Is It Possible to Learn From Mistakes? Glenn Traylor Early in my career, I had the opportunity to teach woodworking. For five years at North Carolina State University, I served as both a student and a faculty member within the University Student Center. I arrived with extensive knowledge of woodworking, and during my first week, I met two... Read More January 2026 Issue #18318 Page 19
New Fire-Rated One- and Two-Hour Wall Assemblies Paul Schmidt Have you heard the big news? In December, TechWood unveiled two new fire-rated wall assemblies that not only meet IBC/IRC code-compliant fire protection for residential and commercial construction, but exceed code, adding exclusive protections against mold, rot, and termites while stabilizing... Read More January 2026 Issue #18318 Page 102
Questions Every Truss Manufacturer Should Ask When Preparing for 2026 Wendy Boyd As the North American truss market continues to evolve, fabricators are asking themselves how do we do more with the time, labor, and space we already have? How can we improve efficiency, reduce manual handling, and position our production lines to take advantage of the next wave of... Read More December 2025 Issue #17317 Page 31
Do You Have CapEx Room for 2026? Edmond Lim, P.Eng. As this year rapidly comes to a close, it’s time to prepare for 2026. In addition to our daily tasks, it’s important to step back and view the bigger picture too. My question for you today: Do you have CapEx room for 2026? To answer my own question, I have to say: the best... Read More December 2025 Issue #17317 Page 42
What Did You Gain From BCMC? Glenn Traylor We enjoyed a productive week at BCMC in Omaha, strengthening relationships and renewing our commitment to the truss industry, and we hope you can say the same! Timber Products Inspection (TP) returned with our popular ANSI/TPI 1 Chapter 3 challenge truss, designed to test participants’... Read More November 2025 Issue #17316 Page 23
Great to Connect at BCMC and Beyond Ed Serrano BCMC 2025 was a great opportunity to connect with the industry and share insights from our experience in automation. We really enjoyed seeing firsthand how teams are approaching production and exploring new ways to improve efficiency. Thank you to everyone who came to the Vekta booth to chat... Read More November 2025 Issue #17316 Page 73
Looking Toward the Future with Safe Arbor at BCMC Anna Stamm We all know that the Building Component Manufacturers Conference (BCMC) is THE place to go when you want to see the latest and greatest from suppliers to the structural building components industry. Now that BCMC has been combined with the annual Framer’s Summit, the resulting BCMC | FS... Read More November 2025 Issue #17316 Page 84
Celebrating a Robust History MSR Lumber Producers Council Almost two years ago, the MSR Lumber Producers Council (MSRLPC) Board of Directors got serious about putting together a comprehensive timeline for the history of the MSR lumber industry. In their experience, it was one of the few topics that, when Googled, came up short on information. Even... Read More November 2025 Issue #17316 Page 117
Three Options, No Waiting – The RetroC Auto-Feeding SmartConveyor Edmond Lim, P.Eng. More than 120 proud RetroC owners will tell you that the auto-feeding of lumber is the most powerful feature of the Enventek RetroC automated component saw. Auto-feeding is made possible with Enventek’s SmartConveyor integrated with the RetroC’s clamping material feed chains. To... Read More October 2025 Issue #17315 Page 38
Alpine Linear Saw 5.0: A New Standard in Small Parts Handling Alpine Team Building on the legacy of over two decades of proven reliability and precision, the latest version of the Alpine Linear Saw (ALS) continues Alpine’s proud tradition of innovation. Designed and engineered to optimize cutting and material handling workflow, the ALS introduces a key... Read More October 2025 Issue #17315 Page 57