Crowley says that dealers who feel like they are getting squeezed out of the channel by Build-Rite and other vendor-to-builder programs simply need to do more on their own part to solidify their necessity in the construction process. “I’ve made a pretty good living in EWP being a better designer than most people in my market, and of course I was concerned with losing my ability to be totally entwined and integrated into my customer’s business,” he says. “But Boise has been totally open to allowing us to participate in the jobsite implementation so we can weave ourselves into the fabric of how our builders build their houses.”
Crowley’s 84 Lumber colleague is experiencing the same partnership mentality at jobsites in South Carolina. “Predominantly I am doing the design and implementation in the field with the assistance of Build-Rite,” says Sherwood. “We’re teamed up and handling it together.” According to Sherwood, framing contractors who work on a Build-Rite job are spreading the word to other big builders that are in turn contacting Sherwood to start negotiations. One big builder CEO has also been rumored to state that the material savings generated from Build-Rite could build his company an additional 1,000 homes a year.
“I think 1,000 homes a year is a very fair assumption,” Sherwood says. “One thing’s for sure, they can start keeping smaller Dumpsters on the job-site.”
