Truss Tales

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...

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...

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...

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%...

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...