Most component manufacturers (CMs) do not choose a plate vendor based only on connector plate pricing. The decision also affects engineering, technical support, training, production planning, software, reporting, and other parts of the business. Over time, those systems can become so connected...

In the mid-20th century, Toyota revolutionized manufacturing with a clear idea: eliminate waste, optimize the flow of value, and improve continuously. Lean manufacturing changed how physical goods are built by putting the worker’s time and effort at the center of every decision. At...

Frame and truss machinery has always competed on mechanical engineering design, and it still does. But, when you ask a plant manager where the day-to-day pain and gains in their plant actually come from, increasingly the answer is software. Throughput, uptime, operator experience — these...

Component manufacturing is a constant balancing act. People, timelines, communication, production realities, and customer expectations, all at once. Estimators are trying to turn quotes around faster, designers are solving problems that keep getting more complex, and production teams are...

Perhaps you’ve seen our company name or maybe you’ve watched my episode of The Common Chord by Paragon, People First Innovation in Truss Design. But if we haven’t met, let me introduce myself. I’m Jarred Frescura, Managing Partner and Director of Design Services for...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is everywhere we look lately. From health care to education to manufacturing operations, AI leaders claim their applications will improve productivity and streamline business processes in every way imaginable. Some say it will replace jobs, while others...

Six decades of partnership, practical innovation, and growth: That is the legacy Alpine® celebrates as it marks its 60th anniversary. Turning the big 6-0 is something that hits some people hard, while others consider themselves lucky to reach that milestone. But a business in a competitive...

When business gets tougher, hidden weaknesses stop being minor frustrations and start becoming profit leaks. Leaders cannot afford recurring quality issues, unclear job status, missed follow-up, or managers spending hours chasing information that should already be visible. Most companies do...

Stepping into the CEO role at Paragon comes at an interesting moment, both for our company and for the building components industry as a whole. Paragon recently turned ten years old. In software, especially software aimed at a domain as technically demanding as structural components, most of...

Sometimes, a designed and engineered connection will appear to look like a member to member gap. Because of that, we need to ask the question: should the truss designer always try to eliminate a member to member gap in a truss? Generally speaking, yes, it’s always worthwhile, but there are...