i“The CFI history is very
Walter Boyko, former CF&I employee and founder of Mill Valley
Splicing (1951). Photo courtesy of Jim Boyko.
had their first meeting to discuss the potential of starting a rigging fabricating association. Tis first meeting led to the founding of the Associated Wire Rope Fabricators (AWRF), an association that today brings together over 300 companies worldwide to address the needs and promote the interest of the “lifting, rigging and load securement industry.” Ken Kirby served as the first President of the AWRF. Chris Black, CEO of Certex USA, had
CF&I Wickwire Spencer facility in Palmer, MA
circa 1900. Photo courtesy of Jim Boyko, Mill Valley Splicing.
own campus with 12,000 square feet of manufacturing space. Today, Mill Valley Splicing is under
a third generation of family leadership. Walter’s sons, Jim and Richard, took over the business after him. Jim’s son Andrew currently acts as Treasurer and Director. He plans to lead the company forward, strengthening its products and services and continuing to offer high value to their customers.
KIRBY ROPES INTERNATIONAL/ CERTEX USA When Crane Co. took over CF&I, Ken Kirby and Jack and Kyle Driggs took the opportunity to leave CF&I and start their own new business. Tey established Kirby Ropes International, which performed strongly in the 1970s and 1980s. It was in 1975 that Jack Driggs, Ken
Kirby, Harry Truitt Sr. of Western Sling and a very small group of ten other businessmen
joined Kirby Ropes in Sales in1975. Black had the opportunity to see the effects of acquisitions and trades from his experience. Chris Black stayed with Kirby Ropes International for ten years through the oilfield downturn in 1983, when he left for an opportunity to run the Houston branch of Southwest Sling Center in 1985. Tis branch was the first acquisition of a rigging shop by Bridon, which later became 38 shops in the U.S. and 144 branches around the world. At around the same time, the assets of Kirby Ropes were purchased by Southwest Sling Center and liquidated. After Kirby Ropes International was closed, the Driggs brothers retired and Ken Kirby consulted for Southwest Sling Center, assisting in sales and production. In 2004, Bridon divested Certex and
Certex USA became privately owned. At that point, Chris Black, along with his partners Glenn Evans and Dee Schweigert, assumed ownership of the company. All of these acquisitions and sales of the company made Chris Black’s position quite interesting over this thirty-year period of constant change. However, Chris found that he learned a great deal from these challenges. It was a learning experience, he recalls, to have the chance to work for publicly traded companies and learn their best practices. Certex uses these best
nteresting… the changes back then really jump-started our
whole fabrication industry.” – Chris Black, Certex USA
practices in keeping its 29 North American locations, with almost 300 employees, running smoothly with a preeminent focus on customer service that traces its origins through Kirby Ropes all the way back to CF&I.
WESTERN SLING AND SUPPLY As Western Regional Manager for CF&I- Roebling West when Evans closed and liquidated the company, Harry Truitt, Sr. was able to do something unique. According to AWRF historian Don Sayenga, Harry was “one of the first to take something from Tomas Mellon Evans. Usually, it went the other way.” Harry negotiated with Evans in order to retain control of the territory that CF&I-Roebling had covered west of the Mississippi. Harry established his company, Western
Sling and Supply, with one branch south of Denver and another near Casper, Wyoming. Today, Western Sling and Supply’s facilities total over 37,000 square feet. Its Casper branch is particularly known for its staff experience and expertise in the oil and mining industries. Harry Truitt passed on the lessons he learned about entrepreneurship in a challenging situation to his sons, Stan and Bob Truitt, who run Western Sling today. Speaking about the liquidation of
CF&I, Jim Boyko of Mill Valley splicing summed it up this way: “Students passed, but the school failed.” However, many of those former students went on to become great teachers in their own right. Tey’ve passed on their entrepreneurial spirit, expertise, and sense of identity and integrity to their colleagues and children. Although it’s been over 25 years since the company as we know it ceased to exist, those lessons learned decades ago at CF&I still shape and sustain the industry today.
WIRE ROPE EXCHANGE MAY-JUNE 2012 29
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