Mechanical minds: the making of a business and revolution of an industry
Cayo & Dorstewitz team up
In the July/August 2023 edition of the Michigan History Magazine, readers find an interesting article about two Michigan men who came together and ultimately transformed the drafting industry altogether. This article, written by Robert Dorstewitz, the son of one of the men, spells out the very mechanical-minded individuals that would revolutionize an industry.
Those two men were Ed Cayo, the inventor, and Virgil Dorstewitz, the person who brought the product to the market and created a successful business with it. The product was called Tru Point. It is a pencil lead pointer used for draftsmen, artists, engineers, and even accountants.
Men with the mechanical minds
In the late 40s, after World War II, the two men, Cayo and Dorstewitz met.
Cayo was from a family that had a long history of inventing an entrepreneurial ship. Dorstewitz was born and raised on a farm in Millburg. Dorstewitz was educated through a correspondence school for mechanical engineering.
It was Cayo’s idea to create a cone-like ring of sandpaper abrasive enclosed in a container to sharpen and uniform the point on a draftsman’s lead.
The theory behind it was that the lead would be inserted into the top, and the device would not only sharpen the lead precisely it would catch the graphite particles in the chamber as it was turned and not leave a mess all over the drawing or document they were working on.
What started as a wooden prototype, Cayo and Dorstewitz began a partnership that would last until Cayo died in 1962.
Making of Tru Point Products Inc.
Taking that original wooden prototype, Dorstewitz developed, manufactured, and then marketed what would become a game changer in the drafting industry.
Starting in the basement of their home on Paw Paw Avenue in Benton Harbor in 1950, the demand for products by 1953 had the company racing to keep up with production.
With the drafting industry accepting Tru Point, textbooks for schools began listing and including pictures of Tru Point Pencil Lead Pointers among the necessary drafting tools. As popularity started to grow, the basement was no longer capable of meeting the production demands of the business. That’s when the company moved to a nearby building in Coloma.
The company did all their metal stamping, the special assembly, and automatic tapping fixtures as well. Nothing at this point was being farmed out as they did all the machining and painting for the product. They even had a printing press where they would print the instruction manual for each of the devices. The only thing that was purchased, besides the cartons, was the coil springs which came from Muskegon, Michigan.
By the mid-1950s orders were flooding in by the hundred gross at a time. It would seem obvious that re-orders would occur because the sandpaper abrasive that did the actual sharpening inside would wear. Once the pointer had to be replaced that gained them additional sales, and started the idea to sell packages of abrasive refills so people would not have to buy a whole new unit.
With all the operations held in Coloma, there was a cottage industry that started when ladies in and around Coloma were supplied with the materials to make the abrasive. Each of the women was paid by piece and this opportunity was a great source of income for women who still wanted to be home yet needed to make an income.
Based on the price point of $2.95 for the standard model and the variable tapered model which retailed for $3.50, the company by the 1960s needed more space to fulfill orders and for the expanding product line.
As time went on, Dorstewitz developed a draftsman’s compass, the Automatic Control Lead Holder, and Tru Point Lead Cleaner to expand the Tru Point brand of products.
Over the years, the company came to earn the distinction of being the industry standard. It would not be too far-fetched to say that every modern engineer who spent time at a drafting table, either has owned, or at least seen and used one of these Tru Point Pencil Lead Pointers in their career.
End of an era
In the mid to late 70s, computer-aided design, otherwise known as CAD was developed. The need for drafting tools began to decline. Then by the 1980s, Tru Point made the difficult decision to close.
As Robert spells out in his article, “This small item made in a small town, became an iconic industry standard for draftsmen and engineers everywhere.”
Although Tru Point may have closed, the mechanical minds continue today as Tri-City readers would not be surprised to learn that Robert ‘Bob’ Dorstewitz, son of Virgil, decided to start one of his own businesses in the 80s. His company is a mold injection facility called Engineered Polymer Products, based out of Eau Claire, and is still in business today.
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