The Last Word: The Last Word on Pre-Plating Joe Kannapell Just as Trussmatic brought back hydraulic plate pressing, House of Design has resurrected pre-plating. Both practices proved themselves in the early days of our industry, but both required disciplined shop floor management, and each had limitations. [For all images, See PDF or View in Full... Read More November 2022 Issue #14280 Page 132
The Development of the Truss Plate, Part III: The Ingenuity of Carol Sanford and Cal Jureit Joe Kannapell Carol Sanford’s invention didn’t equal Cal Jureit’s, but he made up for it with his head start and his aggressive marketing. Sanford had filed for his patent in March 1954, two years ahead of Jureit’s September 1956 filing, and had a plate design that was relatively... Read More October 2022 Issue #14279 Page 10
Perseverance and Success in the Components Industry Tracy Roe Having just returned from the best BCMC in almost two decades, I want to share some reflection. Our industry was deemed essential during the pandemic, and we outperformed many other sectors. Demand for wood components continued to stay strong through it all. Today, defeating the odds of... Read More October 2022 Issue #14279 Page 42
The Most Automated, Most Toured Truss Plant Edmond Lim, P.Eng. In my humble opinion, since 2014, United Truss of Innisfil, Ontario, Canada has unofficially held the titles of “The most automated truss plant” in North America and “The most visited truss plant in North America.” United Truss was the un-named but featured truss plant in... Read More October 2022 Issue #14279 Page 50
Getting Started with CNC Automation Steve Shrader Ah, ‘tis the season. Sure, you traditionally hear that expression around wintertime, but we’re talking about a different season altogether: BCMC Season! Which means Shopping Season! It’s that season when CMs start to study automation and equipment that gains automation.... Read More October 2022 Issue #14279 Page 80
The Last Word: The Last Word on The First Trade Show Joe Kannapell After this year’s BCMC, it’s worth considering how far our industry has progressed since we first went to a trade show. The year was 1958, and the National Association of Home Builders Show (NAHB now IBS) was the only way to reach a national audience. Fortunately, we had one... Read More October 2022 Issue #14279 Page 142
The Development of the Truss Plate, Part II: Cal Jureit’s Invention Joe Kannapell Civil engineer Cal Jureit had moved on from wood structures to concrete foundations, but not completely. While he was engaged with the problem of building houses on Miami’s marshes near the Everglades, he had left the problem of wood connections unresolved. Perhaps his ongoing work on Dade... Read More September 2022 Issue #14278 Page 10
Gain Invaluable Insights at BCMC 2022 Tracy Roe Months of planning and preparation are about to pay off as our industry gathers for the #1 event of the year – the Building Component Manufacturers Conference (BCMC)! Being held the week of September 12 in Columbus, OH, the event is jam-packed with educational opportunities, social events,... Read More September 2022 Issue #14278 Page 47
Triad’s ProFusion Sheathing Bridge at BCMC TRIAD / Merrick Machine Company Team What will you see when you enter the show floor at the Building Component Manufacturers Conference (BCMC) this month? Well, you are certain to see the Triad ProFusion Sheathing Bridge! We’ll be in Booth #1301, which is near the show floor entrance. ProFusion features an unmanned... Read More September 2022 Issue #14278 Page 50
Incremental CapEx ROI and Plant Tours Edmond Lim, P.Eng. With the forecasted housing backlog and ongoing tight labor market, shouldn’t all truss plants be modernizing by investing in automation? That is easier said than done. One strategy to modernize is to automate with incremental investments. In my experience, the best way to get over the... Read More September 2022 Issue #14278 Page 62