Celebrating 15 years of providing building truss systems for floors and roofs, Manitoba’s Prairie Truss could be a classic example of doing well the things that matter the most in business.

“Customer service is number one,” says President and CEO Jake Maendel, who doesn’t equivocate when asked for a quick overview of his company’s success. “The second is quality product and the third competitive pricing.”

The company could be a textbook study in focusing on the fundamentals, the nuts and bolts of any successful business, and doing them well. It has been a winning formula for the enterprising young company which practises what it theorizes. On any given Saturday, the shop floor may be as busy as any week day, all in the name of good customer service and growth.

“I think good customer service works today more than ever before,” says Maendel, whose son Joel seconds the thought.

Joel Maendel, who is also the general manager of Prairie Truss, tells the story of a job site in Saskatchewan where a company’s trusses failed (due to faulty installation procedures) and the owner of the 70-foot by 200-foot farm building needed them replaced right away. The company swung into action, and Prairie Truss had the new trusses on the trucks and on the way to the owner within three days.

“The owner said that he had called other companies before he called us just to see how fast he could get the product,” says Joel.

“He was told it would take three weeks, but then he called us, and said, ‘This is what happened, how fast can you get the new trusses out?’ and we got the new trusses out there in three days,” he adds. “Everybody else would have taken three weeks. There was a mishap for which we were not to blame, but we accommodated him quickly,” says the general manager.

“I don’t think there’s one company out there that will work on Saturdays,” says the president. “Our company here, on the manufacturing side, we go six days a week year round. So this is a plus for some customers.”

The company can also work overtime, says the CEO, but doesn’t promote the practice. “But if something happens, even if the customer is to blame, we will take care of this problem immediately. None of our competitors can do that because of their schedule,” explains Jake.

The company, with about 25 workers, supplies entire truss systems to a variety of markets from individual buyers to a network of dealers throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and North Dakota. The products find their way into a variety of residential, farm and commercial buildings.

Prairie Truss supplies people with floor and truss systems, says Matt Guenther, designer and advertising manager. A floor system includes the floor truss, the beam package, the hangers and any other parts that might be needed for wood web or I-joist systems. There are similar packages for roof truss systems.

All the trusses must get a seal from a certified engineer before they are assembled and sent to the customers. “All trusses must meet the building code set by the NBC of Canada (National Building Code Association),” says Guenther.

“The only difference with Prairie Truss is we focus on quality in our product. We will give attention to trying to find a way to provide our customer with a truss that may even be stronger and more durable than the code calls for at the same price, if possible. It is one of the ways Prairie Truss tries to go the extra mile for our customers.”

"The trusses are trucked to markets from the plant located just seven miles north of Stonewall, Man., by the company’s own fleet of trucks, and importantly", says Guenther, Prairie Truss has also invested in another valuable service for clients. A versatile, truck-mounted forklift enables the company to unload trusses for its clients.

“Where the customer may have had to rent equipment to do this, or possibly hire a service to do this, we now offer this to all our customers to help make their lives a little bit easier,” says Guenther.

While the company is versatile enough to supply product to individuals, it won’t undercut its own dealers. “If there’s a dealer there, we will tell the customer to go to the dealer,” says the president.

“We want to make sure we’re not under-quoting,” adds the general manager. Guenther says the company takes care to respect the ongoing relationships with the dealers because they are important to the company’s success. “We know that our relationships with resellers are pinnacle in importance to us,” says Guenther.

The company also recently initiated a time management system that will help it track its production in the interest of superior customer service. “When a customer calls for information on the progress of their order, at a glance we can see when their order has been scheduled for delivery,” says Guenther.

Embarking on the next 15 years, the company envisions more growth and continued strong customer service. It welcomes the opportunity to set up more dealerships where practical.

“We’re very open to accommodating customers who have problems,” says the president. “That’s part of our service here to really give our customers service so that they are comfortable dealing with Prairie Truss. Even if it’s their mistake, we want to get at it quickly so as to not add fuel to the fire. We like to put out the fires while they are still small.”