The most popular outlook for 2023 that I have heard is uncertainty. Nobody has a clear picture of what the new year will bring for our industry. Large investments have been made in talent, equipment, and infrastructure to capitalize on the increased demand over the past two years. What about...

When someone in management starts complaining about how the problem is “we need change but people don’t want to change,” I wonder how deeply they’ve evaluated the real dynamics in play. If you simply dismiss employee resistance as “resistance to change,” then...

Now more than ever, every process, every motion, literally every minute counts for a component manufacturer. The saying “Time Is Money” couldn’t be more true in our industry. Ultimately, a component manufacturer is simply selling time. They are selling the value they add to raw...

An article written and published by Russ Kathrein on LinkedIn, “The Eyes See What the Brain Believes,” struck a nerve for me. In summary, the statement “believe it when I see it” is more often than not false. As someone who has made a living assisting others for over...

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...

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...

Despite the fantastic profits these past few years, some of the largest wood truss component manufacturers (CM) are losing tens of millions of dollars hidden in plain sight. Talk to any of the executives at these CMs, and they will be able to rattle off the EBITA or other P/L results, yet they...

With today’s high-demand market conditions, capacity is everything. Capacity constraints are widespread across our industry and have been for a while now. Many have added the capacity they can afford in the form of additional equipment. Some have been fortunate enough to add labor to...

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...

Reading Thom’s article in last month’s issue, “JobLine Turns 30!”, brought back many great memories of the times I have worked with him. I’ve known Thom for over 25 years and worked with him numerous times, with one of our best projects being the training business...