Program for outbuilding estimates developed by a builder
FLUSHING --
In the 1990’s Mike Rinks was a builder whose business was booming, but he knew that he wanted to move from being a blue collar worker to creating something special.
So, despite not having any previous computer experience, Mike turned to an early version of Microsoft Excel, and developed it into a formula that quickly and simply created estimates. The estimates were for outbuildings, mostly pole barns. They helped him to get the estimates to the customers in a timely fashion, and other builders soon began to see the value in saved time and money.
Before long, stores were demanding this new excel program, and he became desperate for help. That’s when Tim Bennett stepped in to join the business. Tim says he was impressed at what the inexperienced programmer had done, but he took it even a step further. Today’s program, “Construction Maestro,” has over 300,000 lines of code. Data entered produces detailed diagrams, and spits out an instant estimate saving the builder potentially hours of work and calculations.
Since 2001 the company has sold to 200 lumber yards in Michigan alone is in 40 states and Canada. All of those clients have access to support at the Flushing office. It’s a booming business that all started with a contractor who had never touched a computer, but had a big dream.
For more information on the business, visit their website: http://www.symun.com/.
