Editor's Message: An Unlikely Assist

American Truss in Houston, Texas is roughly 888 miles from Plum Building Systems in Osceola, Iowa. Under normal circumstances, it’s hard to imagine these two companies would have much reason to collaborate. Yet when Hurricane Harvey was bearing down on Houston last August, Jack Dermer (president of American Truss and, at the time, president of SBCA) was the first person Rick Parrino (general manager at Plum and 2015 SBCA President) thought to call.

“I needed advice, and I knew Jack could probably help me,” says Rick. He had recently purchased a used saw from Wheeler Lumber, which was a competitor until the Iowa plant closed and the company built a new manufacturing facility in Houston. “I had agreed to purchase [the saw] earlier in the summer, but they wanted to use it until September. So the saw was still in use down there when they announced Hurricane Harvey might hit Houston.” Rick got a call the day after the official weather warning, asking if he could pick it up that day.

Rick had already made arrangements for an Iowa company to pick up the saw in September, and they couldn’t accommodate the quick turnaround Rick suddenly needed. “Next, we called every trucking company we could find in Houston. They all told us nothing was being allowed into Houston that could cause a bottleneck for those evacuating.”

So Rick turned to Jack for guidance. “Jack and I have gotten to know each other really well over the years as we’ve served on the SBCA Board of Directors and the executive and membership committees. I trust and respect him, and I thought he could help me find someone local to move the equipment.” Rick was shocked at the response he got: Jack simply said he’d handle it. Even as he was preparing his own facility to weather the largest hurricane to hit the U.S. in over a decade, Jack sent one of his own drivers over to Wheeler and brought the saw back to his facility.

“He even brought it inside his plant and sent me pictures letting me know it was high and dry!” recalls Rick.

American Truss didn’t experience any significant damage, but the Wheeler plant wasn’t as fortunate. “After the hurricane, they told me they had two to three feet of water in their facility,” says Rick. “The saw would have been submerged for a while if Jack hadn’t helped us out.” When Plum's owners found out what Jack had done, they couldn’t believe it. “I told them that was one of the benefits of letting me participate in SBCA all these years,” Rick says. Being an active member of SBCA allowed him to build strong relationships with CMs around the country, and that kind of connection certainly came in handy in this situation.

Eventually, Rick was able to transport the saw to his plant in Osceola and get it up and running. “The saw is making a big difference, and I’ll never be able to look at it without thinking what a great guy Jack is,” says Rick. Without their participation in SBCA and mutual dedication to improving and growing the industry, it is unlikely Jack and Rick would have ever met, much less become good friends.

If you haven’t been participating in SBCA, consider starting in 2018. You never know when a relationship you build through the association might end up helping you and your business.