Building Relationships to Build a Better Future

How SBCA’s Collaboration with Three Organizations Benefits the Industry

By Sean D. Shields

Many stakeholders in the residential and light-frame construction industry can have an impact on the success of component manufacturers (CM). Consequently, SBCA expends considerable effort building collaborative relationships with groups who have influence over those stakeholders and who can give SBCA and its members opportunities to educate and market to them about the benefits of manufactured components. While there are many such organizations, there are three that rise to the top this year.

NAHB

In 2024, SBCA continued to develop closer ties with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). In addition to SBCA’s Executive Director, Jess Lohse, serving as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Building Systems Councils, SBCA also joined NAHB’s Leading Suppliers Council. These two organizations under NAHB’s umbrella provide SBCA with two powerful ways to showcase the valuable products and capabilities of today’s CM in a way that has not been possible in the past.

Additionally, SBCA increased the presence of manufactured components on the show floor of NAHB’s annual conference, the International Builders Show (IBS). In 2024, SBCA worked with NAHB staff to design and manufacture all the structural elements of their Construction Performance Zone. This large area of the show floor allowed over 2,000 IBS attendees to interact with and gather insights from industry experts who provided tips, advice, and techniques for building more durable, efficient, and higher-quality homes. The zone accomplishes this through a combination of live demonstrations and prepared presentations from a wide variety of experts, including presentations by Chris Tatge, Past President of NFC, and SBCA’s Jess Lohse.

ALSC

SBCA’s Technical Director, Greg Greenlee, was appointed as a member of the American Lumber Standard Committee (ALSC) in 2024. ALSC is a non-profit organization consisting of manufacturers, distributors, users, and consumers of manufactured lumber and maintains the American Softwood Lumber Standard (PS 20). This is significant because, with a seat on the committee, SBCA can represent the component manufacturing industry and provide a proactive voice on significant lumber grading and quality issues that periodically face the industry.  

The American Lumber Standard (ALS) system, a key component to the lumber industry’s economy, provides the basis for the acceptance of manufactured lumber and its corresponding design values that are relied on by building codes throughout the U.S. The Standard, currently designated as PS 20-20, will have a new version published in 2025. The review process for this version is just getting underway. 

In joining the committee and giving the component industry a voice, Greg says, “I’m honored to be nominated and approved as a member of the ALSC. The committee plays an important role in the softwood lumber industry and can play a critical role in the success of our members. As our industry’s representative, I look forward to bringing any issues and concerns of the component industry to the committee.”  

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

SBCA took another big step this year in its relationship with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by becoming a co-presenter of its Innovative Housing Showcase (IHS) on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. As a result of this increased collaboration, SBCA benefited from expansive national promotion through HUD, as well as a prime location for the industry’s exhibit, and close proximity to the Congressional reception held prior to the start of the event.

From June 7-9, over 2,500 people walked through SBCA’s two-story house, which was constructed in less than eight hours thanks to the amazing contributions of 84 Lumber, which supplied not only all the structural components, but the installation labor, as well. Over those three days, SBCA’s exhibit hosted everyone from home builders, architects, and governmental officials to members of Congress, their staff, and the general public. For the SBCA staff onsite, the excitement, energy, intrigue, and genuine concern for our industry’s products were invigorating. “It was clear that people want to know more about their options when building, and housing in general,” says Ashley Baker, SBCA’s Director of Education. “They want to have more efficient, effective, and sustainable ways to build and create affordable housing.”

This event is just one way in which SBCA is working towards its strategic plan to innovate and adapt and demonstrate expertise. It was also a valuable means to further develop a relationship with Habitat for Humanity. For the second year in a row, after the event concluded, the house was deconstructed and transported to Waynesboro, VA, where it will be reframed as two separate single-family, one-story homes 
for families in need. To learn more about this event, and see a brief timelapse of the house’s construction, go to sbcacomponents.com/ihs.