Floor Truss Technology, Part VI: The Last Round of Floor Machines Joe Kannapell Our contemporary floor machines were ready for the resurgence of demand that has followed the pandemic. These new models had many fascinating features, accumulated from the multiple iterations before them. They were more durable, they lessened labor, and they built a quality truss, embedding all... Read More November 2023 Issue #15292 Page 10
From Kiwis to Gators, Spida is Making Big Moves Wendy Boyd As we get ready to make our move to the new Spida factory in Jacksonville, Florida, a few things come to mind in terms of making the move as easy as possible and what the move means to all of us on the Spida Team. Firstly, we have stock on hand, in Shelbyville, that would be better off... Read More November 2023 Issue #15292 Page 16
Better Than 10% Labor Savings Proven Method Endorsement By Scott Arquilla Todd Drummond For years, TDC has promoted the idea of using reliable estimated work minutes (R.E., S.U., Man-Minutes) for scheduling, pricing, and understanding true labor efficiencies. The most important aspect of properly developed work minutes is that you can create a short scheduling time standards... Read More November 2023 Issue #15292 Page 25
Should We Follow Lasers Blindly? Glenn Traylor When GPS systems first became available for personal cars, we started hearing stories about folks turning left onto a railroad track or following a cow trail through the valley to a dead end. In 2012, three Japanese tourists in Australia drove into the Pacific Ocean after their GPS told them to.... Read More November 2023 Issue #15292 Page 33
A Lumber PickLine Buys Time Edmond Lim, P.Eng. Another BCMC is a wrap and it is clear that pent-up demand remains in the component industry for new automated saws. Longer than one-year machinery lead times are still with us, so what can be done in the meantime to mitigate the long lead times? Take a look at your existing automated saws and... Read More November 2023 Issue #15292 Page 40
Truss Plants Meet 90’s Rap – Welcome to Hammer Time! Ed Serrano To meet the demands of modern construction, lumber frame and truss manufacturers are embracing automation solutions. The automation revolution started with CNC linear saws for cutting and has now extended to the infeed of raw materials, the placing and nailing of plates, and even stacking... Read More November 2023 Issue #15292 Page 47
The Game Changer for Wall Panels—Triad’s Ai Sub-Component Nailer TRIAD / Merrick Machine Company Team If you were able to attend this fall’s Building Component Manufacturers Conference (BCMC) in Indianapolis, then you may have gotten your first look at the latest game changer in wall panel manufacturing—Triad’s Ai Sub-Component Nailer. [For photos, See PDF or View in Full... Read More November 2023 Issue #15292 Page 54
Are Current Interest Rates Affecting Business? Carl Villella Over the last few months, we’ve been adjusting the rates on our factor sheet upwards as the Fed continued to raise interest rates. The Fed has now raised its target rate to the highest level in 22 years, to 5.50%. Despite the higher rates, we have not seen the demand for funding slowing... Read More November 2023 Issue #15292 Page 61
Job Site 101 Landon Boucher This short article is dedicated to all those in our industry who must occasionally visit a job site but maybe it’s not a part of their everyday function or maybe it is, but it’s new to you. Our industry has an incredible number of people and companies involved with bringing a project... Read More November 2023 Issue #15292 Page 66
ROI: Turn Your Largest COST (Lumber) into a Profit Driver Valerie Hansen Lumber is mission-critical to every component manufacturer (CM). On average, it represents two-thirds of your cost-of-goods (CoG), roughly half of the value of your product (Revenue – Pretax Profit). So, what are the market dynamics that surround the purchase of lumber? And how/why can CMs... Read More November 2023 Issue #15292 Page 72