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offered his time on the board of a couple of non-profit organizations and was heavily involved in church activity. Additionally, he continued his interest in his love of Pipe organs and the music they create as his Coral Gables home was built around one back in the mid 1960s. He and
Mildred moved to Stuart, Florida in 1999 where he built another home at the age of 83 and was the engineer overseeing its construction. Jureit's first wife, Mildred, died in 2001. Jureit later married Dr. Marie Garritson. In 2005, J. Calvin Jureit died at age 87 from head injuries sustained as the result of a fall.
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employed over 1000 people and had in excess of 2000 Fabricators (customers). It was acquired by
Redlands Corporation (a large European manufacturer of cement roof tiles) in January 1979 where the name was changed to Gang-Nail Systems, Inc to protect its Gang-Nail trademark. It was later sold again, merged with Hydro-Air Engineering, Inc. (another truss plate manufacturer) and renamed MiTek. MiTek was ultimately acquired by famed investor
203:. After graduating as a Civil Engineer he was briefly employed in the roof trust industry prior to leaving it and starting Jureit & Associates, Inc. a soils and foundation engineering firm. In 1955, Jureit developed and patented the most famous version of his Gang-Nail connector plate, the first metal tie that required no nails, screws or glue. The Gang-Nail plate is a sheet of
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in the early 1960s and was
Chairman & CEO until his retirement in 1979. Through Cal's persuasion his brother William ("Bill") F. Jureit, an attorney and accountant, left his law practice in the early 1960s to join ABC as Executive Vice President until becoming CEO in 1979. Bill Jureit retired in 1987.
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steel with triangular pointed prongs that are stamped out and bent perpendicular to the plate face, allowing it to be hammered or pressed into a number of surfaces simultaneously. Starting with this patent, Jureit founded Gang-Nail, Inc in 1956, later renamed
Automated Building Components, Inc. (ABC)
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After retirement Jureit spent most of his time with his wife
Mildred & three sons traveling between their homes in NC and FL. He was given the honor of being inducted into the Engineering Hall Of Fame at Georgia Tech in 1996 where he graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering in 1949. He also
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In an interview with the
Georgia Tech alumni newsletter, John A. White, former dean of engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, commented that "The whole notion about affordable housing and productivity increases came about because of invention." In the same article, Jureit stated that
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production was difficult and time-consuming, requiring highly skilled carpenters to make precise cuts and toe-nail two adjoining pieces wood together. Small mistakes would cause serious time delays as well as weaken the truss. The improved strength of the Gang-Nail plate was evidenced in 1992 when
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Automated
Building Components, Inc went public in 1961 and grew to be the largest company in its industry having operations around the world manufacturing connector plates, machinery, roof/floor trusses, and roof tile, as well as providing computerized engineering services. By 1979 the company
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destroyed many homes in South
Florida but homes built with Gang-Nail plates were far more likely to survive than those with toe-nailed trusses. Gang-Nails are also used in the manufacturing of floor trusses, premanufactured wall panels, modular housing and mobile home trusses.
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to
Lillian E. and William F. Jureit, Sr. His father was a baker who emigrated to the United States from Germany prior to the start of WWI and before J. Calvin was born. In 1922, his parents along with him and his younger brother Bill moved to
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and sent to
Australia, where he was assigned the job of making relief maps from plywood and clay for use as pilot briefing tools during WWII. Following his six-month stint in Australia, he was sent to
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After graduating from Miami Senior High School in 1935, Jureit studied art before enrolling at the University of Miami to study accounting and chemistry. In 1942, Jureit enlisted in the Navy
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Inventor of the Gang-Nail connector plate and Founder/Chairman/CEO of Automated Building Components, Inc. of Miami, Florida
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for an additional six months. Jureit never saw combat but the experience sharpened his desire to become an engineer.
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the idea for the connector plate came to him during a church service.
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