For many professionals, career growth stalls not because of a lack of talent, but because of geography. Dead-end companies with no advancement paths don’t have to fight to keep people when employees limit their search to commuting distance. The truth is simple: if you want to break out of...

Unlike software or construction projects where scope creep is often tied to timelines, in component manufacturing it usually shows up as added deliverables without added compensation. Here are some common examples: Extra trusses not on the original plans Maybe the framer calls and...

For the first time in U.S. model building code history, tornado design provisions for Risk Category III and IV buildings are given in the 2024 IBC. In fact, John ‘Buddy’ Showalter and Sandra Hyde have an excellent article on this, “2024 IBC Significant Structural Changes...

In early November, the Truss Plate Institute (TPI) was proud to announce the launch of our two new ANSI standards projects: TPI 2 – National Standard for Testing Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses and TPI 3 – National Design Standard for Bracing Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses....

Layout programs do a great job with truss-to-truss connectivity and load transfer. But the process is not foolproof and sometimes, loads need to be adjusted. Some applications don’t give you the freedom to make changes to loads after a truss has been analyzed. But Truss Studio does. With...

In today’s construction environment, direct collaboration between building designers and component manufacturers is largely nonexistent outside of the RFI process. The consequence of this is two-fold: one, building designers often don’t understand how structural components are...

Thank you to everyone who visited the MiTek booth at this fall’s Building Component Manufacturers Conference (BCMC) in Omaha, NE. For those who walked through our Design & Production Center, we hope you enjoyed the view! [For all photos, See PDF or View in Full Issue.] Our...

Simpson Strong-Tie® was proud to exhibit at this year’s BCMC show in Omaha, Nebraska and visit with our industry partners and customers. [For all photos, See PDF or View in Full Issue.] Our booth highlighted the four pillars of our component manufacturer offering: innovative...

The 2025 Building Component Manufacturers Conference (BCMC) in Omaha was an incredible week for the Paragon team. [For all photos, See PDF or View in Full Issue.] This annual event brings together the heart of our industry – the innovators, the veterans, and the problem-solvers pushing...

Within the IntelliVIEW Suite, the iPanel app gives component manufacturers a comprehensive set of tools to design, detail, review, and modify wall panels. From creating wall layouts to reviewing sheathing specs, iPanel simplifies the panel design process to optimize designer efficiency while...