SoftNoze USA founder Truett loves innovation
Sept. 15, 2002

Photo by ELIZABETH A. MUNDSCHENK Brett Truett

By ALLISSA HOSTEN
Observer-Dispatch

When Brett Truett was a little boy, he took things apart effortlessly. Reassembling them was always a bit more challenging, he said.

Still, Truett stuck with it and his tinkering eventually paid off. Nowadays, at 39, he’s a successful mechanical engineer who has founded SoftNoze USA Inc. in Frankfort. He also is a diligent public servant for his community.

His nominator, Christine Ossont, wrote that Truett is “ever-positive” and “a visionary,” who “offers our community a wonderful combination of technical expertise in his field of engineering, plus a sense of dedication to expand our community and business horizons.”

Truett describes himself as “an inventor first, a business person second.” All his life, he has been helping others.

“When I was at SUNY Morrisville ... I walked into a bank, asked for a loan of about $2,000 to $3,000, and used the money to buy materials so I could build lofts in dorm rooms,” Truett said.

Truett then realized that technology could improve the quality of life for people and make them feel better about their surroundings.

That’s why, Truett said, his work with the Utica Marsh cleanup is one of his most worthwhile activities.

Truett’s volunteer work includes trying to inspire youth through the Mohawk Valley Executive Engineering Council, which is “an umbrella group of many engineering societies,” Truett said.

He also works with youth at Genesis Young Professionals and United Way Young Leaders United.

In the long run, Truett hopes to expand SoftNoze USA so it will be able to market ideas people of the Mohawk Valley may have.

“The company is now modeled after a product development company,” Truett said. “We create inventions or if an idea is brought to us, we will have the facilities to take it to market.”

Truett specifically wants to target engineering college students so that, “They wouldn’t have to struggle like I did. I want to be able to write a check for $15,000 to fund an idea that youth may have.”

Truett also plans to work with his staff of five to increase the popularity of manufacturing overall, which he suspects is declining because of the rise of software.

“A lot of people say that manufacturing is not coming back because of technology, but if you accept that, Utica will never have the prosperity that we want,” Truett said.

“When you take chunks of metal and plastic and create something, then send it outside the region stamped ‘Made in Utica,’ you are creating wealth, you are creating jobs and you are creating an economic future for our youth,” he said.

Spoken like a true visionary.