Unistrut New Mexico to Equipment Support Systems
A History of Our Family Business

by David White, President

People frequently ask how I started Equipment Support Systems and how I chose medical equipment supports as our specialty. When I look back, it seems only natural. Here is a brief history of Unistrut and our history in the industry.

A Brief History of Unistrut

Invented around 1920 by Charles Attwood, the Unistrut Metal Framing System was originally referred to as the Attwood System of Frame Construction. His company, DECELECO INC. was later changed to Unistrut Corporation. The original design came from a specific need for efficiently mounting electrical components in large electrical cabinets. The key was development of the Unistrut channel and Unistrut nut. Although developed for electrical applications, Mr. Attwood envisioned using his product for almost any application requiring a structural support frame designed and built in the field. He realized the vast number of applications in construction and industry and began developing a broad range of Unistrut channel, nuts, hardware, fittings and brackets to increase product versatility. One application he developed was a wall framing system. In order to be compatible with standard industry materials, he designed Unistrut channel to be 1-5/8" wide x 1-5/8" deep, the same thickness as a common 2 x 4 stud. This was the origin of the 1-5/8" Unistrut channel dimension now used by strut manufacturers worldwide. As a proof-of-concept project, he constructed an office building at Unistrut Corporation using Unistrut channel as the wall framing material. The building is still in use.

Although "Unistrut" is a registered trade name and product trademark, many architects, engineers, contractors and industrial users now use "unistrut" as a generic term for any version of metal framing system that resembles the Unistrut product. Several manufacturers now produce high quality strut products that are equal to Unistrut-made products. However, some poorly made versions do exist, so customers should find out who manufactures the "unistrut" they are using. Many sales clerks do not know what brand of strut they sell, or that there is a difference.

As the versatility of the Unistrut system became more well known, the metal framing industry began producing similar products using other materials. It is now possible to get stainless steel Unistrut, aluminum Unistrut and fiberglass Unistrut.

Logo: Mr. Strut

Unistrut Trivia

Here are a couple of trivia questions. We will post guesses and correct answer when received:

Who created the Mr. Strut^® comic character (shown at left) that Unistrut Corporation uses as one of its trademarks? Answer: Walt Disney, whom Charles Attwood knew personally (There's a lot of Unistrut at Disneyland). The original conceptual drawing was on a cocktail napkin, which I once heard is kept in a safe at Unistrut Corporation headquarters.

Who showed Unistrut Corporation how to combine the attributes of Telespar telescoping tubing and Unistrut channel to create a new product line without major re-tooling and inventory, thereby inventing Unistrut's Telestrut system? Answer: David White, during a BOGGTTAMSC meeting organized and hosted by Mark Malfese, president of Unistrut Corporation at the time. Here's an additional trivia question: What do the initials "BOGGTTAMSC" stand for?

History of a Family Business

Dad Started It All - Unistrut New Mexico and Unistrut El Paso

My father, Al White, was a salesman for Armco Steel and transferred from Denver to Albuquerque in 1960 to work the NM market. In 1968, Armco wanted to transfer Al back to Denver. He decided to start his own business instead. He had seen Unistrut channel used in the field on some of his projects and saw the potential to build a distribution business around the product. Not many knew about or truly recognized the potential uses for the product, so Unistrut was still a "new" product. Unistrut Corporation would not grant a new distributorship in New Mexico, so Al bought an interest in Landes, Zachary & Peterson, a small El Paso, Texas wholesale distributor that served the west TX and NM markets. One of their products was Unistrut Metal Framing.

With LZ&P backing, Al opened a shop in Albuquerque to cover New Mexico, renting an office and warehouse space from the Mayhew Company, located at Edith and I-25. Albuquerque and the scientific labs were growing rapidly and Unistrut's other premier product, Telespar Telescoping Tubing, was also perfect for the territory. Sales were good, so Al found more space at a customer's warehouse, set up a mobile home for an office, and continued growing. Within a few years, Al's business volume had grown enough that Unistrut Corporation was convinced he was qualified to be a distributor. In 1972, he purchased LZ&P's interest in the Albuquerque distributorship, bought some land in Albuquerque along I-25 north of Montgomery, and opened Unistrut New Mexico in his first buildings. A few years later, he purchased land in El Paso, TX, bought out LZ&P's Unistrut interest in El Paso and opened Unistrut El Paso at the Kastrin Street location. He added onto the Albuquerque buildings several times. We never relocated Unistrut New Mexico or Unistrut El Paso after that.

