MiTek welcomed Marie Jureit-Beamish, widow of John Calvin “Cal” Jureit, inventor of the Gang-Nail connector plate, on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, at its global headquarters in Chesterfield, Missouri. Jureit-Beamish transferred ownership of the original Gang-Nail connector plate and patent documents to MiTek to preserve the legacy of Jureit’s invention.
Invented by Jureit in 1955, the Gang-Nail connector plate was the first metal tie that allowed for the building of wood trusses without the need for nails, screws, or glue. Jureit’s labor-saving invention revolutionized the building industry and served as the foundation of what would later become the company MiTek.
The original Gang-Nail connector plate, along with other historical artifacts from Jureit’s career, are now on permanent display at MiTek’s global headquarters.
“He, as you know, transformed how we built houses with one simple idea,” Jureit-Beamish said. “However, a simple idea doesn’t come from just one moment. It comes from a lifetime of preparedness for that one moment and then what you do with it after that one moment.”
Jureit learned production and “how to get things done” while working in the Jureit Family Bakery in Miami, Florida. Jureit-Beamish said he learned timelines, deadlines, cost-efficiency, and how to manage 20 delivery trucks.
Jureit-Beamish described Jureit’s love of music, particularly the theater organ, which led to him adopting the nickname of “The Keyboard Engineer” in certain circles. He, his brother, and their mother collaborated as the music group called The Jureit Family Trio, comprised of a violin, cello, and piano. This is where Jureit learned the art of performance and capturing the attention of an audience.
“He grew up with this spirit of this tremendous work ethic, the production, the artistic spirit, the musical spirit, the speaking spirit, and then he decided he was going to go to art school after high school,” Jureit-Beamish said.
Jureit would study art and hone skills that would come in handy during World War II. Jureit served in the U.S. Navy as a cartographer during the war, creating 3D relief maps. The Navy sent him to Australia and New Guinea, where he saw a great deal of war-related construction.
After he was demobilized, Jureit graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology, more commonly known as Georgia Tech, in 1949 with a degree in engineering. Jureit was inducted into the Engineering Hall of Fame at Georgia Tech in 1996.
After graduation, he worked for a short time at a company that designed and built roof trusses. It was upon leaving that company that he would have the crucial idea that would change the building industry.
In 1955, Jureit, a man of strong religious faith, was sitting in church when, as Jureit-Beamish described it, a “bright white light hit him.” Jureit had a vision of what would be called the Gang-Nail connector plate, and he used his skills as an artist to sketch out the design. These drawings were captured in the original patent documents.
Jureit-Beamish said the many facets and experiences that Jureit experienced in his lifetime all came together in this pivotal moment.
“If [the vision] had come to you or if it had come to me, I wouldn’t have known what to do with it,” she said. “Because of all of the life experience that he had leading up to it, he was the one that was the chosen vessel for receiving this inspiration.”
Before the invention of connector plates, roofs were often constructed with individual rafters. This process required highly skilled carpenters, precise cuts, and a difficult procedure where nails were driven into the lumber at a sharp angle. Jureit’s Gang-Nail connector plate would save 125 manually driven nails per truss built.
Throughout his career, Jureit filed more than 60 construction-industry patents. He founded Gang-Nail Systems, Inc. in 1956, which sold connector plates, assembly machinery, and engineering services. In 1987, Gang-Nail was purchased by Hydro-Air, and, soon after, they merged to form MiTek.
“MiTek is a company that has become very intent on innovating, solving big problems in building in new and creative ways, and, as a result, hopefully making an impact on communities around the world,” said Mark Thom, MiTek Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Cal’s story reminded me about the simplicity of taking a great idea and being willing to run with it, but also the work that’s required to follow through.”
Joe Kannapell, who retired from MiTek as Executive Director of Major Accounts after serving 50 years in the building construction industry, recalled meeting Jureit at an industry event in 1972. He said everyone in the room knew of Jureit, and, more importantly, they knew, in many ways, he was the reason they were in business.
Kannapell is currently writing a book documenting the history of the truss business and says, “Mr. Jureit is chapter one.”
Today, MiTek annually ships millions of pounds of connector plates in hundreds of sizes and configurations globally. Jureit passed away in 2005 at the age of 87, but his legacy lives on in every connector plate sold, and his spirit of innovation inspires MiTek’s vision to transform the building industry with better building solutions.
“Stewardship is a guiding principle in the company MiTek today, for all team members,” Thom said. “What’s happening today is we are being entrusted with the gift of carrying on Cal’s legacy and many of the things that were important to him in his life in building that legacy. We will do our best to be good guardians and good stewards of the memory and the legacy of Cal Jureit.”