On July 1, Square1 Design and Manufacture, one of America’s leading frame and truss machinery providers, joined forces with Spida Machinery. We are thrilled at this merger as it means we are now offering the most compelling mix of machinery, software, and service to the frame, truss, and...

People look forward to attending the Building Component Manufacturers Conference (BCMC) for many reasons, including connecting with their friends and colleagues, participating in meetings and educational sessions, and enjoying social activities and events. But undoubtedly the #1 reason to attend...

The acquisition of Square 1 Design solidifies Spida Machinery’s position at the apex of machinery suppliers for the Building Components industry. Globally positioned to supply machinery around the world, our equipment profile includes options for all component manufacturers—from...

The question of how much “high tech” is really needed in a situation can be difficult to answer. As Thom mentions in his article, “new-to-you equipment” may meet your needs after it has stopped being enough for someone else’s plant. To make the right decisions, you...

Part XII: Walls Get in the Way Just because two CEOs agree to build a computer model of a house in 3 years doesn’t mean it’s feasible. And barely a year into the agreement between TrusJoist and MiTek to merge software, we realized that we couldn’t do it. Meanwhile our...

Before buying a linear saw, several common questions will be asked. What is the price? Speed? Accuracy? Most potential customers enquire about support and on-going maintenance. Occasionally, the topic of spare parts and availability is broached, and sporadically someone may throw in a question...

Just a couple of years ago, I went back to the commercial modular/classroom/mobile office plant where I had my first GM job in the ’80s. I was 27 then, am much older now, but one thing hasn’t changed much, technology. The stations had the same kind of equipment, home build when...

Are we seeing the onset of a wave of CM automation or is this déjà vu all over again? Are other CMs following the startups chronicled earlier on these pages: Blueprint Robotics (May 2017) or Katerra (Feb 2018)? Big money is driving it, the big wigs are behind it, and high tech machines are...

Part XI: A Whole House in the New Millennium We truss designers were outfoxed by an unlikely pair of moguls who knew nothing about truss design. Gene Toombs and Tom Denig, CEOs of MiTek and TrusJoist, without our prompting, announced in 2001 that their companies would join forces to design...

Powered by people, a manual line in an average component plant is composed of a rough opening station, a subcomponent station, a framing station, a squaring station, and a sheathing station. In the configuration, typically 8 people are on this line, and 1000 LNFT of output is the average goal...