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Alpine & House of Design are Partnering to Bring the Latest in Automated Solutions to Component Manufacturers At a trade show last fall, my business partner and I met a third-generation owner of a truss plant. He was in search of ideas, perhaps a fresh perspective, new technology maybe?...

We’ve dubbed the photo on this month’s cover “flying trusses,” because that’s how it can appear when you’re delivering an outstanding product in a limited space. But space concerns have never stopped our team at Lowder. [For all photos, See PDF or View in Full...

As we traverse the second half of 2020, we can expect the ftime between now and January 2021 to fly by. As it does, we have to prepare to lead our teams through the year’s extreme challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic and other events—hurricanes, tornadoes, monsoons, cyber-crime,...

In business today, we are told to believe that the customer is always right. So surely it makes sense to ask their opinion, listen to them, and actively respond to their advice with new products, adjustments, and enhancements. This makes sense, broadly, for incremental changes. Changes...

Recently, there was an article in another publication that talked about workforce resources for members of the structural building components industry. The article included the typical, nationally recognized companies—Indeed, Glass Door, Monster, Zip Recruiter, CareerBuilder, and even...

Shortly after COVID-19 became the most debilitating thing that has happened to the US economy in recent history, modular construction stepped up to fill the demand for temporary medical facilities. Many modules were built to meet that need, but here we are just 5 months later and that market...

As former students, we all know the importance of having a study guide. A great study guide pulls together all the pertinent information from various sources to help you focus on the topic at hand. In the world of mass timber construction, complex codes and standards need to be well understood...

Are you feeling like we are in a great big room, pitch dark and no one can find the light switch? Well, let’s try to find one. First off, everyone knows how we got here, right? You know it’s not COVID, or the economy, or housing starts, or DIY, or interest rates, or the stock market....

Growing up in Ongole, India, an average town, my father taught me to follow my passion. Although he is a police officer, a true public servant, he always wanted to start his own business. He began an import/export company which made him a middleman to haul goods for other shippers. But, in part...

Many of you reading this may already be familiar with our Strong-Wall site-built portal frame system, or PFS for short. Simpson Strong-Tie launched the PFS last spring to provide designers, builders and contractors in prescriptive markets with a simple and cost-effective solution to meet...