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July 2024 #16300 Page #74
MSR Workshop: A Place to Gain Understanding & Be Understood
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The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.” – Ralph Nichols, American psychologist and communication theorist, often referred to as the “Father of Listening”
“We don’t know what we don’t know about the other side until we take the time to understand their ‘Why,’” says Ross Harter, General Manager of Drexel Building Supply’s new truss manufacturing facility in Wrightstown, WI. With more than 20 years of experience in the industry, specializing primarily in offsite construction and component manufacturing, Ross knows that this statement can apply to a variety of situations, including relationships with his lumber suppliers. “I think the more cross-pollination and intro to each other’s worlds we have, the better off we’ll be,” he continues. “We want to understand the capabilities of the product, and lumber producers want to understand their customers’ needs. Understanding is the biggest thing.” For Ross and many other participants in the MSR lumber supply chain – from mills to distributors to component manufacturers – the annual MSR Workshop has become an ideal place to foster healthy understanding. This April’s event welcomed 60 such individuals to downtown Charlotte, NC, to spend a few days networking and learning from one another about the value and benefits of machine-graded lumber. This year ’s Workshop committee invited Ross to present as part of the CM panel, “Automation & Opportunities in Component Manufacturing.” A first-time attendee, Ross says sharing his recent experience equipping a brand new truss plant with state-of-the art automation allowed him to communicate his perspective on new lumber needs and trends for CMs as their plants become more automated. The 2024 MSR Workshop boasted seven well-attended educational sessions this year with topics ranging from land management to economics to end-use trends. Continued next page
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