The main mission of the BCMC committee is to provide a diverse forum for component manufacturers to learn about state-of-the-art techniques that will make their businesses more successful. While a lot of learning takes place on the show floor as component manufacturers interact with suppliers, another important part of providing this diverse forum takes place outside of the show floor. The main speaker sessions, breakout sessions and moderated events that take place during the course of BCMC play a major role in fulfilling the show's objective of educating, informing and encouraging growth of the component industry. As I see it, there are four main reasons to attend educational sessions at BCMC. The wide range of topics and the chance to interact with both industry peers and experts allow you to (1) gather information, (2) recharge your battery, (3) challenge your comfort zone and (4) consider the future in the context of the present. While all the sessions scheduled for this year's show will provide all four of these things, I would suggest the viewing the program descriptions to determine which sessions to attend at this year's show.

GATHER INFORMATION

This might seem like an obvious reason to attend an industry tradeshow, but these sessions have been prepared to provide you with the specific information you need to understand some of the most important issues facing the industry today.

“The Insurance Dilemma Defined—Options, Concerns & Opportunities,” presented by Kent Pagel—Currently all industries are going through what best can be termed an insurance dilemma. Insurance rates are going up, truss manufacturers are being asked to provide more and more coverage for their customers, and the construction defect issue, which is of great concern to insurers, is not going away. In this session, Kent will define the current state of insurance, explain what you can expect to see in 2002 and beyond, and lay out options for your business to effectively deal with these issues.
“The New ANSI/TPI 1 Quality Standard—Making QC Easier & Quicker,” presented by Keith Kinser, Ryan Dexter and Jay Edgar—These speakers have been intimately involved in the development of the new industry Quality Control Standard that was written for the latest edition of ANSI/TPI 1. WTCA undertook a great deal of testing with the purpose of forming a strong technical foundation for the changes that were made. This session will go through the revisions to the Standard and how to best implement them in your operations.
“Taking Advantage of Your Association's Resources to Protect & Grow Your Business,” presented by WTCA Staff—WTCA's greatest asset for its membership is the work that it does creating policies, industry-wide association programs and publications. This session is designed to help you better understand the tools that WTCA has to offer to help you grow and protect your business.

RECHARGE YOUR BATTERY

Even the most passionate, driven businesspeople need a good jumpstart every now and then—and these sessions were designed to do just that.

Kickoff Presentation: “Stuff That Works Every Single Day,” presented by Larry Winget—Larry Winget is a philosopher of success who believes that most of us have lives and businesses that are way too complicated and that we take things way too seriously. He also believes that we need to lighten up, take responsibility, be more flexible, stay positive and keep it in perspective. In Larry's opinion, success comes from serving others, and his session contains information that can be put to use immediately in your business.
“Local & State Legislation Can Burden Your Business—Manage It Before It Manages You,” presented by Clayton Traylor—The goal of this session is to provide you with the fundamentals needed to be proactive in the local political arena. Bring your questions to this session so that everyone has a better understanding of how to manage local politics and legislation. This session is sure to recharge your battery when it comes to dealing with legislative issues and grassroots initiatives.
“WTCA Truss Technician Training™: Truss Basics,” presented by WTCA Staff—Salespeople, estimators, administrative staff and others who regularly interact with suppliers, customers and industry professionals will benefit from this six-hour overview of the structural building component industry. This course will be held prior to the show's start, on Tuesday, October 30, from 1-7 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency. Hurry! Enrollment is limited to 30.

CHALLENGE YOUR COMFORT ZONE

It's easy to stick with what seems to be working, especially when change typically carries a price tag. These sessions will challenge you to step outside of the box and think about how changing something comfortable can take your business to the next level.

“Developing Your Company's Image, Brand & Local Marketplace Influence,” presented by Jerry Rouleau—This session will cover building your corporate image in the markets you serve, capitalizing on what you are already doing, creating promotional ideas that bring customers to you, working with the media and much more. Jerry will challenge your thinking on the importance of an effective public relations campaign for your local market as well as how to put one together.
“How to Create a Dynamic Sales Organization & Improve Your Profits,” presented by Jeff Tobe—In this high-energy, fast-paced, marketing session, Jeff shares how to create a marketing blueprint that applies to any size organization.
“Increasing Revenue with Integrated, Agile & Collaborative Business Solutions,” presented by Seth Wolins—Industrial manufacturers, especially those in the building components industry, are increasing revenues, reducing costs and optimizing the use of their assets by sharing critical information, monitoring key performance indicators and focusing on core competencies. Seth will share how collaborative commerce is reshaping this industry.
“Understanding Your Truss Plant's Efficiency, Costs & Profits,” moderated by Tim Kerkhoff—This session will take you through the latest developments in manufacturing analysis so that you will better understand your component manufacturing plant's efficiency, cost and profits.
“Handling Paper—Manage Your Entire Truss Plant Digitally,” moderated by Bob Jones—This session will take you through the latest developments in making your manufacturing operation entirely digital to create optimal data transfer efficiency.

CONSIDER THE FUTURE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PRESENT

The future is now and understanding technology and the face of the marketplace are key to success in this industry. These sessions will provide a slice of the future that you can apply to your company's plans.

Keynote Speaker: “The State of Construction—A Customer's Perspective,” presented by Thomas N. (Tommy) Thompson—In this session, Tommy will focus on his vision of the future of home building and how it affects the component industry. The goal of this session is to get a customer's perspective that you can use in your operations to develop a successful strategy for your business's market-niche.
Economic Forecast: “Economics of the Truss Industry—What's in Store for 2002,” presented by Al Schuler, Ph.D.—This presentation will take a fresh look at today's economy and how it relates to our future. Al will look at the big picture and predict where the overall market is heading with an emphasis on the construction economy and how the component industry will fare.

Overall, as the BCMC Committee considered topics and put together this year's educational programs, we took great care to focus on the current needs of component manufacturers and to provide the information needed to stay on the cutting edge of our industry. As you consider all of the educational sessions that we are offering this year at BCMC, keep in mind the value of these learning opportunities. The average component manufacturing company would not be able to afford to put together a fraction of this information and training by itself. This volume of knowledge in one place can only happen when industry peers come together to share information, insight and innovations. BCMC is the forum for staying abreast of the many issues and challenges our industry faces and for obtaining the Ideas to Build On that your business needs. You can't afford to miss it!