The Whole Family

When Al started the business in 1968, I was seven years old and my brother, Jim, was ten. With our mom, Rose, doing double-duty as homemaker and company bookkeeper, Jim and I spent a lot of time in the warehouse tinkering with Unistrut channel, spring nuts, fittings and hardware. We counted hardware for Dad, and did a little packaging. When big projects came up, we all worked long hours in the shop together, cutting and bundling channel, stuffing concrete insert and pulling fittings, spring nuts, and hardware.

As we grew, Jim and I worked after school and during summers. He did shop work and became well versed in fabrication and installation, leading many of our installations. I did office work and some shop work, learning how bookkeeping related to the movement of products out the door. During high school and college, I worked in the shop and on jobsites a lot more, handling more product lines, fabricating and installing.

One application that became a specialty of ours was medical equipment supports. We developed designs for x-ray supports, surgical and exam light supports, CT scan injector supports, monitor supports, surgical boom supports and more. We designed and installed overhead supports for almost every type of ceiling-mounted medical equipment available.

Painful Transitions

After graduating from Colorado State University in 1983 with a B.S. in Business, I helped Jim start Uni-Fab, a custom steel fabrication division of the corporation. Al was still president of the corporation and had hired general managers for Unistrut New Mexico and Unistrut El Paso, allowing him to help Jim start Uni-Fab.

In March 1984, the Unistrut NM manager resigned and Al promoted me to general manager. I had not been active in Unistrut's management, so I had to catch up quickly and soon discovered some problem projects and needed to redesign failing procedures. Naturally, some employees had hard feelings and we lost several sales and support personnel. All that remained were a desk clerk, a bookkeeper and me. We needed to fabricate, deliver and install many open orders, and deal with open quotations and projects that were half-sold. Without trained sales reps, warehousemen, fabricators and installers, it was difficult.

We rebuilt and had five good years, but the market was changing. Even though our competitors' sales prices were lower than our purchase costs, Unistrut Corporation raised prices, keeping us from making material-only sales to a very price-conscious customer base. When Tyco International acquired Unistrut, they restructured the Telespar Telescoping Tubing product line, virtually destroying that part of our business as well. We continued to lose Unistrut and Telespar tubing sales, even from loyal customers. We had to focus on installed work and other product lines. In El Paso, poor sales and embezzlement by key employees forced the closure of Unistrut El Paso in 1993.

Restructure or Sell?

By mid 1994, we needed to close the company or end our relationship with Unistrut and restructure. One of our employees, Doug Hubby, wanted to buy and restructure the company, so he sought financing and purchased the company, renaming it Universal Storage & Strut. He initially worked with Globe-Strut and PHD, but finally settled on Superstrut. He hired me to evaluate other business opportunities he was interested in and to handle project management, design work and installer training. Unable to create enough sales to cover financing, Mr. Hubby closed and liquidated Universal Storage & Strut in February 1997. There was no longer a local company able to design, supply, cut, fabricate and install strut.

Starting Over - DMW Enterprises

With twenty-nine years of experience, I created a new business, focusing on what we did best - understanding customer needs, designing solutions, and building them. I established DMW Enterprises as a sole proprietorship with a NM Contractor's license, and a vision to serve New Mexico, Arizona and west Texas. I took care of our existing customers who had open orders after the shutdown, and kept pursuing new projects and building my business.

Because high-quality material is critical to the success of projects, our first priority was building a relationship with a high-quality strut manufacturer. We determined that both B-Line and Power-Strut are now equivalent to Unistrut (straightness, squareness, strength, consistency and finish), and their pricing strategy is good for our customers. So we narrowed the field and pursued B-Line and Power-Strut, as well as maintaining our sources for Unistrut. Other manufacturers had competitive pricing, but their quality was unsatisfactory for our applications.

