Good Connections Magazine

G O O D CO N N E C T I O N S | W I N T E R 2 0 1 5 2 WINTER 2015 Publishers Note: Good Connections is published by Alpine for its customers and associates, and for builders, architects, building officials and others interested in the building components industry. At Alpine, "Good Connections" means not only the quality products and services we offer, but also the 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) 521-9790, ext. 3834 or jmandel@alpineitw.com. L isa Carter is Alpine's new general manager, responsible for overseeing all areas of the business. She pre viously led Alpine's new product development and marketing teams, and also served as Marketing Director for ITW Paslode Remodeling. Before joining ITW, Lisa held various leadership roles at Honeywell, Motorola and AT&T. She is located at the ITW Residential Construction headquarters in Vernon Hills, IL. The only constant in life is change. As we enter our 49th year, I am thrilled to take the helm of this great enterprise and industry leader. I realize that I still have plenty to learn – and the best way to learn about an industry is to listen to its members. Through these valuable exchanges, I hope to uncover new opportunities to forge stronger partnerships with our customers. We accomplished a lot in 2014, including relaunching the Alpine brand. I've talked with many of our customers since the announcement, and they're just as enthusiastic as we are about unifying our products and services under a single brand. In fact, most commented, "What took you so long?" One of the other benefits of a great brand is that it attracts great talent. I can certainly say that of the Alpine team, which I'm especially proud to lead. The construction industry celebrated another positive milestone in 2014 when new housing starts topped one million for the first time since 2007. That bodes well for steady growth in 2015. This issue's construction outlook article by Rick Palacios Jr. of John Burns Real Estate Consulting details the reasons why the company is optimistic the housing recovery will get back on track this year. The Alpine team continues to pursue opportunities to partner more closely with other ITW sister companies, including Paslode, to deliver value-added solutions. The BCMC Build is an example of how Alpine and Paslode teamed up to benefit the industry and a deserving family while showcasing the power of the ITW family LETTER FROM THE GM The Only Constant Is Change By Lisa Carter, General Manager, Alpine Good Connections and its brands. We are also supporting the National Framing Council (NFC) and its work to improve jobsite safety for framers. These are the most obvious examples, but there are other new opportunities in the pipeline that will further showcase ITW product benefits on the jobsite. I hope you enjoy this issue of Good Connections. Let me know what's new with you and how we can help you build your business. You can reach me at lcarter@alpineitw.com. n

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