A second sales pro reacted to Jim Urmson’s Florida saw blitz, the redoubtable (now deceased) Jere Broedling. Few knew Florida CMs better than Jere, first as Gang Nail’s sales manager, then as Bemax salesman, and finally as a MiTek rep. Like Randy Yost, he relentlessly prodded his company to respond to Urmson’s success. Finally, after ALS’s strong showing at the 2002 BCMC, MiTek assented and cut a 3-year deal repping the TCT. And Dick Marriott, MiTek’s VP of Sales, figured that the best way to sell the TCT was to follow Jim Urmson’s Florida example, but to do it nationwide.
Urmson’s best success came from rolling his saw into prospects’ plants and proving its productivity. So, Marriott enlisted MiTek’s best saw technician, Marc James (now VP of National Accounts) to take the TCT “out of the box” and demo its prowess. Marc was the perfect pick, having installed and serviced Cyber Saws across the USA. He promptly procured a truck, trailer, and tools, and hit the road to learn from Jim Urmson at his Mt. Dora, Florida shop. Not long thereafter, he loaded up a TCT, traveled 70 miles to Adams Building Materials, and began his first demo. Ironically, at the same time, in May 2003, the first ALS was being “demoed” by Tom Mabry’s Production Truss, just a few hours further down the road.
[I witnessed the effectiveness of onsite demos 20 years earlier when Truswal trucked their new Roll-Splicer into our San Antonio plant, hooked up to power, and began spewing out perfectly spliced truss chords. After watching for just a few minutes, our owner, Ricks Wilson, handed over a check for the $5000 full price. When Wilson told us to unload the splicer from his trailer, the Truswal rep strenuously objected, saying he had scheduled a full slate of appointments. Wilson retorted, “You accepted payment, and the splicer is now in our possession.” That’s how powerful a road show can be!]
After a whole month in Florida, and over the next two years, Marc demoed in 35 states, British Columbia, and in the parking lot of a motel. His efforts were further boosted when MiTek displayed the TCT at two BCMCs. All told, over 100 TCTs were sold, most of them as a result of Marc’s demos. And even though, by the end of this period, Alpine was busy taking ALS orders, TCT sales remained strong, proving that, by 2006, the linear saw had come of age.
However, Alpine’s “cut-everything” marketing did prompt TCT enhancements to cut wider boards and to do beveling, which was essential in Florida. Initially, running wider boards seemed to run contrary to Urmson’s original conception of a web saw. In the end though, he was able to accommodate 2x6’s with minimal complication, and this became his “1150” model. For jack beveling, Urmson offered a standalone beveler, sometimes referred to as a “pencil sharpener.” For beveling valley bottom chords, which wasn’t then commonplace, a table saw or a Baker band saw would have to suffice.
Considering all the linear saw momentum, are the days of the component saw numbered? I confess my previous bias, as I’ve witnessed MiTek sell over 1000 Easy Set and Cyber saws, and my sales literally sent my children to college. At the very least, component saws remain effective for repetitious work, especially attic bottom chords, according to Tom Hollinshed, owner of Comtech in Fayetteville. But little of this type of work remains for him after sequencing cutting output to minimize handling by build crews. In summary, the linear saw excels on shorter runs which facilitate better overall plant efficiency. In addition, as will be shown next, linear saws are the best way to physically connect the saws to the tables, arguably the first step in creating a totally automated truss production line.
Next Month:
Linear Saws Go with the Flow