For two years, we worked with a B-Line distributor and did well for both companies. Unfortunately, they switched to Superstrut, whose range of accessories and quality of some key components was inadequate for our applications, so we reviewed our options. We established a solid relationship with a different distributor capable of providing both B-Line and Power-Strut. We negotiated a pricing structure that was good for them, for us, and for our customers. Because of the cost advantages, we prepared most of our designs around B-Line and Power-Strut and we enjoyed our relationship with their regional sales representatives. We continued to work with Unistrut as well, so we could meet almost any customer's requirements.

On We Grow - Equipment Support Systems

Starting over was difficult, but customer satisfaction and repeat business makes it worthwhile. Our success demonstrates that customers need more than a catalog, a price list, and some inventory. They need us to understand their application and to provide the services of design, cutting, fabrication, delivery and installation.

With freedom to select the best manufacturers, and without the distraction and high overhead of distributing many product lines, we fulfill customer needs with reasonable pricing. In the process, we have gained experience using Unistrut, B-Line, PowerStrut, Superstrut, Globe-Strut and PHD strut. This helps us perform conversions quickly and easily.

In September 1999, after 18 months of success, we restructured the business as a corporation and created Equipment Support Systems.

In 2006, we established a great relationship with a nationwide distributor capable of providing Unistrut products, with price and service levels that are better than the sources we had for both B-Line and Power-Strut. The relationship is good for them, for us, and for our customers. Because of these advantages, we now prepare most of our designs around Unistrut products, which have always been among the best in the industry. Naturally, we keep the door open to B-Line and PowerStrut products to continue to meet our customers' requirements. (Note - In 2007, our supplier was purchased by an even larger company, giving them more buying power. Our relationship with them has continued to strengthen.)

We have successfully expanded our installation services into Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming. We have even reviewed several projects in Missouri. Our client base now includes several nationwide building contractors and construction managers. We have also sold materials to customers across the country. To our new customers, and to our growing repeat customer base, we say, "Thank you. Because of you, the future of our company looks brighter than ever."

Side Notes

My brother Jim now works for a fabrication company, building huge components for the mining and similar industries (i.e. truck beds for for coal mining dump trucks, large tanks, etc.). He also owns a small custom steel and metals fabrication business.

Doug Hubby pursued a fast-paced career in the signpost industry. Building on his Telespar Tubing experience, he worked with several different manufacturers over a four-year period. He got out of the rat race and settled down in a quiet little town to raise his family. Unwilling to sit still for very long, he is now a co-owner of two dairies with approximately 3,000 head of cattle. He also co-owns a livestock feed testing laboratory.

About six months before I started DMW Enterprises, Unistrut Corporation opened a corporate-owned service center in Albuquerque. They closed after less than two years, leaving just a salesman in El Paso. After about nine months, he was gone as well.

Even though they were located in very large metropolitan areas, Tyco basically decided they no longer want to be a Unistrut distributor, but just a Unistrut metal framing manufacturer with a few national distibution warehouses and manufacturer's representatives. Consequently, Unistrut Corporation has closed service centers across the country. Most of the remaining sites are now just manufacturer's sales offices, selling materials to independent distributors. In our region, there are no more large inventories at Unistrut Arizona (Phoenix, AZ), Unistrut Intermountain (Salt Lake City, UT), Unistrut Texas (Arlington (Dallas), TX), Unistrut Gulf (Houston, TX), Unistrut Midwest (Kansas City, MO),or Unistrut Oklahoma (Oklahoma City and Tulsa, OK). They even pulled a lot of inventory out of southern California! Now, with the exception of the remaining "old school" independent Unistrut Service Centers, most Unistrut channel fittings, spring nuts, and accessories are sold by distributors with very little design expertise. In the process of these changes, Unistrut removed themselves from much of the installation business. In our area alone, they allowed their contractor's licenses to lapse in New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada.

Written by David White
If you have any corrections, please send them to me.
Copyright ©2003-2007 David M. White. All rights reserved.

This article uses several registered trade names and trademarks in this document. The markings ® and ™ were left off for readability, but they are acknowledged on our legal notes web page.

Metal Framing Strut System Distributor / Dealer for the Southwest Region
Serving NM, AZ, CO, TX, OK, KS, WY, MO
We design, supply, fabricate and install

Equipment Support Systems™

7617 Vista Del Arroyo Ave NE
Albuquerque, NM 87107
Ph: (505)291-8466
Website: www.EquipmentSS.com

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Unistrut New Mexico to Equipment Support Systems A History of Our Family Business