Truss Tales

Stories and posts on the truss and components industry

Joe Kannapell

He Bought the Plant to Save 10 Jobs – Now There are 150 Jobs and 4 Plants

Joe Kannapell

The tiny town of Sparta, North Carolina, turned out to honor Clint Bedsaul when he passed away in early 2021. Many among the crowd had been touched by the jobs he brought to their struggling remote community, but few knew the improbable details. And how Clint Bedsaul, the owner of a trucking...

Joe Kannapell

Two Tales: Survival or Not in the Component Business

Joe Kannapell

One gentleman owned the best plant in a fast-growing town. The other worked for the best supplier in a fast-growing role. Both had what seemed to be unassailable credentials and both adapted well to changing market conditions. But only one would survive. Their tales tell a lot about survival in...

Joe Kannapell

I-Joists or Floor Trusses? Ask a Framer

Joe Kannapell

Have you asked a framer lately what floor system they prefer? I did, after seeing a crew I’ve watched use I-joists for the last couple of years now switch to floor trusses. But I wondered why they did so only on town houses. Here’s what I observed: December 12, 2023 –...

Joe Kannapell

When the Small Builder Passed the Biggest

Joe Kannapell

The story of how Jim Price, selling homes one-at-a-time, passed William Levitt, who sold one thousand in two days, contains a lesson for today. Although Price is not a name known to many while Levitt’s will be forever associated with his Levittowns, both pioneered production lines that...

Joe Kannapell

A Welcome Diversion – The New American Home (TNAH) at IBS

Joe Kannapell

If you’re traveling to next week’s National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders Show (IBS) in Las Vegas, you can see what can be done with trusses at The New American Home (TNAH), a “cliff-dwelling” with a distant view of the Strip. See also what...

Anna Stamm

Call for Materials

Anna Stamm

Have you considered contributing to our monthly magazine? Are you uncertain how to start? The first step is to contact us! Because The CM Advertiser is a monthly magazine, there’s always another issue on the horizon. If you’re shooting for inclusion in a specific issue, the target...

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