SBCA Bellevue OQM Provides Exciting Updates

The SBCA Open Quarterly Meeting in Bellevue, WA, has wrapped up after three great days of coming together to connect and learn about what is going on in the association and industry. With a total of 126 registered attendees, this event was a hit with lively discussions and informative education sessions throughout.  

Tuesday kicked off with general information and updates by Executive Director, Jess Lohse, covering the progress and accomplishments SBCA has made over the year so far with its education and training efforts as part of the newly updated SBCA Academy, the BCSI revision updates and progress, and discussion on the proposed Component Warning Notice. The evening was capped off with a delicious dinner at Seastar Restaurant, which was the perfect setting for conversation and networking with fellow industry members.  

Wednesday morning’s education lineup covered several concepts from a panel led by SBCA staff on the marketing opportunities and overall experiences of the U.S. Dept of HUD’s Innovative Housing Showcase, to a panel on innovation possibilities in Europe by the members that attended the first-ever SBCA Offsite European Tour, to a presentation by Kendall Hoyd on harnessing the productivity power of AI in component manufacturing.  

After the education sessions and lunch, there were committee breakout sessions with the Membership, Management, Education, BCMC, Marketing, and Advocacy Committees. These committees are working diligently towards the goals of the strategic plan as we gear up for BCMC and the remainder of the year.  

Thursday consisted of the SBCA Board of Directors Meeting where various updates were provided on Framing the American Dream, the Innovative Housing Showcase, BCMC, chapters, committees, suppliers, and more. At this meeting, Howard Gauger of R&D Thiel was elected to the Executive Committee for a three-year At-Large term and Mike Callahan’s Board seat was renewed for a one-year Associate term. Additionally, Chris Lambert’s recent retirement and Steve Strom’s planned retirement were announced, with Chris ending his term with the board in June of 2024 and Steve concluding his term in December of 2024. MiTek’s Norm McKenna’s retirement was also announced. A big congratulations to all those elected and those entering their retirement years – while different paths, both are exciting and new chapters for everyone!  

Additionally, the finalists of the SBCA Innovation Grant were announced again: TwinBuild by CrowdBuild; MiTek Truss Validator; Paragon’s Cloud Based SaaS for Wood Trusses; Q4US's Universal Truss AI by Q4US; and VIRTEK VISION’S Iris AI Panel Inspection System. These finalists will be featured at BCMC in Milwaukee, WI, October 7-11, and voted on for the chance to be named SBCA’s 2024 People Choice Solution.  

The Supplier-Led Education Sessions were also announced for this year’s BCMC & Framer Summit in Milwaukee, WI. With this wide range of supplier-led education sessions, it will provide more opportunities for BCMC attendees to gain more knowledge and dive deeper into the many facets of this industry. The selected sessions are: Supply Chain Disruption and Re-Shaping Commodity Markets by BuyMetrics, Inc.; Automation vs. Mechanization by Hundegger, USA; Artificial Intelligence Potential and Challenges for Wood Structure Design by Paragon; Employee Staffing & Cost Issues by Todd Drummond Consulting; Supercharge your Business with AI by Q4US; CM Ops: Start Up, Progression, Automation by Stiles Machinery/Weinmann; Buying or Selling Pre-Owned Component Machinery by Wood Tech Systems; and Best Practices to Optimize Plant Equipment & Extend Lifespan by Alpine, an ITW Company. Congratulations to all who were selected and thank you to everyone who submitted a proposal.  

Overall, the event was a success and SBCA wants to thank everyone who made the trip out to Bellevue, WA, for the final Quarterly Meeting of 2024. We look forward to seeing everyone in Milwaukee, WI, for the BCMC & Framer Summit, October 7-11!