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Component Manufacturing dverti$ dverti $ er
Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
Adverti$$er
April 2022 #14273 Page #10
Sixty Years of Machines Part XXIX: Linear Saws: Out of the Box Joe Kannapell
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.
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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!]
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