ASV is a family-owned enterprise, and we take that word “family” is a serious sense, a larger sense. Our family includes those we are directly related to, parents, siblings, and so on. Family evidently must mean those employed by ALV. But it also means our larger community and the markets in which we operate and seek to serve. The stakeholders in ALV, all of those interested in our success or impact, include our suppliers and distributors, our competitors and partners, and the broader community of which we are members.

We recently visited a fascinating startup company in southern Washington State that intends to solve the housing crisis by reinventing the construction industry. The company recognizes both a growing demand for affordable housing and a growing crisis in the housing industry’s ability to meet that demand. The problem is that affordable housing is thought of as a product created by a series of disconnected participants in the supply chain: investors, land owners, developers, contractors, architects, engineers, material suppliers. . Each of these parties at every stage in the process has its own need to maximize profits and minimize risk. Governments provide policies, codes, and regulations along with financing and subsidies.