All Things Wood: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the CM Frank Woeste AI isn’t new, just in the national news lately. Recently, I visited a former student who did his PhD research on AI applications about 35 years ago at Texas A&M University. During our conversations, he shifted to the AI subject in his current work and suggested I try using... Read More July 2023 Issue #15288 Page 66
The Last Word: The Component Industry Comes of Age Joe Kannapell It’s worth recounting the 25 productive years that culminated in the establishment of WTCA/SBCA. Thanks to the leadership of some outstanding men, and their early embrace of technology, the component industry came together to claim its rightful place in the building industry, but it... Read More June 2023 Issue #15287 Page 128
Increasing CLT Options and Supply Steve Shrader Everyone is hearing a lot about CLT, a.k.a. cross laminated timber, these days, so customers are starting to ask their suppliers if more options are available for their use too. Well, wanting to use CLT means that you will need a reliable supply of CLT – and Hundegger has taken great... Read More February 2023 Issue #15283 Page 62
Building a Gold Standard Design Service Dave Walstad I’ve been in the truss business for 42 years, starting out as a Truss Designer and Architectural Draftsman for the family lumber company in Madison, Wisconsin. After relocating to Green Bay in 1986, I spent 10 years with Stock Lumber as Project Engineer and Plant Manager. Then, I left the... Read More January 2023 Issue #15282 Page 66
What Does It Take to Hire Good Candidates? Working as a recruiter for 30 years, I have seen everything from no jobs to no candidates, and everything in between. Now, with single family slowing and multifamily still strong, what do I expect recruiting will look like in 2023? Competitive yet manageable, especially if you understand the... Read More January 2023 Issue #15282 Page 82
In-Line Truss Production Starts With Lumber Picking Edmond Lim, P.Eng. This month, we get a sneak peek at a greenfield truss plant that drank from the same punch bowl as some established truss plants to Feed the Beast! Previous articles have highlighted existing truss plants that have literally banked on Enventek’s proven in-line lean manufacturing system to... Read More December 2022 Issue #14281 Page 54
How Panels Plus Nailed It This Year Tim Grahn This has been a very busy year for Panels Plus with shipments up 47% from 2021. I’m glad to see all the work out there and I’m grateful for the customers that have asked Panels Plus to help them increase their production with our equipment. As we look back on this year and look... Read More December 2022 Issue #14281 Page 70
Lessons From the Great Recession? I remember the Great Recession and how many displaced candidates we had. Some stayed active but many went their way, finding new industries and career paths. From where I sat, it was 5 years of trying to find jobs for folks, knowing it was like finding a needle in a haystack. Single Family was... Read More December 2022 Issue #14281 Page 98
A Weekend Install and a Packers Home Game Edmond Lim, P.Eng. The majority of our machinery installs are requested to be done over a weekend, usually starting on Friday. A weekend install requires key personnel to give up their weekend in order to minimize production interruption. The weekend of September 30, 2022 in Green Bay, WI was a particularly... Read More November 2022 Issue #14280 Page 52
The Most Automated, Most Toured Truss Plant Edmond Lim, P.Eng. In my humble opinion, since 2014, United Truss of Innisfil, Ontario, Canada has unofficially held the titles of “The most automated truss plant” in North America and “The most visited truss plant in North America.” United Truss was the un-named but featured truss plant in... Read More October 2022 Issue #14279 Page 50