Truss Tales

Stories and posts on the truss and components industry

Joe Kannapell

Winning Partnerships

Joe Kannapell

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...

Joe Kannapell

Two Transformative Laborers in the Component Industry

Joe Kannapell

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...

Joe Kannapell

Three-Generational Appeal of the Component Industry

Joe Kannapell

That our industry has come of age was illustrated by the carful of its members that I drove to Camden Yards on August 13. We fans of the Washington Nationals ventured into the opposition Baltimore Orioles’ territory, bound for our SBCA Chapter’s annual ballgame meeting. With me was...

Joe Kannapell

The Near Demise of Once-Great Companies

Joe Kannapell

To hide mental decline is nearly impossible, unless you’re the boss and have guardians, who are usually family members. I witnessed this with Walter Moehlenpah, owner of MiTek’s predecessor, Hydro-Air Engineering, and I had to leave the company before it nearly collapsed, as did many...

Joe Kannapell

A Rural Tract Builder for the Ages

Joe Kannapell

No one has put more people of modest means into their own homes than Mr. D.R. Horton, who passed away in May. Founding the D.R. Horton company in 1978, Mr. Horton began serving this market in the 1980s in Texas, when mortgage rates were 12%, and the company continues today in Virginia with 7%...

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...

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