With more than 70 years in operation, Louws Truss is no stranger to innovation. Third-generation owner and President BJ Louws said the company, founded by his grandfather, started out as a general construction company and then a lumberyard. Seeing a need in the area, the company began building trusses in the late 70s.
At the time, the company was small, but strong and family-based, which Louws said has helped the company survive through the decades.
“One of the stories I like is my grandmother—she passed away last year—but she would always complain, because they used to have the supervisor meetings in her kitchen, and she would make them breakfast and coffee, and they would wear their dirty boots into her kitchen. Even at 93 years old, she was still mad about that.”
Today, the Washington-based company is an independent truss manufacturer, specializing in roof and floor trusses for residential, commercial, and agricultural projects. Louws took over as president in 2011, going on to become the company’s sole owner, overseeing about 160 employees and four locations in Burlington, Ferndale, Cashmere, and Lacey.
Louws said he hadn’t expected to build a career in the industry, but having the opportunity to oversee a sector of the industry that combines so many processes into one piqued his natural curiosity.
“I was resistant to coming into this business, because I thought it was boring. With component manufacturing, we’re in [the] construction industry from a supply perspective, but we’re not building houses,” he said. “But [here,] we’re doing design and engineering, and then we’re also manufacturing. And then we’re also delivering our trusses with crane trucks. And it ends up, when you put all those things together, being just a very dynamic industry. There are companies that do those things individually, and we’re doing them all together.”
Building toward the future
Having begun work with the company at the start of the Great Recession, Louws said finding innovative ways to increase efficiency has been key to staying afloat and at the forefront of the industry.
“I came into the business in July 2007, which was not a great time to enter the housing industry. We had to do everything we could to survive. I came in as a manager, but also I was out building trusses and running saws and doing my management job just to keep the lights on. That really honed me as a leader, and got me into thinking that efficiency and innovation around what we do is really important.”
With that in mind, Louws said the company spent the next several years improving processes, and in 2022, Louws Truss debuted its new robotic roof truss assembly plant, one of only a handful in the U.S.
In addition to streamlining the company’s manufacturing process, Louws said the robotic system has also had the unexpected, but welcome, effect of improving employee retention, a not insignificant feat during a time of labor shortages and high turnover in the industry.
“It is more efficient, and it provides a higher quality product than we’re able to do manually as well. And there’s still a lot of people involved in manufacturing trusses, but it allows us to leverage the folks that we have,” he said. “I think it creates a better work environment too. So for the employee retention side, there’s excitement around working with advanced technology in a manufacturing location. We’ve seen less turnover in our plant since we’ve put the robotic line in.”
Partnering to expand resources
During a time where the industry has seen an increase in consolidation, Louws said strategizing for the future and continuing education has become more important than ever.
“We’re an independent truss manufacturer, and any independent is looking at how they can remain viable in an industry that is rapidly consolidating. It was a strategic initiative of ours, from over a decade ago, to get much larger over time, so that we could afford the technology that’s coming along. Not every truss plant can go out and buy a multi-million dollar piece of machinery to gain some efficiency.”
Beyond production, the company is a longtime member of the Northwest Truss Fabricators Association—with which Louws serves on the board of directors—as well as several industry associations. Louws said the company is also committed to working with organizations dedicated to relieving homelessness and food insecurity in the Western Washington region.
In addition to technology investments, Louws said the company’s partnership with LMC has been key to helping Louws Truss stay informed in the industry while leveraging the co-op’s buying power. The company has been with LMC since 2006.
“We use them to buy lumber from mills that are in our backyard, but they allow us the purchasing power of a very large organization. We’re just able to swing above our weight with them.”
Louws said the partnership with LMC also allows the company to participate in roundtable discussions with other companies, giving them more insight in the industry and the opportunity to compare best practices.
Looking forward, Louws Truss anticipates opening a second robotics line to further expand production, he said. “We’re trying to push the envelope, and people want to be a part of the vision that we have, and that’s been really cool. It does show people that we’re looking forward and trying to move forward, or doing everything we can to be on the front edge. Our company vision statement is, ‘Building an industry- leading company where everyone wins.’ So we want to be on the forefront of what’s going on. We want all of our decisions to have a positive impact on our employees, our clients, our community, and on our vendors.”
Get to know Louws Truss
Year founded: 1952
Ownership: Family
Locations: 4
Employees: 160
Buying group/co-op: LMC
