History

Alpine Engineered Products Inc. was a driving force in the creation of the wood truss industry over 45 years ago. Since that beginning, the industry has consistently recognized Alpine products and services as engineering and innovation leaders. Over the past 17 years, Alpine provided the same leadership in the founding and development of the pre-engineered CFS (Cold-Formed Steel) truss industry. In 2007, Alpine was purchased by ITW and now operates as a unit of the ITW Building Components Group Inc., as does TrusSteel, an ITW Company.

TrusSteel products and services are the result of over sixty years of combined experience in the truss and CFS building products industry. The product line is built upon the extensive truss engineering and software knowledge in Alpine products, an experienced staff of cold-formed steel design engineers and many years of designing and building efficient trusses. As a result, TrusSteel trusses are exceptionally rigid and efficient, with a high strength-to-weight ratio. They are delivered to the marketplace with industry-leading engineering analysis and shop drawings. It is no surprise that more TrusSteel trusses are installed each year on commercial projects than any other proprietary CFS truss system.

TrusSteel continues to provide engineering leadership to the truss industry, through active participation in the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (formerly the LGSEA), the American Iron and Steel Institute, the Cold-Formed Steel Council, the CCFSS, the Steel Framing Alliance, the US Green Building Council. And, we are actively involved in research programs with the ICC and UL.

On March 26, 2009, TrusSteel acquired Dynatruss, a fellow CFS truss product line, from Allied Tube & Conduit.  The Dynatruss product line has been incorporated into the TrusSteel line.

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Industry-Leading Designs

• True multiple-node modeling, not the estimated node modeling used by other CFS truss design software packages.
• Multiple load case analysis applied to each truss, including wind uplift with negative moment and unbalanced load cases.
• Analysis methodologies derived from the most extensive full-scale testing program in the industry.

TrusSteel Authorized Fabricators^TM, operating the steelVIEW software in-house and supported by TrusSteel engineering resources, can provide solutions for the most complex truss systems.

In 2011, TrusSteel and hsbCAD collaborated to create hsbSTEEL, an interactive link between the two program suites that delivers a state-of-the-art design tool for wall panel design in a true 5D BIM environment.

Key Benefits for the Marketplace

TrusSteel^TM Pre-Engineered Cold-Formed Steel (CFS) trusses offer the architect, engineer, contractor and owner all of the flexibility and design advantages of wood trusses plus the proven material features of steel. Such versatility can provide several advantages over traditional wood framing in residential and commercial applications - recyclability, high recycled content, moisture and insect resistance, increased strength-to-weight ratio and increased uniformity of material strength from member to member. When utilized in commercial applications, cold-formed steel trusses augment traditional steel framing to achieve fully non-combustible structures where required by the codes.

Key Benefits for Designers

TrusSteel CFS trusses offer architects and project engineers the same product quality, flexibility and engineered reliability that has been synonymous with the Alpine name for years. The Alpine steelVIEW^TM layout software provides state-of-the-art planes-based roof layout capability. And the steelVIEW engineering design software, based upon extensive testing of full-scale steel truss sections, allows the truss designer to create TrusSteel designs with the speed, flexibility and confidence that exists for wood truss design. Truss chord profiles in multiple depth sections provide the designer and engineer with framing solutions from the shortest jacks to over 80 foot clear span trusses.  And now, with the new ARC™ smoothly curved truss chords, you can design arches, barrel-vaults and more, all without segmented chords.

Key Benefits for Truss Fabricators

For the truss fabricator, TrusSteel products lay out, fabricate and handle like wood trusses, except that they are built using screw fasteners rather than traditional plates. The trusses can be fabricated on an existing truss table or on an inexpensive Alpine steel truss jig. The engineering software automatically provides numerical settings for layout stops on any Alpine automated setup equipment. And, steel trusses take up much less space than "C" channel trusses on the delivery trailer.

Key Benefits for Truss Installers

For the installer, the high strength-to-weight ratio of the TrusSteel trusses makes them easier to handle and install. Because they are light in weight and stable during handling, one man can typically lift and carry a 35 to 40 foot truss by himself. Unlike some other steel trusses, TrusSteel trusses resist bending (or "butterflying") when lifted on their sides. The 1-1/2" chord section can be installed using many of the existing wood truss hardware applications and a full line of truss hardware exists for both chord sections.

Key Benefits for Building Owners

For the owner, TrusSteel trusses provide solutions to insect attack, material deterioration and shrinkage, drywall nail pops, mold, and the non-combustible materials requirements of fire codes. Steel construction in general will provide straighter, tighter, 'truer' framing and an overall structure that will require less maintenance than fiber products.