A
Th e
Component Manufacturing dverti$ dverti $ er
Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
January 2022 #14270 Page #10
Adverti$$er
Sixty Years of Machines Part XXVI: Competing in Columbus Joe Kannapell
T
wo linear saws were set to battle one other at BCMC: Alpine’s, never having operated in a truss plant, vs. TCT’s, running in 10 truss plants. But few expected the competition at the 2002 Show. Alpine’s entry was the result of a crash effort, largely behind the scenes, to one-up the TCT. The TCT had proven itself mainly in Florida but wasn’t well known elsewhere. And although the two saws were within eyesight of each other on the Columbus, Ohio show floor, the TCT wasn’t well positioned, buried in the back of Klaisler’s booth. But as activity accelerated on the Show floor, most attendees were drawn into this unanticipated rivalry, and they quickly got up to speed on the contenders. A lot had happened since the TCT debuted at the Louisville Show in 2001. Housing starts had risen 15%, CMs were busy, and several would be buying machinery at BCMC; how much was yet to be determined. Some were deterred by the sticker shock of seeing new equipment breach the $100,000 mark. And many were distracted by the allure of the computerized component saws, which only recently had come of age. The sheer bulk of Koskovich’s Auto Omni, MiTek’s Cyber, and Alpine’s AutoMill displays, and their imposing 30-inch blades, dwarfed the closed boxes of the TCT and Alpine linear saws. Those without a linear saw in their booth sought to deflect interest in them by touting output volumes, conveniently omitting productivity per man hour discussions. Even Alpine may have inadvertently confused some saw prospects by displaying an upgraded component saw, the AutoMill SC, next to their linear saw. Meanwhile, Jim Urmson’s TCTs were now being shipped across the country, and CMs were doing things they’d never before done with them. Users discovered that they could buy long lengths of #3 2x4s
Continued next page
PHONE: 800-289-5627
Read/Subscribe online at www.componentadvertiser.com
FAX: 800-524-4982