Trusscore Inc. of Palmerston began as a company making plastic-based dividers for hog barns.
Now it’s on the verge of disrupting the markets for drywall.
The founders, Steve Bosman and Joel Koops, were using German technology to make the pig-pen dividers and they eventually bought out that company to gain control.
Then when COVID-19 hit, they made thin plastic dividers for hospitals and other places that needed to keep workers safe from the virus.
And now they have set their sights on making walls for offices and hopefully for homes.
The one glitch they are concentrating on now is the shiny finish that isn’t particularly attractive in living rooms, but is just fine in basements, especially since it’s easier to control mould in moist conditions.
The driving force now is Dave Caputo, an experienced high-tech executive from Kitchener-Waterloo who is head of Communitech, an organization that helps foster startups in technology.
He was also an executive with two successful startups – chief executive officer of Sandvine and vice-president of PixStream.
And he has a definite dislike of drywall, which explains why Trusscore Inc. is now focussed on replacing that product.
Caputo joined MSW Plastics, which became Trusscore Inc., after Sandvine was sold in 2017.
The prefabricated PVC boards they are making as competition for drywall are half an inch thick, 16 inches wide and eight to 20 inches long – standard dimensions to mount on studs.
Installation can be four times faster than drywall, the panels are recyclable and easier to clean. Those are the attributes that made the panels attractive as pen dividers for farmers trying to control the spread of viruses.
Busman and Koops were already selling panels for basements and dreaming of a bigger market when Caputo came on board.
He became chief executive officer, Bosman chief manufacturing officer and Koops is executive vice-president.
The reformed company began quickly adopting more of a startup mentality, reports the Globe and Mail, expanding its marketing as a drywall alternative while investing in research and development.
That meant hiring specialists, sometimes doctorate-level ones specializing in nanotechnology, chemistry and mechanical design, to refine their PVC boards.
With this expertise, the newly renamed Trusscore began to improve various qualities over time: durability, cleanability, fire resistance – and, maybe, add visual enhancements.
Trusscore now has plants in Ohio and Calgary , but a potential competitor in California.
