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It was great to attend another BCMC this year in Columbus, reconnect with so many incredible people from across the country and around the world, and see the projects and innovations that continue to drive our industry forward. For nearly two decades, I have attended this show in a variety of...

Seeing everyone at BCMC and talking about how far we’ve come as an industry, I was reminded of what a visionary we had in Tommy Wood. Like FedEx founder Fred Smith, Tommy was born and raised in Marks, Mississippi — a small-town beginning for a man with big ideas. Lowell Thomas...

In 1919, Walter Gropius founded an art and design school in Germany that merged fine arts with craftsmanship and mass production. He established a cross-disciplinary approach and a philosophy that form follows function which has shaped modern architecture, furniture, and graphic design. An...

It had been a while since my last visit to BCMC, and I went to Columbus looking forward to catching up with people, seeing what was new, and spending some time around the equipment that keeps our industry moving. I eventually found nearly everyone I hoped to see, although finding my way around...

Do you know that you should never remove your grade stamps throughout the manufacturing process? The old joke, “can I be arrested for removing a mattress tag?”, is alive and well on the internet. The threatening language still confounds the naive. But, if you’ve lawfully...

Truss production has changed dramatically over the past few decades. What once relied heavily on manual jig systems, operator experience, and physically demanding processes has steadily evolved into a more connected, automated, and data-driven environment. Today, elements such as software,...

Are you ready to see JAX-XL retrieve materials for a lumberyard the way JAX retrieves lumber for a truss plant? In our BCMC booth, you’ll be able to track the movement of lumber and sheet goods from bunks to staging areas live on a monitor via 3D digital twin technology, all without manual...

Those of us who have spent decades in our industry know it is one characterized by seasonal and cyclical fluctuations. Living through multiple downturns and periods of growth forces us to refine our thought processes and shapes our character. When times are tough, we need to question previous...

Delivering insight, accuracy, and increased throughput for small but crucial assemblies. As offsite construction advances in efficiency, data visibility, and precision, component manufacturers (CMs) are reassessing each production stage’s impact on throughput. And small truss and hip...

There is a classic business parable about a man who ran a highly successful roadside hot dog stand. He was hard of hearing and had poor eyesight, so he never read the newspapers, listened to the radio, or watched the evening news. Instead, he focused entirely on what he did best: making...