As Efficiency Productions Inc. celebrates its 35th anniversary, the company continues to live up to its name, says President, Ken Forsberg.

As Efficiency Productions Inc. celebrates its 35th anniversary, the company continues to live up to its name, says Ken Forsberg, president. The company dates back to the '50s, when his father, T.A. Forsberg, founded a small contracting business in Michigan.

“Like many small contractors, the company grew and began doing other types of work, and eventually began working with the department of transportation on highway projects, municipal work, underground utilities and sanitary sewer projects,” Forsberg says. “As time went on, the company expanded and equipment became better. My father was a firm believer in maintaining new and well-maintained equipment for the people who worked for him.”

As a result of this commitment, Forsberg says, the company realized the need for a device to protect workers digging trenches. “As we got more involved in doing underground utility work, we realized it was necessary to build a device to accommodate the job. Our project superintendents came into the shop and worked with a mechanic to make a sketch for a trench shield.”

The shield, six feet wide and 10 feet tall, was designed to protect workers from collapsing trench walls while they laid pipe. The design was simple, but it worked, Forsberg says.

“It might not be the prettiest thing, but it's functional and it gets the job done,” he notes. “This is the perfect example of necessity being the mother of invention.

“As time went on, my dad realized that this was a product that the industry needed. There was demand for this thing. Other contractors were making makeshift trench shields, but they weren't engineered products,” he continues.

“The industry as a whole needed an engineered trench shielding system that was reusable, easily transportable and able to be used in a number of applications so they didn't have to make a new trench shield for every job.”

T.A. Forsberg built a fabrication facility in 1971 and began producing trench shielding systems in 1972 under the name Efficiency Productions Inc. As Forsberg explains, the product didn't get much attention at first, but a new agency called OSHA soon helped it gain attention.

“OSHA required anyone in the U.S. who was going to be working in a trench over five feet in depth to have some sort of protection device,” he says. “They didn't specify what kind of device.”

Trench shields are also commonly referred to as trench boxes, Forsberg notes. A trench shore is a different type of safety device that combines vertical rails and hydraulic cylinders to prevent the walls from collapsing. A trench shield, on the other hand, protects workers if the walls do collapse. Efficiency manufactures both shielding and shoring devices.

“Efficiency is probably one of the most well-known companies in the industry,” he says. “We've been around longer than anyone. We advertise nationally and distribute throughout the U.S. and Canada. We do a lot of things to gain exposure.” Many competitors copied from the company, he asserts. “What they've done with their companies is a reproduction of what we were the first company to do - engineering for trench shielding and shoring.”

More Than Manufacturing
Efficiency operates three facilities, including its headquarters in Mason, Mich., a subsidiary called Safe-T-Shore in Phoenix, and a wholly owned subsidiary in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Forsberg says users are demanding increased compatibility from manufacturers, and Efficiency has a jump on this trend. The company handles manufacturing of all components and marketing in-house.

“We are a full-service manufacturer,” he asserts. “We're not just a company that welds steel together. Customers call us because they need help and have questions, or they have a job they're not sure how to handle.

“They can call us directly and we put our heads together to find the best solution,” he continues. “It's a partnership, and every job is different. No two jobs are exactly alike. We address each job for its own set of circumstances.”

Forsberg says Efficiency's employees have become experts in trench safety and have developed a national trench safety program. The program teaches OSHA rules to Michigan contractors at monthly sessions. Company experts also travel the country to work with distributors, the company says.  

©2006 Schofield Media Ltd.