Who will step forward to direct the increasing automation of our truss plants? Only the best qualified need apply. For example, people with the discipline of Dick Rotto, the in-plant experience of John Houlihan, and the analytical skills of Keith Fell. Each of whom possessed unique abilities gained through both formal education and experience. And each of whom set examples worth emulating. Houlihan’s and Rotto’s legacy persists, even decades after their industry departure. Keith Fell’s accomplishments are less well-known, but they’re just beginning to gain broader recognition.
John Houlihan came to us after decades of time-and-motion study experience in unrelated manufacturing plants. From those industries he brought us concepts of “Reasonable Expectancies (REs)” and “Scheduling Units.” He first worked to develop labor standards in Don Hershey’s Chicago truss plant, propelling it to market leadership. Soon thereafter he aided Dick Rotto’s Trussway Houston plant to achieve comparable success. And still later he helped the plant where I worked, Truss & Component Co. in San Antonio, to implement metrics for truss scheduling. Subsequently, as business dried up, he returned and developed “man-minutes per piece” and “man-minutes per joint,” factors to expedite our truss pricing. Later these became default parameters in most truss design programs.
Though Dick Rotto had no prior industry experience, he created the most dominant and enduring truss company in history. After teaming up with Charlie Barns, inventor of the Barns Trailer, he launched his Houston startup chiefly on his own in an empty warehouse 250 miles away. Armed with his Industrial Engineering Degree from Southern Methodist University, and later supplemented with Houlihan methodology, he rapidly expanded across Texas. Dick was highly analytical and a tough taskmaster, but he achieved remarkable results. When Texas housing collapsed, he shipped trusses literally across the country, and subsequently established multiple additional locations that continue to burnish his legacy.
Keith Fell brought to our business an Industrial Engineering Degree and a plethora of plant management experiences, in industries as diverse as footwear in Pennsylvania and metal tubing in Germany. He established two highly successful NVR/Ryan Homes’ component plants: the first near Pittsburgh and the second 350 miles across Pennsylvania in Delanco, NJ. With this firm foundation he took on the formidable task of managing premier homebuilder Toll Brothers’ multiple manufacturing plants. Keith infused this business with his oft-repeated mantra, “give me the data and I’ll figure out how best to apply it.” This he demonstrated by retooling Toll’s plants, installing just-in-time scheduling, and liberating millions of dollars in working capital.
These expert engineers transformed much of component manufacturing: Dick Rotto on multi-family projects and Keith Fell on single-family housing. And John Houlihan built the foundation for labor management upon which Dick, Keith, and hundreds of CMs have built successful businesses. Now, who will be next to step forward and bring comparable credentials and ingenuity to our component plants?