Hitting a Target in Flooring

By Mike McLean
Of the Journal of Business

  An innovative device designed to cut laminate flooring has landed a Hayden tool developer and manufacturer a solid footing in a niche market.

Coeur d'Alene resident Dalen Gunn has invented a tool called a Magnum Shear that does what some flooring manufacturers said was impossible; it cuts laminate in a single action without creating any dust, says Mary Gunn, his wife and vice president and general manager of the venture, Bullet Tools.

"Prior to the introduction of the Magnum Shear cutting tool, flooring experts thought laminate flooring was too brittle to be sheared rather than sawed," Gunn says.

Although her husband, who has 20 years of experience as a flooring installer, has invented several other tools to assist in flooring installation, the success of the Magnum Shear led him to form Bullet Tools, in 2002, drawing the company's moniker from the Gunn-family name.

The company is owned by the Gunns, their son, Brian, and their son-in-law, Ben Toews. Dalen Gunn is president of the company, Toews is the chief financial officer, and Brian Gunn is the purchasing team leader.

Bullet Tools operated in its formative years out of the Gunns' small, single-story manufactured home and garage, at 3390 W. Hayden, in Hayden. The Gunns moved to their current home in Coeur d'Alene as the business crowded them out of the Hayden house and continued to grow there.

It expanded into a 10,000-square-foot production facility built on the Hayden property behind the Gunns' former home about five years ago, eventually moving all of its operations into that building in 2006. It has open offices on the second floor, with homey touches of wood trim, carpeting and several windows, where the administration and marketing teams are based.

The first floor houses production and warehouse space. The production area is sparsely furnished, except for work tables where the company's products are assembled. The warehouse section of the building is lined with shelves and bins of various sizes that store parts until products are ordered.

Most orders are processed and shipped within one or two days, Gunn says.

Largely due to the success of the Magnum Shear, the company's sales have grown by more than 300 percent in the last five years, to more than $2 million last year. Bullet Tools also has grown from four employees to 17, Mary Gunn says. Its goal is to reach $5 million in sales next year.

The cutting tool, which comes in several models with varying cutting widths, makes up most of the company's sales, she says. Retail prices for the tool range from about $500 for a 9-inch-wide cutter to $1,750 for a 40-inch-wide cutter.

Other Bullet Tools' innovations include a device called a Skimmer that reshapes damaged tongue-and-groove joints, and a strap that holds the initial row of click-together flooring planks in place during installation.

Thanks to exposure at trade shows, especially an international event called Domotex, which is held annually in Hannover, Germany, more than half of the company's sales are exports to the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Canada, and Japan, Gunn says.

Bullet Tools' customers include both retailers and distributors. Among its Spokane-area customers are Windsor Plywood and T&A Supply Co.

The company has all of its manufacturing operations in Hayden, and all of the parts it buys are made in the U.S., she says.

"Two of the vendors (for parts) we do the majority of our business with are right in Coeur d'Alene," Gunn adds.

The Magnum Shear looks a bit like an over-engineered paper cutter with a center-mounted lever and a guillotine-like blade that uniformly cuts across an entire width of laminate. Most models are powered only by the force of a human pulling down on the lever, although one model, the Magnum Shear Force, is powered by compressed air.

The conventional way to cut laminate flooring is with a table saw or a circular saw, Gunn says. The problem with using a saw is that it creates dust, so workers usually have to leave the work area to cut laminate, she says.

"The Magnum Shear, which can be in the same room as the installer, makes what would otherwise be a three-day installation job, a two-day job," Gunn says.

 

Taking the next step

  In 2006, Bullet Tools' owners turned to the Idaho Small Business Development Center, at the North Idaho College Workforce Training Center, in Post Falls, for assistance in drafting a new business plan to guide the company's anticipated growth.

"We had a lot to learn," Gunn says. "Even though we had wonderful products that people wanted, we needed business training."

Bill Jhung, regional director of the center, says the agency helped Bullet Tools' management team set priorities upon which to make business decisions.

"They picked it up very quickly," Jhung says. "Once they were able to determine which priorities they needed to address, they were able to make decisions and do it quickly. Within seven to eight months, they had the business at a different level."

To raise Bullet Tools to that level, the owners realized they needed to expand their production facilities and move the company out of the Gunns' home and garage.

In the new facilities, they employed lean manufacturing concepts that were introduced to them through the small business center to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and boost production capacity.

As the economy has weakened worldwide, Bullet Tools is compensating with a "recession plan" that includes tapping into new markets for the Magnum Shear, which isn't limited to cutting laminate.

The siding industry is one emerging market for the cutting tool, which can cut fiber-cement board, such as HardiePlank siding, without creating silicon dust, Gunn says.

It can also be used to make clean, quick cuts on solid wood flooring, vinyl tile, leather, cork, and other materials, she says.

"It does many things," Gunn says. "It even puts a factory edge on carpet tile."

In another potential new market, the Magnum Shear is being test marketed at rental centers in 180 Home Depot Inc. outlets, she says.

The company also is developing an economy model, the MagShear Lite, which will be targeted toward home remodelers who need such a tool on an occasional, rather than daily, basis, she says.

"The MagShear Lite might become our bread and butter," Gunn says.

Contact Mike McLean at (509) 344-1266 or via e-mail at mikem@spokanejournal.com..