Editor's Message: The Power of Collaboration
Strengthening Our Industry Through Connections
It is difficult to believe that 2024 is already coming to an end. With another successful BCMC in the books and a year of great progress, we’re stepping into 2025 with excitement and ambition. This past year has brought insights, knowledge, invaluable experiences, and the opportunity to connect with so many of you. It is inspiring to witness how tirelessly the people of this industry function.
One pillar of SBCA is its membership. We strive to further enhance both the value for and engagement within our membership to ensure they have the abilities to network, improve business practices, and provide quality products to the building community. Every time we have an in-person meeting, I am reminded how important it is to connect with others. It is easy to become siloed and feel like you’re on an island, but this association proves otherwise. People come together not only to learn about new innovations, training opportunities, best practices, and technical information, amongst ample other things, but to also interact with one another.
Oftentimes, we find that there are others who are dealing with or have dealt with similar situations and are able to provide helpful advice and solutions that worked for them. Industry fragmentation allows members to connect with similar sized operations from different markets they usually wouldn’t have the opportunity to connect with or would view as competition. And while it can be common to see industry peers as competition at times, that isn’t the culture of this association; everyone has the same goal of delivering high quality products for homebuilders and framers, and genuinely wants each other to succeed, and the overall structural building components industry to succeed.
From the many conversations I’ve had with SBCA members, it is these moments that have aided them in their business most, in addition to the added benefit of making lifelong friends and partnerships. SBCA’s events promote and enable something that we cannot get in our respective office buildings, factories, and regions. It is imperative that we each put forth the effort to share what SBCA can do for one’s business and for this industry. It is the voice of structural building components. It is a resource. It is a tool. It is the way to promote the adoption and usage of trusses and wall panels across the country. It is together through SBCA that we can make a difference to the greater construction industry.
All that said, I know so many of you advocate and educate on the use of structural building components in your own businesses and regions and are dealing with the daily grind of running or working in a manufacturing facility – you are who we need to hear from. Whether you have a story to share, an exciting project, or tips for overcoming industry challenges, your voice is essential. We want to share what you’re doing; we want to address the pain points you have, share in your successes, and work through challenges together. Please reach out to me so we can connect; I’d love to hear from you: 224-236-3724 or cwagner@sbcacomponents.com. Let’s make 2025 a great year together!
Christine Wagner, Managing Editor