“If I didn’t care for him so much, I’d let him go,” said the late Vivian Hollinshed about an aspiring young designer, Chuck Rogers. Chuck knew nothing about trusses when he came to Vivian’s company, Comtech in Fayetteville, NC. And now, nearly 20 years later, thanks...

The linear saw and auto-jigging reduce plant labor but they don’t increase the selling price of components, like the Blueprint Robotics panelization does, in spades. And, as more plants automate, component sales dollars may actually be eroded by price-cutting in a flat housing market. Is...

For those who just came here and those of us who have been here a long time, this a fine place to be. All of us are reaping the benefits given us by two generations who built a solid foundation for our industry, and a third generation now coming into its own. Not unlike our great country, which...

German invaders have landed on our shores intent on leapfrogging our component industry. Their huge investment and their unconventional processes are now being tested on a jobsite not far from their high-tech, 200,000 sq. ft. Baltimore plant. Their name, Blueprint Robotics, invokes a...

If you’re hiring or looking for a job, watch the Super Bowl telecast just before half-time. You’ll see the seriousness of the struggle for good people in our industry. After viewing, you may question the Super-sized investment. But, in your business, you know that you have to spend...

Watching Trump versus Clinton taught us some lasting lessons in sales. We witnessed the classic competitive duel – two large organizations (political parties) raising loads of money to hype their national brands (the candidates themselves) to make the sale (win the election) on November...

What does the 50 person turnout at this year’s BCMC 5k run/walk say about our 50+ year old industry? Are we more fit, or just more conscious of the value of fitness? Or, are we just being social, enjoying the company of friends, and following the BCMC agenda? Going back to our first...

At BCMC, we learned that a recession often follows a presidential election, but that housing may not be much affected this time (per Mark Vintner of Wells Fargo). Many of us shrugged this off, especially after observing the brisk sales activity on the show floor, though our past experience...

None of us had to ask Dwight Hikel how he has multiplied his truss business even though housing starts are lower today than when he started his business. Or how he survived three periods when housing starts dropped precipitously, including the most recent drought, when many predicted the demise...

Once saw and table setups are automated, what about improving the rest of material handling? Can we lessen the 5 “touches” involved: fetching lumber, feeding saws, catching, transporting to tables, and feeding jigs? And can we better account for the cost of these indirect labor...