Welcome to "Good Connections" Online
The recent upturn in U.S. housing starts is encouraging. As our industry ramps up, saving busy
industry professionals' time has never been more critical. Duncan Frost and Michael Schwitter
cover advances in software geared to save you hours of time on every job in your shop.
During the first quarter of this year, Dave Brakeman and other industry experts offered a series
of technical seminars on a host of building component industry topics. The 20 different sessions
range in topics from design software advancements to engineering loading issues and the impact
of changes in lumber design values. You acan preview sessions in the newsletter or follow the
links to watch them in their entirety online.
Rethinking how a product is designed and used can often save everyone time and money. Bob
Allen is really excited to tell you about two new construction hardware products that take less
time to install, use fewer nails, offer more holding capacity and can reduce your inventory.
Speaking of excitement – we hope you can join us at the component industry's biggest event BCMC 2013 in San Antonio, Texas October 8-10. Along with the fantastic educational sessions
you can see the latest production equipment, software and hardware. Please plan to join us for a
little fun at ITW's annual appreciation dinner on Wednesday Night! ITW Building Components
Group will once again sponsor the "BCMC Build" project. This year the industry has teamed up
with Operation "FINALLY HOME" to build a new home for a deserving military veteran. We
hope you will support the project with your time, material or a donation!
According to Dave Dunbar, feedback on our new mid-range chord section from TrusSteel
customers and other attendees at the recent INTEX Expo in Las Vegas was been nothing short
of astounding. Meanwhile Jeff Allan reports that Alpine Systems has added new staff to keep
up with growth. Rob McIntyre, Jesse Van Dufflen, Paul Pellerin and Leonard Chiasson have
recently come on board to better support our customers. Welcome aboard gentlemen!
Finally - I hope you enjoy this new publication and the industry insight, news and great ITW
Building Components Group products and services that are highlighted. I was pleasantly
surprised when the editors answered my call to reinvent the Good Connections Magazine. They
have transformed it into something special for our customers and all residential, agricultural and
light commercial construction professionals in North America. The fresh new look and webbased platform and companion web site, efficiently link you to additional story information.
Now you can quickly take the next step of putting a good idea to work! I think you will agree it
does a better job of harnessing the power of today's technology.
Kevin Viravec
VP/General Manager, ITW BCG NA
kviravec@itwbcg.com
Online Edition
