Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 22, 1994                   TAG: 9407220114
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ON A FOUNDATION OF WOOD AND METAL, DREAM IS BUILT

Callahan and Shiflett formed Metwood Inc. more than a year ago to make "nailable steel" for use in residential construction. Callahan has been a contractor for more than 20 years. Shiflett holds degrees in civil engineering from Virginia Tech.

Basically their product is metal with wood applied so that the studs, joists, rafters and floor trusses they produce can be installed using "conventional residential construction methods and tools," said Shiflett.

Specifically, that means the metal product can be hammered into place. What makes that possible are the wood blocks screwed to the metal at the spots where structures need to be joined.

"What we're doing is not very sophisticated," Shiflett said.

The advantages, he and Callahan said, are that they can produce a lighter-weight, stronger product.

Initially, production at their Troutville plant went mainly into houses built by Callahan, but gradually they've picked up other residential builders as customers.

The plant now employs five people in addition to the owners, both of whom still work at other businesses to support themselves.

So that he could devote more time to Metwood, Shiflett early this year sold his interest in Spectrum Engineering, a consulting firm. He still does engineering work, but it's handled now through his own firm, Providence Engineering, which gives him more freedom to help get Metwood up to strength.

The men said a lot of what they've had to do is persuade carpenters to use the metal product.

"All of us are resistant to change," said R. William Reid, a veteran builder who said he has bought "a couple of things" from Metwood when he needed to give a structure extra support.

Reid said once he used a Metwood I-beam to span a garage ceiling. The Metwood beam was "cheaper than a manufactured wood beam and lighter than a steel I-beam," Reid said. He also said that the beam did not require use of a crane to set as the other beams would have.

"But the verdict is still out" as to how compatible the Metwood product will be with traditional methods of home building, Reid said.

That doesn't dampen Callahan's enthusiasm, however.

"I really believe I'm going to change the home-building business in this whole country with this," he said.

He said he and Shiflett are still a distance away from being able to afford the $600,000 or so start-up costs to begin full-scale manufacturing, but the business is growing.

In addition to Reid, Callahan said the company has made sales to Fralin & Waldron Inc., Strauss Construction and Coulter Construction, all Roanoke Valley builders.

Like Shiflett, Callahan is still working outside Metwood. His Callahan Construction Inc. company is building in a subdivision off Peters Creek Road - using Metwood product, of course.

Callahan said he has built at least 25 houses using the merged product.

He points out, however, that the Metwood materials are not that much cheaper currently than comparable wood materials. The difference is about 10 percent, he said, but eventually he hopes that price gap will widen to 30 percent. The products are all custom made, so prices vary with each order.

Shiflett said the manufacturing process for studs is still "embryonic" in that they are experimenting with alternatives.