I have had the same conversations with so many executives concerning the tight labor market and rising labor costs. There is good and bad news concerning this subject. First, the good news is that you can be assured that high labor costs and a tight labor market are not only affecting your...

I was taught early on in my career something referred to as the “Four Nevers of Customer Service”: Never Argue with The Customer. Never Make a Big Deal Out of a Complaint. Never Put The Customer on the Defense. Never Make Excuses. I was also taught something called...

Some might say what makes a good salesperson is the results they deliver. In fact, I imagine this may be the most common response. I suppose I would have to agree, but I do think it matters greatly what results we are measuring. Are we merely considering revenue generated that can be directly...

Building history facts: Before the 2008 financial crash, there were about 2,100 wood truss and wall panel component manufacturing (CM) companies across North America. The vast majority of the locations were independently owned and operated. When the worst of the effects of the recession finally...

To some degree, we are all creatures of habit. We all have routines that we repeat on a regular basis. What differs between us is how many routines, how much repetition, and how much they do or don’t matter to us. So occasionally, it’s good to step back and evaluate whether our...

This message is for the new component manufacturers (CM) who have recently and will shortly be entering the component manufacturing industry for wood trusses or wall panels. First, welcome to the industry – it is very rewarding, but I must caution you about this new endeavor. It is not for...

Quality, productivity, and speed are intertwined and impact each other. My previous article, Where is Your Focus on Manufacturing?, emphasizes that improving quality starts with implementation of the ANSI/TPI 1 standard—and, with that process, you will improve proficiency and speed. The...

Seeing so many flat roofs early this year made me wonder if the future of truss building will be flat. During the January SBCA Phoenix Open Quarterly Meetings, some of us saw Truss Fab Components’ yard loaded with flat trusses, and others saw the flat roof lines of Frank Lloyd...

Joe Hardy of 84 Lumber was the last of the World War II veterans to whom we owe our industry. Ed Ryan of Ryan Homes (now NVR) and Cal Jureit of Gang-Nail (now MiTek) were also major contributors. All three returned from winning that war with a drive to transform home building, and they helped...

For anyone who’s ever wanted to take a trip Down Under, I have the perfect reason for you to go – visiting Vekta! December brought an exciting opportunity for me to make my first trip to visit the Vekta headquarters and factory in Perth, Australia. I started as the General Manager of...