Announcing Brand Vaughan’s New VP of Manufacturing

Randy Hanscom

A truss is pictured in the loading area in front of the Brand Vaughan manufacturing plant.

Big changes are happening at Brand Vaughan, and we are here to fill you in. We’re proud to announce Jim Finkenhoefer as our New Vice President of Manufacturing as we say a fond farewell to our former EWP leader, Russ French. Let’s dive into these shifts and what they mean for our Brand Vaughan team.

Jim Finkenhoefer, Brand Vaughan’s new Vice President of Manufacturing, is pictured in front of a white background.

Capitalizing on The Opportunities Ahead

Our structural products offering are vitally important to our future success. Combined with our full line offerings, our installed services group and our extra mile service, Trusses and EWP allow us to offer our customers everything they need from a lumber and building materials supplier and give us a unique chance to differentiate ourselves from many of our competitors.

At this time last year, we had a fledgling new start-up truss operation in Lithonia, Georgia and were new to the truss game. Since then, we have grown that operation substantially and added Georgia Truss to our team. As a result, we now expect to deliver more than $30 million in revenues to our customers this year and expect much more growth.

Additionally, our EWP business continues to be strong, and we see a great opportunity to continue growing that business as well. Our EWP business has been so important to Brand Vaughan for many years and has helped support and maintain our profitability and market position.

Earlier this year, Russ French, our fearless EWP leader, announced his retirement at the end of June. Although we are very happy for Russ, who has done a great job developing and growing that business over the last 20+ years, it leaves a void in experienced leadership in our team. So, with the expectations we have for these groups, we have decided to restructure our structural products businesses into one team and create a new position to lead that business. This position will be responsible for the entire group including sales, design and operations. With this being said, we’re ready to make our exciting hiring announcement.

Introducing Jim Finkenhoefer, VP of Manufacturing

To serve as the VP of Manufacturing, Jim Finkenhoefer is stepping up to the plate with an impressive background and extensive experience. Familiar with many of our Brand Vaughan employees, Jim formerly co-owned a truss company called Truss Systems Incorporated (TSI) that sold trusses to us for many years.

Originally from Iowa, Jim started in the industry with Williams Brothers, then worked with Alpine before starting at TSI. After selling TSI in 2014, he has since worked for True House in Jacksonville, Florida. As a father to two grown children and a husband to his wife, Patti, Jim now resides in Eatonton, Georgia and continues to lead the industry with several notable accomplishments.

Jim has served multiple times as the President of the Components Manufacturing Association of Georgia and also served as the President of the National Structured Components of America (SBCA), and we are honored to welcome such a seasoned expert to our team.

We can’t wait to experience the leadership and vision Jim will add to the Brand Vaughan family.

Jim Finkenhoefer’s Role at Brand Vaughan

Jim will be responsible for leading many of our managing team members.

Brandon Dyer, who manages our Georgia Truss team and Dennis Sasser, our truss leader in Lithonia, will both be reporting to Jim.

We also have a new leader for our EWP Design team — Jim DeWick. Jim has been a very important part of our EWP design team for many years, and we are excited about his ability to lead the team under Finkenhoefer’s guidance.

Building Together: Looking Forward To Growth Ahead

Five Brand Vaughan experts are constructing a truss at a manufacturing plant.

We can’t wait to experience the leadership and vision Jim will add to the team. As we welcome him to the Brand Vaughan family, we are also currently looking for an operational leader for the EWP team — we expect to announce that person soon.

As I say, “Success and growth provide opportunities for us all, and all your hard work in these areas has enabled these changes.” We are all fortunate to work in a healthy, thriving business that is as special as Brand Vaughan, and we appreciate everything you and your fellow associates do daily to keep us successful.

To quote a great man, “Row the boat, strength lies within, love one another and wash your hands.” Cheers to the next adventure ahead for our team!