The true story of how Alpine revolutionized saws In early 2000, sales of truss equipment began to taper off. By the end of the year, the Equipment Division had reduced its employment by more than half and had shrunk its occupied floor space by 40%. The most dramatic reduction took place in...

A sign that could have appeared in any town has caused quite a stir. The message is direct: “Stimulate your ass to work—Every business in town is hiring.” [For image, See PDF or View in Full Issue.] For business leaders, it aptly voices their frustration when trying to compete...

Making performance visible and easily tracked powers your team members with the knowledge of achievements and areas for improvement. I’ve spent my career working in a variety of manufacturing roles. Here’s what I’ve learned: Knowledge is key. I believe it’s crucial...

When the Great Recession took away a generation of new designers between 2007 and 2012, hiring basic and intermediate level designers became an issue. The average years of experience for designers rose from 8 to 12. Designers who held on through the downturn were mostly re-hired in...

At Eagle Metal, our TrueBuild® software gives you an advantage in efficiency. Our software gives our customers the flexibility they need to build more. We offer fabricators the options they need to make operating their facility as simple or as complex as they want it to be. From design to...

Chronic employee staffing shortages can be a blatant sign that a company’s employment practices need improvement. One should be very hesitant to blame external forces beyond a given reasonable period. Too many companies are simply blind to their overall company’s poor employee...

Working in our industry in several different roles and being around equipment for a long time now, I have seen what gets a piece of machinery a good reputation – it’s reliability. I have lost count of the number of times I have been talking to someone about the old Klaisler...

With the economy in the United States on the rebound, truss designers are in unusually high demand. Unlike other professionals in the building industry, a truss designer is not required (at present) to have any formal education or any type of college degree. Fact is, there is presently nowhere...

There are so many challenges leaders face within our industry today that are ever-changing and, quite frankly, unprecedented. Whether your position of leadership is overall, departmental, or team level, the challenges are never-ending. Too often in our industry, people are in a position of...

Today, thoughts of working on a modular home factory production line isn’t the job many younger Americans want to grow old in. They also do not want to work in many other jobs where “hustle” is a requirement, like restaurants or construction. About 6% of the population or...