Why reflect on the oft-derided C-Clamp as it fades into truss industry oblivion? Because it holds the world record for truss production, unmatched yet, even by robots. And although it debuted half a century ago, its design has never been equaled. And remarkably, this deceptively simple machine launched a billion dollar enterprise.
Wally Randall (late father of Alpine’s Brian Randall) showed me the utility of the C-Clamp nearly 50 years ago. I met him in a small shed behind a St. Louis lumberyard, operating a Mark 6 press over a set of pedestals similar to that shown. He grasped its hand grips, and strode smoothly around the perimeter of a truss, barely slowing to plate each joint. His entire jig setup and pre-cut parts occupied less than half the space than would have been taken up by a truss table. And the pedestals could be moved out of the way to make room for building materials when the truss business was slow. This small footprint could be accommodated inside existing lumber yard structures, minimizing startup costs as hundreds entered the business beginning in the 1950s. And the whole system cost less than a typical delivery truck.
With the advent of the improved Mark 8 Mono-Press (shown at the top of this article [see PDF or View in Full Issue for photo]) in the late 1960s, and the accompanying economic boom, sales accelerated. I watched in amazement as we recorded $2 Million of sales of Mono-Presses at the INBEX show in 1972 (the Industrialized Building Exposition was a precursor to BCMC held at the Louisville Fairgrounds). This is equivalent to $12 Million in sales today.
Lenny Sylk, SBCA Hall of Famer, took the Mark 8 Mono-Press to a new level of productivity in the late 1970s. Through extensive time studies, he created a highly competitive system that he deployed across the country. When he attempted to copy the Mono-Press, he discovered the ingenuity of the invention. Designed by an aircraft engineer, the Mark 8 incorporates high strength steel and intricately welded construction. The platens are uniquely oriented, so that they remain parallel, even under 50,000 lbs. of pressure, which ensures proper plate embedment. These features enabled a U.S. Patent to be issued, which largely protected the Mark 8’s market.
The best use of the Mono-Press came in the mid-1970s with its incorporation into the multi-head Glide-Away. This marvelous machine became the main-stay of integrated home builders across the country. Ed Ryan was quick to adopt it as he moved his Ryan Homes into the booming Metro DC market, and our former President, Dick Marriott, was in Thurmont, Maryland to help install it. Ed’s brother Jim’s Ryland Homes purchased thousands of 28 ft. trusses built on two Hall of Famers’ Glide-Away, namely Joe Hikel and his father Dwight (who passed away).
By the 1980s, when increasing truss complexity was challenging the Mark 8, it reached a new milestone in the truss industry’s production competition promoted by the late Don Carlson in his Automated Builder magazine. Owners of Glide-Aways across the country competed to build the largest number of stock trusses in an eight-hour shift. I observed Dickie Vail’s first record of 628 trusses at ABC in Monroe, Louisiana in 1981. As other CMs attempted to outdo Dickie, he bounced back two years later and took the crown with an astonishing 1017 trusses, or 2.2 trusses per minute, or 2260 board ft. per man-hr.
In the late 1990s, Shelter Systems and MiTek embarked on a joint project to improve the capabilities of the Mark 8. Ironically, after a considerable investment, we just couldn’t outdo the original design. So, Joe Hikel turned to other technologies to boost production. First, he introduced laser technology to speed setups. And in 2005, in a brand new facility, he deployed side-loading forklifts to deliver cut parts to setups and he installed shop-floor computer technology to control production. His operation illustrates the overriding importance of material handling. Once setup time is minimized, production depends on the time to feed material to the jig. In Joe’s operation, cut lumber is supplied rapidly by those lifts and positioned perfectly, within a few feet of their ultimate destination. Truss builders move material a distance considerably shorter than any table system. This time savings more than offsets the time to walk the Mark 8 around the jig. Material handling is the key to the continuing value of the Mark 8 system.
Though the Mark 8 is largely forgotten today, it gave our company credibility in hundreds of truss plants across the country. No other machine challenged its truss production record. And it generated the capital that enabled us to develop many other component industry innovations. When CMs benefitted from MiTek equipment, they were more likely to buy our plates, software, and engineering services. These four pillars eventually compounded into our billion dollar business of today.
Next Month:
Are Vertical Presses Better?