Sixty Years of Machines, Part XXIX: Linear Saws: Out of the Box Joe Kannapell A second sales pro reacted to Jim Urmson’s Florida saw blitz, the redoubtable (now deceased) Jere Broedling. Few knew Florida CMs better than Jere, first as Gang Nail’s sales manager, then as Bemax salesman, and finally as a MiTek rep. Like Randy Yost, he relentlessly prodded his... Read More April 2022 Issue #14273 Page 10
TrueBuild® Batch – Every Minute Counts Tracy Roe Our industry is experiencing unprecedented times. Never before has production capacity been at such a premium. We have seen different markets get active in the past but nothing like this. Right now in the United States, manufacturers can’t keep up with the demand for metal plate connected... Read More April 2022 Issue #14273 Page 48
Innovation in Action at Vekta Ed Serrano In business today, it is necessary to be agile and responsive to change. But, to have that real edge – the ability to truly set yourself apart – you need to be unique. Your solutions need to define I-N-N-O-V-A-T-I-O-N. As a company, Vekta defines innovation. By reviewing how the... Read More April 2022 Issue #14273 Page 54
Sixty Years of Machines, Part XXVIII: Perfecting the Concept Joe Kannapell After an impressive debut and ten sales on the BCMC Show floor, the fate of the Alpine Linear Saw (ALS) was still up in the air. Few knew that the ALS was the product of a 105-day crash effort (see “One Hundred Five Days in 2002,” by Dave McAdoo in the December 2021 issue), and that... Read More March 2022 Issue #14272 Page 10
Has More Automation Resulted in Too Little Information to the Truss Builder? Glenn Traylor Today’s technology has made life easier for the truss designer and others in the truss fabrication process. In the early days of the truss industry, we used, reused, and modified existing designs to create new designs using paper, pencil, and a handy Smoley’s Book. Soon we graduated... Read More March 2022 Issue #14272 Page 43
Sixty Years of Machines, Part XXVII: Optimization Redefined Joe Kannapell A new truss plant owner faced a daunting challenge: local home builders wouldn’t use trusses and apartment builders were driving tough bargains. The owner’s partner, Charlie Barns, 250 miles north in Dallas, couldn’t have understood since he was cranking out hundreds of trusses... Read More February 2022 Issue #14271 Page 10
Management Software How YOU Want It Tracy Roe We have spent the last few months talking about management software being flexible. No two operations are exactly the same, so why should your software be the same? Our team has built TrueBuild® Job Management from the ground up with adaptability at its core. From the very basic to the... Read More February 2022 Issue #14271 Page 48
The Scalable LotSpec Solution from Simpson Strong-Tie Simpson Strong-Tie Staff As one of the top 10 private homebuilders in the US (and one of the top 25 overall), Gehan Homes has explored its fair share of technologies promising efficiency and productivity gains. When it came to pulling home designs, plans, elevations, and options into full job start packets (JSPs), the... Read More February 2022 Issue #14271 Page 108
Providing Job Management Solutions with TrueBuild Tracy Roe Software flexibility in managing your plant isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity that every truss operation should expect for their business. You need to manage everything from customers to invoices, and you need to do it efficiently. And, you should be able to determine exactly how you... Read More January 2022 Issue #14270 Page 48
The Last Word: The Last Word on What’s Ahead Joe Kannapell The best news for 2022 will be on the job front, and I plan on keeping mine, working these pages. Please stayed tuned as we uncover much more about our unique niche in the off-site construction industry, including developments on the following, evolving topics: Robotics: How will the two... Read More January 2022 Issue #14270 Page 126