We are committed to serving our customers with quality components made from the best lumber and materials. Green building is spreading in popularity as consumers become more tuned in to sustainable building practices, and green building standards and programs have been developed to provide benchmarks for green building practices. The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a leading commercial and residential green building rating system. Within its consensus-based green building guidelines, LEED encourages the use of certified lumber (that is, lumber that has been tracked from forest to end-user with strict Chain-of-Custody documentation procedures) in projects applying for LEED certification.

"Building Green"isn't new to the structural building components industry. We are committed to helping truss manufacturers, builders, remodelers and home owners practice environmental responsibility and sustainability by conserving today's resources for tomorrow's children. Every effort is made to offer products that balance design and performance with environmental responsibility. There's no getting around it, the wood you purchase comes from one of the Earth's most renewable resources -- trees. Wood is the most energy efficient of major building products.

Components minimize the amount of material use and jobsite waste created. This is a no brainer, but it's a good point to reinforce with builders and general contractors. And there's data to prove it! The 1996 WTCA Framing the American Dream project reported a more than 25 percent material savings (and labor savings of more than 60 percent!) when components were used to frame a 2600-sq.ft. home. Visit sbcindustry.com for more details.

Components are designed to utilize materials most efficiently. Don't forget that material efficiency is inherent to the process of component design. Design software from ITW Building Components Group allows the designer or technician to value engineer and optimize virtually any component design. This means material is not used when it isn't needed. Many green building rating systems recognize this benefit of components and award points based on their use. The National Resource Defense Council realized this fact in 1998 when they placed trusses high on their list of great products due to optimum value engineering. View their detailed report at www.nrdc.org.

The use of components tightens a building's envelope. More precision is built into components with the technology available today and also because they're built under controlled conditions. When a good foundation is in place, component construction provides for more precision that fosters a tighter building envelope. This means that the consumer will conserve energy while enjoying less draft and heat loss.