Michael Emery Tueskoes was a college student at Miami-Dade Junior College, Miami, Florida in 1962. Loose casement draperies were very fashionable in Florida at that time. Casement draperies are very difficult to table on a horizontal table, even by an experienced operator. To overcome this problem, Emery built the first Vertical Tabler for his wife's workroom. This first machine was a crude device--the side columns were a 2x4 lumber and angle iron combination--but it did the job.
Many visitors from the trade admired it and suggested to Emery that he manufacture and sell it to other drapery workrooms. He was skeptical at first, believing that anybody could build one. Later he became convinced of the value of his machine. By this time he was a mechanical engineering student at the University of Florida in Gainesville, while his wife was running their workroom in Miami and supporting the family.
Emery invited a few workroom owners and showed them a redesigned model of his Vertical Tabler. One order was placed. After the completed delivery the customer loved it so much that he offered a partnership to Emery with financing the patenting of the machine. He would sell the machine and all Emery had to do was provide the drawing and supervise the subcontractor who was building the machine. Emery accepted the offer and funded T & W Engineering Corporation. By the time he had graduated as a mechanical engineer several Vertical tablers, called Lectro Tablers, were sold in and outside of the United States.
After graduation Emery accepted a job as advance engineer with General Electric Company in Louisville, KY. After a year and a half, a United States Patent was issued on his machine. The big question came up, what to do? He went to his boss and asked, "If you had an opportunity to open your own business, would you do it?" His boss gave a firm yes for an answer. Emery took his advice, resigned from his job, founded Tueskoes Engineering, and started manufacturing his Lectro Tabler full time.
In 1972 he sold his business and licensed his patents. In 1976 he had to cancel his license because the licensee produced inferior quality products and did not pay the royalties. Emery then funded Creative Engineering, upgraded the machines and designed a cutting machine. As time passed other machines were added to the line and by now he has designed over 25 different labor-saving machines which are licensed to and manufactured by Creative Engineering and Tueskoes Industries. His machines are running in all 5 continents of the world.
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