About Wood Structures Inc.

We got into the truss business in 1966 as part of a franchise program created by Weyerhaeuser Co., the world's largest lumber manufacturer. The program, which was marketed to wall panel manufacturing companies for sale to contractors, provided all the pre-constructed, prepackaged materials necessary to build a house-including structural components such as trusses. The program sparked the interest of Bill Alcorn and his employer, Deering Lumber Co. of Biddeford, Maine. Together, with other stockholders, they launched Wood Structures to market the manufactured house packages.

For more than 10 years, we operated from a site directly behind Deering Lumber. Back in those days, most lumber yards made their own trusses during slow times when employees had little else to do. Recognizing an untapped market, we began manufacturing roof trusses as a sideline business to raise capital and improve our cash flow. Wood Structures, meanwhile, sold nearly 100 house packages. But by 1970, as a recession began to take hold in New England, the packaged-home program was discontinued by Weyerhaeuser.

Our truss-building operation, however, continued to grow as more contractors recognized the time savings and flexibility afforded by prefabricated trusses. Soon, by selling wholesale and not competing with lumber yards for retail business, we developed a loyal following among 20 to 25 lumber firms and dealers in southern Maine.

In 1976, Bill Alcorn bought Wood Structures from his partners and moved the operation to our present site in Biddeford's Alfred Road Industrial Park. The truss manufacturing plant was relocated to Saco in 1986. 

Alcorn sold Wood Structures in 1995 to David B. Gould, then president; Frank G. Paul, vice president of sales; Jeffrey J. True, then chief financial officer - and to Metapoint Partners, a national investment firm in Massachusetts.

In late 1998, The WSI Group, comprising Wood Structures and Bama Truss, was purchased by The Harbour Group of St. Louis, Missouri. Today The WSI Group of Companies is now a part of Roark Capital Group of Atlanta,Ga. www.roarkcapital.com

Our trusses and other engineered products have been used in thousands of residential and commercial buildings, from northern Maine to eastern New York. As we prepare to meet construction needs well into the next century, we remain committed to the philosophy that has proven successful over the past 34 years: manufacturing quality products; providing unsurpassed customer service; and approaching every aspect of our business with honesty, integrity and hard work.