President's Message: It’s an Exciting Time to Be in the Industry

First and foremost, I need to thank Jim Finkenhoefer for his dedication and leadership of SBCA this past year. Jim’s leadership of SBCA has been transformational. I know I have some big shoes to fill, and I pledge 100 percent of my effort to maintaining that same level of passion and dedication to our industry and association.

It is a distinct honor and privilege to be nominated by a group of my peers and elected as president. I am humbled by their confidence in me to lead this great organization over the coming year.

I have participated in several local SBCA Chapters over the years, but it wasn’t until I got involved at the national level that I realized how special this organization really was. Participating on the board of directors has given me real insight into how much we accomplish for the membership. None of the other industry groups I’ve been a part of have exhibited the same level of dedication and consideration of its membership and their best interests.

The board is made up of a group of experienced, talented members. They all come together to recommend best practices, review and address current industry challenges, and proactively identify any potential roadblocks that may threaten future progress for our industry. 

One of the most interesting aspects of SBCA is that most days we are competitors, but when the need arises to resolve a problem facing our industry, we check our competitive nature at the door and become a collective industry working to find a solution together. 

For those of you that have not had the opportunity to attend one of our Open Quarterly Meetings, I encourage each and every one of you to do so. I promise the return on your investment will be well worth the effort. You’ll also be impressed by how we all come together as an industry to accomplish great things!

Speaking of great things, we all know that one of our industry’s biggest opportunities, given today’s construction labor shortage, is converting stick framing to components. Whether its roofs, floors or walls, or a combination of those, every component manufacturer in this room should be looking for a way to gain a greater share of the framing market. 

If you’ve tried to convert a builder, you know it’s not an easy process. That’s why I want to commit even more of our resources toward putting tools in your hands to help you convince your customers to switch. This effort started a few years ago with a new Framing the American Dream comparison study and Component Marketing Toolbox, and it continues today through a new website we created called bestwaytoframe.com. This website not only contains resources to help you convert customers, it can help introduce your broader community to the important role you play in constructing the homes and buildings they live and work in.

There have been several articles recently published on quality control (QC). Improving on our means and methods to conduct QC and quality assurance (QA) more pragmatically will be a big focus over the coming year. We plan on leveraging our structural testing capability through SBCRI and advances in digital technology to innovate the in-plant QC program and third party QA inspection process to one that focuses not on individual joints but instead on key performance characteristics giving you the key data points you need to make meaningful changes to your processes to improve your manufacturing operation.

This is a great industry to work in and an exciting time to be a part of it. I look forward to working with you to achieve our initiatives and goals and together bring exceptional value to each member. If you ever have a question, an observation or see an opportunity for improvement, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at president@sbcindustry.com.