Director's Message: Not One Size Fits All

A Fragmented, but Formidable Industry 

It’s well known that the component industry is highly fragmented. Of SBCA’s 580 component manufacturer (CM) member companies, we have roughly 930 locations, with an average of 1.6 locations per company. If I were to extrapolate the data out to additional non-member locations per company, that number would go down given most of the industry’s non-members tend to be the smaller, owner-operated companies. 

While there are consequences of fragmentation, including feeling small and unable to impact change, especially in a highly siloed industry like the construction industry, there are also advantages to fragmentation. Each of our individual member-companies and locations is able to offer specialized goods and services that reflect each of their individual markets. This allows for competition on differentiation and value-added services as opposed to alternatives. It also offers a very innovation-friendly environment with diverse solutions and faster responses to market trends and customer needs. 

SBCA is working to establish a dialogue and audiences with architects, engineers, code officials, plan designers, builders, framers, and others so we can continue to offer component solutions as the best way to frame.

Fragmentation creates a series of opportunities for our industry, but it starts with you and your company. You first need to be able to articulate your capabilities and how you specifically add value to the construction projects your firm is involved with. Become comfortable articulating your hidden value to those who may or may not see it. This can often be done through demonstrating your processes from design all the way to manufacturing and even delivery. The component industry is very unique at every step, and each CM has a unique way of navigating each one. 

To further drive the point home, demonstrate your location’s utilization of technology from the moment a project starts through completion. The component industry is one of the most, if not the most, technologically engaged sectors of the construction industry. Show off the machinery you utilize and those you employ to operate it to generate roof trusses, floor trusses, wall panels, and whatever else you manufacture. Share the incredible stories of the skilled and technical folks throughout your company.

Now think of the cumulative effect of 930+ locations throughout North America sharing their stories and articulating the value they provide the construction industry. Think of the hundreds of thousands of dollars each of those locations have invested in plant and equipment, as well as the thousands of folks employed in every corner of our continent and the millions of payroll dollars that support our collective economy. When you step back and consider the total impact of our industry, you begin to realize we’re not so small after all. 

That’s where SBCA comes in. We’re here to aggregate and tell our industry’s story, but first we need to know your story. We need your engagement to know what you see in your market, what you need to perform better, and what headwinds you’re facing. SBCA is here to tell our industry’s story to all who will listen, but specifically to a few groups that can improve our industry’s outlook. For far too long, we’ve been isolationist in our approach, but we’re working to change that.

SBCA is working to establish a dialogue and audiences with architects, engineers, code officials, plan designers, builders, framers, and others so we can continue to offer component solutions as the best way to frame. The more they know and understand, the more likely our products, and combination of products, will be specified and utilized, improving markets for components. 

These efforts will further strengthen the incumbent position many of our members realize in their markets, while defending against fringe alternatives that may appear, seeking advantages legislatively, within the model building codes, and elsewhere. We need to make sure components are a part of whatever conversations are happening, no matter where they are happening. 

While we may feel small as individual locations or companies, know that you and your company matter. You matter to your local market, to your customers, to your employees, and you matter to SBCA. The collective strength of our industry is significant. Together we can accomplish great things for the component industry as we strive to improve the overall construction process.  

Jess Lohse, Executive Director