A different kind of system

Tim Bothwell set scaffolding planks with his company, Bothwell Custom Scaffolding, for 15 years before an idea struck him one day - what about a plastic plank? What about a plank that could be non-conductive, chemically resistant, termite-proof, split-proof, fireproof, water-proof and non-slip? A plank that could last nearly forever if handled properly?

So, like any person with an entrepreneurial spirit, he set to it.

It's now 2009, nearly 10 years after that first thought, and Tim Bothwell is now the president and chief executive officer of Bothwell Enterprises, Inc. the manufacturer behind the Bothwell Composite Plank System. The system, as described above, is still morphing and adapting to the market.

The Bothwell Composite Plank System has many advantages, Bothwell says. A 10-foot plank from Bothwell weighs about 28 pounds, making it lighter than most other materials, and the system has eliminated overlapping boards. By using a pultrusion process, the planks are non-slip and connect via an injection molded clamping system, which eliminates the need to step on only one board at a time. Bothwell planks allow ramping capabilities, as well. "With wood or steel you can't ramp (those) planks without a non-tripping situation," Bothwell says. "And even with the way the aluminum planks are designed with clamps, they buckle with you try to ramp them."

Despite all the good work, Bothwell admits, when the construction industry took a hit a few years ago, so did his company.

"Over the past three years we made about 10,000 (planks) and in 2006, that's when the construction market fell from the ceiling," Bothwell says.

The company was sitting on literally thousands of 10-foot planks. And that's when Bothwell was contacted by a company in Norway that maintained ballast tanks inside ocean vessels. Typically, these vessels use planks ranging from 4, 6 and 8 feet; "uncommon lengths of planks," Bothwell says. The company was looking for a maintenance solution and they came to Bothwell for it.

Overnight, Bothwell and his team set to fabricate his 10-footers into 4-foot, 6-foot and 8-foot lengths. "That's when we realized there was a huge advantage to this because if you're sitting on thousands of steel or aluminum, you can't fabricate these things in a day."

So just this past year, Bothwell realized his planks can be fabricated quickly, and easily, in the field and over the course of the past few years, he has introduced various structural improvements, including a new end connector for the system with a wing clip option, which will be available this summer.

Niche markets

Since the introduction to the ocean vessel market, Bothwell has suited six vessels and just this past year received a contract for 30 additional vessels. "We've done really well with the ballast tanks," he says. "That became a great market for us and they're willing to pay the pristine price, so, the (collapse of) construction kind of slipped away."

Recently, Bothwell was also contacted by Southern California Edison who is interested in the Composite Plank Scaffold System for its nuclear facilities and Jeff Prante, director of sales and marketing for Bothwell, recently met with 20 additional nuclear power plants who are interested in the system.

"(The companies) went bananas over the system," Bothwell says. "The fact that you can fabricate these, that's what these big companies want. They want long lengths they can fabricate themselves onsite."

Bothwell's next big adventure is manufacturing his planks in India. Top Glass SpA is a partner of Bothwell, and Kemrock Industries and Exports, a composite manufacturer based in India, recently partnered with Top Glass to manufacture composite light poles and high-end pultrusion technology.

"We will have a full production run of everything in India in July," Bothwell says. And with that, Bothwell is confident the next year will be successful for his company, even if it is in niche markets.

Check out how the Bothwell Composite Plank System works on Rock Solid airing on the DIY Network this summer and fall. Or visit Bothwell's website for the video at www.bothwellplank.com