President's Message: The Value of Sharing

Everyone benefits from the exchange of ideas through SBCA activities

There is simply no substitute for getting together in person and talking through common issues. The recent SBCA Open Quarterly Meeting (OQM) in Nashville, Tennessee, is a perfect example. With 172 members in attendance, it was one of the largest in-person meetings outside of BCMC in several decades. 

In addition to the many in-depth conversations everyone participated in at the roundtables on topics ranging from raw material management to optimizing training and culture, I believe the highlight was the finalization of the association’s five-year strategic plan. I addressed the three pillars (grow and engage membership, innovate and adapt, and demonstrate expertise) in my last article. Now, the work to develop and implement strategies to accomplish these strategic goals begins.

Growing and increasing the engagement of our membership is something that is very near and dear to my heart. I want everyone to get the most out of their membership in the association! One of the best ways to do that is by taking advantage of the free SBCA Digital QC program. Hundreds of plants have benefitted from it since its launch last year. 

Another free program SBCA just released for its members is the industry-specific Financial Concepts Training program. Anyone involved with their company’s financial systems can benefit from working through the first few training modules. In fact, some members have already benefited from sitting down with their management teams and tackling the program together. Of course, there are also incredibly valuable concepts offered by the program for veteran financial managers.

One initiative that encourages our industry to innovate is SBCA’s Innovation Grant, which offers awardees free exhibition space at BCMC | FS. This is a win-win for our industry because it further encourages forward-thinking individuals and companies to introduce and share new ideas and concepts while simultaneously removing a costly barrier to entry at the industry’s premier event. I would like to congratulate Vekta Advanced Automation, which received this year’s grant to showcase their Automation Raking Framer at the show. As a wall panel guy, I am very excited to see their concept in person in Indianapolis.

In June, SBCA partnered with the National Framers Council to demonstrate our industry’s expertise on a very large stage. For the second year in a row, we framed a two-story house on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in just two days as part of the 2023 Innovative Housing Showcase hosted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). 

Thousands of builders, lawmakers, regulators, and the public walked through our structure and were exposed to the cost-efficient products our industry manufactures. It was a unique opportunity to get in front of people who have contact with our industry, but don’t have the opportunity to see our products up close. It was also heartwarming to know that the house we built was donated to Habitat for Humanity to frame two single-story houses for families in central Virginia who were in desperate need of affordable housing. I want to thank all the companies and individuals who donated materials, labor, and financial resources to make this happen.

All of these activities have one important theme in common: incredible value can be obtained from sharing ideas, both with each other and with those our industry touches. I encourage you to join in the conversations and get engaged at the next OQM in Buffalo, New York. While the meeting is right around the corner, July 25-27, it’s not too late to sign up! You can register online today at sbcacomponents.com. If you can’t make it to Buffalo, make sure to register today at bcmcshow.com to join your peers at BCMC | FS in Indianapolis, September 18-22. 

Gene Frogale, President