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Moving to North Carolina this fall, I found a house in place I never expected to live – a planned community. They’re very popular for retired people, but I’m not retired. Even so, the house checked nearly all of the boxes on my search list, and the benefits of this planned...

As the fourth quarter unfolds, component manufacturers and industrial operators face a critical strategic window. Balancing year-end tax planning with ongoing liquidity requirements is a delicate undertaking. For businesses looking to expand production capacity or replace aging machinery right...

The US economy entered the fourth quarter of the year poised for additional growth but with an air of uncertainty and the remnants of pessimism about jobs, wages, and energy prices. Both global and domestic headwinds remain in place to intensify tensions as political divisions take center stage...

You’ve accepted an offer for a new job. Congratulations! But before you made that decision, how many opportunities did you actually consider? Was it the best opportunity available to you, or simply the first one that met your immediate needs? These are questions worth asking because...

The Structural Building Components Association (SBCA) and National Framers Council (NFC) will bring component manufacturers, framers, suppliers, and other industry professionals together in Charlotte, North Carolina, December 8–10, 2026, for their final Open Quarterly Meeting (OQM) of the...

As the fourth quarter gets underway, component manufacturers and truss builders are assessing annual balance sheets and planning strategic investments for the coming year. In an industry driven by continuous innovation — from automated truss assembly tables and automated saws to advanced...

There is a quiet transformation happening in the management offices of North American truss plants. When owners and general managers audit their design rooms, they usually look through a single tactical lens: Today. On paper, the immediate challenge seems straightforward. You scan the queue, see...

In the span of less than two weeks, the Structural Building Components Association (SBCA) went from a packed trade show floor in Columbus, Ohio to a 3,000-square-foot, two-story duplex standing on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Those are two very different settings. But together, BCMC...

I recently talked with Lenny Sylk and Dick Rotto, two of the most consequential figures in component manufacturing. They are men whose legacies are worth knowing, even a half century distant from their industry-founding work.  Both were consummate entrepreneurs, with the guts to start...

Traditional, rigid commercial loans often fail component manufacturers because loan payments begin immediately and remain constant, regardless of the realities of a new equipment rollout. The initial ramp-up period involves critical, non-revenue-generating phases: installation, personnel...