decades his homebuilding company (now NVR Inc.) followed his lead. His standards also made it easy for us to provide his wall panel equipment. The name we gave it, “Panel-Rite,” would have pleased Ed, since he...

This year’s BCMC is going to be unparalleled to any other trade show for Square 1 Design & Manufacture Inc. With over 5,000 square feet of floor space, we have decided to bring the manufacturing to you. LIVE WALL PANEL MANUFACTURING ON THE SHOW FLOOR! The Spida Wall Panel Extruder will...

It has taken our industry quite a few years, but once again it is common for wood component companies for a 15%+ EBITDA in normal markets, in which the sales exceed a two-week lead time. Many are exceeding 20% EBITDA. Do you know how well your company did in comparison to the average? Perhaps...