MiTek is Improving Collaboration with Futuristic Technology Katie Kormann In its quest to transform the building construction industry through better building, MiTek is embracing futuristic technology to help improve the collaboration of value-chain partners. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have been used for entertainment purposes for many years, and... Read More December 2021 Issue #13269 Page 58
When You’re Ready to Diversify, Call Triad TRIAD / Merrick Machine Company Team Most component manufacturers know Triad because of framing, squaring, and sheathing tables. If you attended the BCMC show in Omaha in October, you also saw our newest innovation—the ProFusion Sheathing Bridge with Autonomous Operation. But do you know all of the products that Triad/Merrick... Read More December 2021 Issue #13269 Page 68
Business Tax Savings with Section 179 Deduction Carl Villella One of the most efficient and popular tax breaks for small to midsize businesses is the Section 179 tax deduction, and if you’re not currently taking advantage of it, you should certainly consider doing so. Here is how it is defined: Section 179 is an immediate expense deduction that... Read More December 2021 Issue #13269 Page 78
Whatever Happened to Team or School Pride? Are Companies Missing the Boat? As a recruiter, I talk to a lot of employers. Not just to get job orders and discuss candidates, I want to hear about the challenges they have with retaining employees in the long term and how they address those challenges. Because I look at both sides of the... Read More December 2021 Issue #13269 Page 82
One Hundred Five Days in 2002 Dave McAdoo 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... Read More December 2021 Issue #13269 Page 88
Lumber Briefs: Softwood Framing Lumber Market Forecast Matt Layman Discount the Most Recent Past How should we process the cumulative life experiences that determine our next course of action? We might say, “That depends on the circumstance.” If I got mugged today for the first time in my life, it is likely I am going to be more aware of... Read More December 2021 Issue #13269 Page 100
How CLT and Mass Timber Technologies May Revolutionize Skyscapes Michael Weber Over the last decade — in outlets reaching from construction industry journals to the Boston Globe and the Economist; from CNN and Fast Company to Popular Mechanics; to Nautilus and TED talks — we’ve been hearing increasingly about mass timber and related phenomena:... Read More December 2021 Issue #13269 Page 112
The Last Word: CLT Revisited Joe Kannapell Do CMs have a role in Cross Laminated Timber Structures? I returned to the Apex Plaza (described on these pages in April 2021, The Last Word on CLT – Cross Laminated Timber) to find out. On my prior trip, I marveled at the beauty of the fully exposed beams, columns, and CLT floor panels.... Read More December 2021 Issue #13269 Page 138
Advertiser Forum: There's Always a Reason Anna Stamm In a meeting last month, a person in management announced a change of procedure and expected everyone to be impressed with the great idea. The problem? That person did not take the time to consider that this change had ever been discussed before, much less that there were reasons why it had been... Read More November 2021 Issue #13268 Page 6
Sixty Years of Machines, Part XXIV: Opposites Attract Joe Kannapell A David and Goliath struggle was brewing over the linear saw, and it was ready to boil over at BCMC in October 2002. It would pit Jim Urmson, a lone mechanic who was pioneering his first machine, against Alpine’s engineers, who had launched multiple winning machines. Though Urmson had... Read More November 2021 Issue #13268 Page 10