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G O O D CO N N E C T I O N S | S U M M E R 2 0 1 4 2 SUMMER 2014 Publishers Note: Good Connections is published by ITW Building Components Group for its customers and associates, and for builders, architects, building officials and others interested in the structural components industry. At ITW, "Good Connections" means not only the quality steel connectors we manufacture and trusses designed within our software for the building industry, but also the good connections that are the heart of our industry. We appreciate any story ideas, project photos or other suggestions that you have to make this an even better publication. For more information, contact John Mandel, Marketing Communications Manager, at 800-786-5006, ext. 3834 or jmandel@itwbcg.com. W hile poor spring weather in much of the nation has hampered housing starts, most economists believe the overall economy continues to rebound. That's good news for all of us in the con- struction industry as we anxiously wait for business to speed up to historical norms. While the industry recovers, we have been busy building our team to better serve our customers. Innovation is the growth engine for all of us in the components industry, and we are focused on developing exciting new products and services. This is especially true with software and equipment, where we are working diligently to launch enhance- ments that increase user productivity and improve service and parts availability. We also continue to make significant investments in our marketing and product management organization. Over the years, we have worked with many of you to develop mutually beneficial marketing programs. We encourage you to contact us about potential opportunities for partnerships. This issue also showcases our upcoming webinars, which are designed to help ex- perienced and new designers remain up to date on the latest tips about the effective use of our software products. Make sure to visit our online training resource, the ITW Learn Center, at www.itwlearncenter. com, to see the latest resources and tools. The Learn Center is always available to you, making learning easy and convenient. During the summer, we will be preparing for the 2014 BCMC show. It's not too early to make your plans for this annual industry event, which will be held October 8 and 9 in Charlotte, North Carolina. We encourage you to participate in the many informative educational seminars that will be presented and stop by our booth to view the latest software and hardware innovations, as well as our production equipment. On October 9, we will host our annual customer appreciation dinner. In addition, we will share some exciting business news during BCMC, so make sure to attend the show. Finally, we are excited to announce that we will be publishing the Good Connections newsletter on a quarterly basis. This news- letter has a long and illustrious history dating back to 1973, and we are pleased to relaunch it. I trust that you will find this issue of Good Connections to be filled with useful infor- mation that helps enhance the productivity and profitability of your enterprise. After all, strong partnerships have long been the foundation of our business. I encourage you to contact me at kviravec@itwbcg.com to share your thoughts and suggestions. n Kevin M. Viravec is Vice President and General Manager of ITW Building Components Group. He has served in his current role since 2010, directing all aspects of the business and lead- ing teams across North America. KEVIN'S CORNER Building a Foundation for the Future By Kevin Viravec Good Connections