Truss Tales

House of Design, which ignited the component industry enthusiasm for robotics, has tragically gone out of business, but not all is lost. We have learned that robots can pick plates very effectively among other benefits, but we also learned that fact 15 years ago from Jim Urmson’s TCT...

An industry stalwart has retired, and his journey is worth some reflection. Even though he didn’t want to, Norm McKenna learned component design. Then, he combined it with something he really wanted to do and parlayed that combination into a 46-year career. But, as with most other building...

When Dave Chambers called me his partner in front of a customer 35 years ago, it gave me a feeling of empowerment I still remember to this day. Since then, I don’t recall many other owners extending the same courtesy to their non-owner employees. But, I believe that this concept of a...

On Labor Day this year, I reflected on two component industry greats who escaped the drudgery of mill work that entrapped their fathers and created highly successful component businesses. Both were drawn to the nearest meccas of prosperity, Calvin Hall to Charlotte, North Carolina and David...