New Owners Discuss the Art of “Lean Management”
When an intrigued Glenn Cleland first walked through the Tyler Truss plant last summer, it was the smallest thing that caught his attention. “The quality of the weld on the trussing caught my eye,” he says. “I started closely looking at those welds and talked about it to the people who did the work. They were proud of it, and that meant a lot to me.” During that same walk-through, Cleland also gleaned what good shape the company was in. “Mark and [wife] Wanda did a wonderful job,” he says. “The quality was just excellent, and the strong reputation was well-deserved, and we emphasize that every day to our people.”
Cleland became sold on Tyler Truss, and bought it. Then calls were made, bringing in an executive team he had worked with before in the automotive parts business. And that team also got what makes Tyler great — but saw some ways to make it better, too. “The improvement we’ll be applying is simply the idea of lean manufacturing,” says Cleland. “We will build on the positive culture in place and create an even more motivated atmosphere to take a good company and make it great through quality, innovation, and service.”
But let’s back up a bit. In 2004, with just a handful of others, Mark Dodd started Tyler Truss. It grew to be one of the world’s leading truss manufacturers with its products an integral part of many tours, concerts, and shows of all kind. Dodd also leads Dodd Technologies, a live event/production company, and last year he decided to lighten his load a bit by finding the right person to sell the truss company to. At first glance, Cleland might not seem like a likely choice as, prior to taking over, he had spent his entire successful career as CEO/owner of Magna-Tech Manufacturing and other manufacturing businesses. Though to him, it’s the most natural transition. “I spent my life being an entrepreneur, having started a company when I was 21,” Cleland explains. That company was Glenn Battery Inc., which served the automotive retail business, and his innovative approach to selling was so successful the big automotive supply chains adapted his methods. He would sell that company in 1991 and “retire” for the first time. He next formed a private equity group that took on Magna-Tech, a sales and service provider of high-performance casting and sealed electronic solutions primarily for the automotive industry. “It grew to seven facilities, including one in Canada and a joint venture one in Mexico.” Clients included GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota and Honda. In 2012, he sold that and again “retired.”
Putting the Band Back Together
Last year, he became more than a little intrigued when he learned of Tyler Truss. “This seemed like a business we could come in and have fun running and growing,” he says. “When I walked around the plant, in addition to appreciating all that was going on, I saw ways to improve upon it. I knew the people who I could bring in, people who have an innate ability to tap into people and get the very best out of them. There was a sound base to start with, so the exciting proposition for us was to use their talents to the fullest and continue to capture market share.”
Externally, Cleland saw an excellent company serving the live event community with professionals creating products, and wisely, he planned to do little to that aspect other than support it. Internally, however, his experience running manufacturing businesses in other industries allowed him to take a serious look in the execution of it all. To make it happen, he “put the band back together” in terms of talent from his previous endeavors. “This was a great opportunity to bring in some very good people starting with Marc [Johnson] as COO.”
“This is the first time I’ve worked in the entertainment business, but I’ve been in the manufacturing industry for 25-plus years,” says Johnson. He worked with Magna-Tech starting in 1992 right out of college sealing small porosity in aluminum castings, and worked his way up from there. Calls also went out to his former CFO, controller and others. Tellingly, all heeded the call and took him up on the opportunity to apply their manufacturing company experience to the trussing industry. “From my experience, we just saw a lot of opportunity to institute lean management, and we’ve already reduced lead time,” Johnson adds. Another key ingredient was bringing in longtime live event industry executive Bill Edwards as vice president of sales and marketing. Edwards had worked for Tyler from 2004 to 2010.
With all the people in place, what “lean manufacturing” will mean to customers will find Tyler a smoother-running operation more focused on deadlines. Otherwise, they will continue to create new products based on customer’s needs, and in fact have a few in the works already, though it was too early to say what they were.
Dedication
“We just want everyone to know that we’re dedicated to this business, dedicated to maintaining the quality of the products, and dedicated to growing the business,” Cleland says. “Also, more than ever, Tyler Truss has the ability and talent to take on special projects for people needing something especially great. In general, we’re going to be progressive in the market, but we won’t do it at a cost of quality and delivery. If you want a high-quality product that is going to perform and want it on time, we’re the people to deal with.”
“We will continue to be made in the U.S.A., everything being built right here at our factory in Indiana,” Johnson adds. “We make our own parts, do our own machine work, and what little is out-sourced is also made in the U.S.”
“We’re really excited about this business,” Cleland concludes. “It’s fun, and we’ve really enjoyed getting to know the people who we’ve met. I’m also pleased we get a lot of good reviews and gratitude back. We will be taking this to new highs.”
For more information from Tyler Truss Systems go to www.tylertruss.com
