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Component Manufacturing dverti$er
Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
Adverti$er
April 2020 #12249 Page #145
Not My Last Word Joe Kannapell - P.E. Senior VP, MiTek USA www.mitek-us.com
F
rom four stories up, I realized how far wood components have come. I was atop 170,000 sq. ft. of trusses, viewing the Minneapolis Basilica, and couldn’t help thinking back 47 years to my first jobsite visit. Back then, floor trusses were brand new, and though I had tested them extensively in our plant, this was my first view of “the real thing.” And oh, what a disaster I witnessed. Trusses were misplaced, butchered, and poorly repaired throughout multiple two-story buildings. So bad was the scene, that I recall taking rolls of photos to help facilitate repairs. Since, during this same time, we were spiraling into a deep housing recession, I thought a floor truss “depression”
could occur. But that didn’t happen. In fact, from a rough start, floor trusses continue to dominate apartment framing and have played a major role in bringing us back from our most recent recession. Why? We improved all aspects of this truss business. We created millions of lines of better software code, constantly improved machinery, and persevered through serious recessions. And most importantly, we dramatically improved our market penetration. In fact, if we hadn’t come so far, all those huge apartment buildings would still have steel skeletons. We have all been part of the best sort of green new deal – replacing steel’s wasteful consumption of energy with wood’s carbon absorption. Unlike most other resources, we grow more wood than we consume every year, and with much more environmental sensitivity. Under the 2021 IBC, we will build wood buildings taller than ever. And we will build more components in our plants, like the floor panels shown here. I have been blessed to witness this transformation, and will continue to chronicle it even after I retire from MiTek at year-end. Please continue to let me know your concerns at jkannapell@mii.com, as I will have more time to address them. Thanks to all who have worked with me, supported me, and read my writing.
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