From the quirky advance of truss machinery described in my Sixty Years of Machines series, one might conclude that we’re a quirky industry. We may be, but innovation in truss manufacturing is no different than advancement in U.S. industry in general. And, in fact, we are the epitome of innovation as described by economist Niall Ferguson:
“(Innovation is) characterized by seemingly random mutation, occasional speciation, and differential survival… creative destruction.”
To name only a few examples, that definition applies to us in these ways:
Random Mutation (unpredictable changes that produce significant advantages) –
- Art DePauw’s saw with motor-driven angulation was a (superior) “mutation” of the hand-cranked saws of Clary and Idaco, stimulating Clary to develop the Master Saw and Idaco to create the International Saw.
- Jerry Koskovich’s Auto-Omni was a “mutation” of those saws and advanced the technology even farther.
Speciation (formation of a new “species”) –
- Linear Saw: Jim Urmson’s TCT saw inspired an entirely new series of cutters, and his method of feeding the saw with carts was adopted for the next big step:
- Lumber Retrieval: Steve Aylsworth created Wood Runner (now RangerRS) and changed the way that all saws are fed.
Differential Survival (navigating who will survive the highs and lows) –
Housing’s up and down cycles have devastated truss equipment producers. In the first half of our 60 years of machinery, many were forced out of business. Those that did survive benefited from the 1990 to 2006 housing runup. But, even during this prosperous period, the few that remained had to balloon their overhead to keep up with new technology. Some, like Truswal, demurred and exited the machinery business entirely. Others, like Alpine, cut engineering staff by 75%. But both companies undoubtedly thanked their lucky stars as the Great Recession of 2007–2009 made machinery sales nearly disappear. MiTek, contrarily, having built a 178,000 square foot machinery factory late in this expansion, may very well have shuttered it if Dick Marriott hadn’t intervened.
The following is just a sampling of the machinery manufacturer consolidations over the past 60 years:
- DePauw, Panel-Clip, Gang-Nail, Hydro-Air, Interlock Steel, Koskovich, and Robbins became part of MiTek
- Sanford, Clary, Speed-Cut, and Lumbermate became part of Alpine
- J D Adams and Truswal equipment, Klaisler, and Square One became part of Spida
The Path Before Us
From c-clamps to gantries, from rail-driven to trackless, and from wood blocs to auto-pucks, truss assembly has come a long way. From hand-cranked to powered, from four heads to six to one, from hand-picked to auto-fed, sawing has seemed to advance even further. And finally, from carts to conveyors to robots, material handling and integration will continue to move forward over the next 60 years, deterred only by the peril of the cyclicality of the housing business.