Wood Tech Systems (WTS) has traveled thousands of miles and spent several years researching robotics while trying to find the best fit for the North American wood component industry. There have been many challenges in our industry when it comes to integrating robotics, but the biggest one in my eyes is that robotics tend to be best suited for repeatable tasks. Our industry has processes that might look like they’re being repeated, but these can vary greatly from region to region or even truss plants within the same market. Some of this is driven by the species and grade of lumber being used, other variations are driven by what the component manufacturer’s end-user builds, and even more is driven by local building codes.
In 2020, when we first started researching which robotic solution would be a good fit for our industry (and for us to represent), the first stop for us was to visit House of Design (HoD) in Nampa, Idaho. We were impressed at the time, but we needed to do our due diligence and look at other systems before making a decision on what equipment we wanted to bring to our customers. As we traveled the country over the next two years, we saw various robotic applications from companies that have been serving our industry for years. We consulted with a robotics company that is currently serving the automotive industry but also wanted to try to tackle wood component manufacturing.
After discussing the differences between the automotive and wood component industries, it became clear just how challenging our industry is when it comes to new technology. There is no single “right” way to set up a component plant and there isn’t an agreed upon perfect combination of equipment for building roof trusses, floor trusses, or wall panels. On top of that, if you look at trusses on the West Coast and compare them to trusses in Texas, then to Florida, then to Michigan, you will see four incredibly different ways to build trusses, each addressing issues that the other component plants won’t have to consider.
With those challenges in mind, we headed to Germany in May of 2023 to attend LIGNA, which bills itself as “the world’s leading trade fair for woodworking and wood processing.” The show had a heavy focus on robotic and automated solutions, and it was quite fun to bump into several American component manufacturers there that were after the same thing we were. LIGNA was eye opening, but we still didn’t see the perfect fit for our North American industry, even after traveling the continent a bit to see European robotics in real world action.
When we got back from LIGNA, House of Design invited us to return to Nampa to show us what they had been working on since our last visit. We were blown away by the advancements they had made since our last visit. Everything was faster, smoother, and, more importantly, designed specifically to work in North American component manufacturing plants. Their advanced material handling and robotics solutions, along with the ability to split systems into cells that perform one job, make House of Design the best fit for the industry from my perspective. Additionally, we found that House of Design was surprisingly much more affordable than we had imagined. The journey to represent House of Design as an independent arm of their sales efforts got me thinking about the component manufacturers we saw at LIGNA and the rest of the those still looking for answers.
It occurred to me that the point we are at now reminds me of customers’ stories about the emergence of automated cutting. Thirty years ago, you could buy an automated saw for 3 or 4 times the price of a manual saw. While some recognized the value in automated saws, many others scoffed at the idea of investing that kind of money in a saw. After a few more years, many of the companies that had chosen not to invest in automation found themselves pulling out their almost-new manual saws to install automated saws instead. The early adopters of the technology were a few years ahead of their competitors and, as a result, were in a much more comfortable position as more and more changes made their way into the industry.
This is the same thing we’re facing with emerging automation in our industry today. As labor problems have eased slightly, some companies have decided to put off investing in technology until they feel the squeeze again. When labor becomes the big challenge again, and most in our industry believe it will, those that have invested in technology today will be in a significantly stronger position than their competitors. I believe many will find that an investment in advanced material handling is more affordable and more timely than anyone thought even six months ago. Whether you build roof trusses, floor trusses, or wall panels, I would recommend beginning the research process to understand the options that are out there today and begin to explore what automation might look like in your facility.