What to Look for in a Truss Manufacturer

Nothing helps a construction project of any nature stay on the right track better than having the right support system in place. 

With all the moving parts necessary to complete a build working in harmony, the project all but seems to complete itself without headaches or surprises. 

Beyond a reliable crew of workers and a clearly defined and realistic schedule, a building material supplier – such as a truss manufacturer – brings a new level of efficiency and dependability to your operation. 

However, like any building material supplier or potential partner, no two truss manufacturers are the same. Each boasts its own capabilities and means for completing orders. Sometimes, these nuances don’t align with your project goals and intentions for your business. 

To that end, carefully evaluating a truss manufacturer before formalizing a working relationship is key to making sure the partnership is one that boosts your business. 

What a Truss Manufacturer Should Bring to the Table

Just like your company, every truss manufacturer and building materials supplier is unique. What a truss manufacturer can and can’t do matters a great deal to a future partnership. 

When vetting a truss manufacturer to partner with as a building components supplier, take a hard look at its: 

• Product variety
• Capacity
• Design flexibility 
• Established processes
• Location 
• Engagement
  
  
  

Product Variety

When integrating pre-fabricated materials into a project, working with a truss manufacturer that offers a wide variety of products serves multiple purposes. 

Generally speaking, complimentary products, such as floor trusses and wall panels, comprise a building system. Complimentary products simplify a project as they easily fit together and bring a level of automatic cohesion to a project. 

What’s more, the bigger an order, the more opportunity there is for material cost savings. Put simply, bulk purchases save money that can be passed along to your clients. Expenses, such as roof truss prices and floor truss costs, will likely be easier on your clients’ wallets.  

In addition, the more building products a truss manufacturer offers, the fewer suppliers you’ll deal with. To an extent, a roof truss manufacturer with a wide product mix becomes a one-stop shop, saving you time sourcing components.

Capacity

A project shouldn’t get held up because your truss manufacturer couldn’t fill your order within your timeframe. As a manufacturing partner, your prefab building components supplier should have the equipment and workforce ready to meet your projects’ needs. 

Production delays because of overcommitting or knowingly being under-resourced cost time and money – two things that quickly push a project from the black into the red.

Product Design Flexibility 

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for a project. A materials supplier should offer a wide range of design options for its building components. Whether for aesthetics or utility, roof and floor trusses come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes to meet the demands of the application. 

What’s better than a manufacturer who has truss design options? One that makes custom components. With the ability to fabricate project-specific designs, your manufacturer helps you deliver exactly what your clients ask for, no matter the type of truss or building component.
  

Established Processes

A truss manufacturer that’s been in business for a long time has something newer operations don’t – the wisdom of experience. 

Through its years of fulfilling orders, an experienced supplier should have established processes that make for efficiently creating building components. In addition, an experienced manufacturer can easily deal with any issues or surprises that come up, keeping your project on track. 

In other words, it’s not worth the risk of working with a newer building materials supplier – the last thing you want is to be a manufacturer’s first customer. 

Location 

A truss manufacturer’s location plays a big role in their ability to meet your budgets and timeline. 

Consider the low bid for a building component, say, for instance, siding. While the proposed price tag is enticing and, at face value, helps you lower costs, what good is the bid when transportation costs drive the price tag beyond the highest bid? The same goes for the time in transit – how does your supplier make your life easier when coordinating shipping is complicated because of distance? 

Being able to say you have “a truss company near me” at the ready, means your business has an easier time meeting deadlines and staying within spending limits. 

Engagement

The hallmark of any functional partnership with a manufacturer isn’t access to low prices or quality work. 

While those are indeed key elements of a working relationship, engagement – namely, communication – matters more. 

There’s nothing more frustrating than having a perceived absentee partner. A truss manufacturer should be heavily engaged with your order from the moment you place it – discussing the building components at first glance and keeping you informed of progress. 

Partnering With a Truss Manufacturer | Getting the Most from Your Relationship

Construction projects of any size are complex and often have many things happening at once.  But with the right support and resources in place, a project – regardless of complexity – becomes a much simpler undertaking. 

Partnering with a carefully vetted truss manufacturer helps your business successfully complete construction projects that are on time and within budget. 

Explore the Possibilities of Partnering With North American Truss

Contact us today to learn how we support your business and projects.