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 2026 and HUD’s Innovative Housing Showcase demonstrate two important parts of SBCA’s work: strengthening the structural building components industry from within and representing it beyond our own walls. [For all photos, See PDF or View in Full Issue.]
Bringing the Industry Together
BCMC has always been about the people who make up this industry. This year was no exception. The week began with golf and a productive SBCA Board of Directors meeting before moving into a full day of education. By Wednesday, the show floor was busy with component manufacturers and framers exploring equipment, technology, software, products, and ideas they could take back to their businesses. Education continued throughout the show, alongside the Women in Construction Lunch, IT Roundtable, Quality Bootcamp, chapter meetings, Fellowship Breakfast, and plenty of informal conversations in the aisles.
Keynote speaker Jesse Itzler challenged attendees to think bigger while sharing his powerful insights on mindset, resilience, and performance.
Todd Tomalak of Zonda provided a look at the economic conditions affecting the industry and what may lie ahead.
Innovation Alley gave the four 2026 SBCA Innovation Grant recipients an opportunity to put their ideas directly in front of the industry, culminating in attendees selecting Crowdbuild™ as this year’s People’s Choice Innovator.
The equipment, education, and programming are important, but much of BCMC’s value is harder to put on an agenda. It happens when someone sees a new way to solve a problem on the show floor. It happens when a conversation between peers continues long after an education session ends. It happens when people who compete in the marketplace sit down together to talk about challenges affecting the entire industry.
That is one side of association work: creating opportunities for an industry to become stronger together.
A few days later, SBCA’s work moved to a very different stage.
Bringing the Industry to Washington
For the fifth year, SBCA participated as an exhibitor and its third year as a sponsor of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Innovative Housing Showcase on the National Mall. This year’s “Made in America” theme was particularly fitting for an industry with more than 1,300 component manufacturing locations across the country.
SBCA again exhibited the “Big Green House,” a 3,000-square-foot, two-story duplex framed with roof trusses, floor trusses, and wall panels. Rather than simply telling policymakers, housing professionals, students, media, and the public about componentized construction, the structure gave them the opportunity to walk through it and see the system firsthand.
At the opening ceremony, SBCA Managing Director Molly Butz talked about an industry that is already scaled across the United States and the role components can play as the country looks for ways to increase housing supply while making better use of labor, materials, and construction time.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner also visited the Big Green House during the Showcase, touring the structure alongside groups of students interested in residential construction. The timing was especially appropriate, as the first day included HUD’s Trades Day, which focused on introducing students and young adults to careers in construction and the skilled trades.
The industry’s voice was also part of the Showcase’s educational programming. Sean Shields, SBCA Director of Strategic Partnerships, participated in the “Meeting Demand: Expanding Housing Supply” panel with National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Chairman Bill Owens, bringing the component industry directly into the broader conversation about how the country can build more housing.
None of that happens alone. Bringing the Big Green House to Washington required significant collaboration throughout the industry. SBCA is grateful to Annandale Millwork & Allied Systems, the SBCA Foundation, Shelter Systems Limited, 84 Lumber, Builders FirstSource, BeLit, Habitat for Humanity, Huber Engineered Woods, MiTek, Roseburg, Simpson Strong-Tie, and UFP Industries for helping make this year’s exhibit possible. SBCA was also one of five overall Showcase sponsors alongside the National Association of Home Builders, International Code Council, Manufactured Housing Institute, and Rocket.
Two Stages, One Industry
One week, the work was about bringing the component industry together. The next, it was about bringing the component industry to people who may not encounter it every day. Both matter.
Component manufacturers are already building roof trusses, floor trusses, and wall panels in communities across the country. They are investing in their employees, improving processes, adopting technology, and finding ways to help their customers build more efficiently.
An association should help strengthen that work, but it should also help tell that story. Sometimes that means creating a place like BCMC where the industry can connect, learn, and grow together. Sometimes it means building a two-story duplex within sight of the U.S. Capitol so someone outside our industry can walk inside and understand, perhaps for the first time, what componentized construction actually looks like and how it is a solution to address the nation's housing challenges. These past two weeks provided a little bit of both.
And from Columbus to Washington, D.C., the objective remained the same: create opportunities, elevate the industry, and help structural building components play an even greater role in the future of construction and housing.