Supplying a Relationship

Throughout the past year, I reached out to four of manufacturing’s largest suppliers in North America – DMG/Mori Seiki/Ellison Technologies, Hartwig Inc., Methods Machine Tools Inc., and Morris Group Inc. – to see how the machine tool supply business has changed during the last two decades. Representatives from each said global competition has increased the need for suppliers to do more than just ship machines. Offering quality products and service has always been important, but now, more than ever, customers want partnerships, and that means suppliers must form relationships in addition to providing solutions.

Close Proximity, Faster Response
To build these relationships, the supply companies invoke a strategy plucked straight from the real-estate industry’s playbook: location, location, location.

Take Morris Group. The 72-year-old company is headquartered in Windsor, Conn., but consists of 14 operating distribution units that serve its customers in the eastern half of the United States. The network extends as far north as Maple Grove, Minn., and as far south as Tampa, Fla.

Chris Stine, executive vice president of Morris Group, says the localized offices enable his company to serve a broad region of the U.S. while providing customers the confidence to know they can expect timely responses for consultation, troubleshooting, training, and more.

“We believe strongly that all the value is created at the customer location,” Stine says. “Therefore, our individual operating companies are located close to the customer, staffed with the necessary resources, partnered with the regionally appropriate technology suppliers, and empowered to make decisions that ensure customer-focused operations.”

Morris Groups’ concern for customers echoes Methods Machine Tools’ main principle: Providing an extra effort makes a difference on a customer’s bottom line, and every customer is equally important.

Clem McIver Sr. conceived this idea in 1958, when the company began with only three employees and a few refurbished machines. But McIver’s mantra has weathered generations. Though it has grown to include more than 350 employees and seven technology centers, Methods chairman and third-generation owner, Scott McIver, says the company continues to operate under his grandfather’s guidelines.

“Our founder’s vision has remained with us in the past 55 years,” Scott says. “Our mission is to continue to provide innovative, world-class products backed by customer-focused services and support.”

Methods’ technical centers parallel Morris Group’s. Methods has facilities in cities across the United States and is expanding its operations on the West Coast.

The company also serves a larger area than Morris Group, reaching across international borderlines into Canada and Mexico, with more than 35,000 machines installed in North America. Methods’ Sudbury, Mass., headquarters features a spindle repair facility, an extensive inventory of CNC machine tools accessories, automation and assembly area, a machine shop, and quality control center.

Ellison Technologies has been a pioneer of total solutions since it was established in 1955. The company was the first distributor to employ service technicians, as well as the first distributor in the industry to hire applications engineers to offer its customers operator training, engineering support, and turnkey solutions.

Today, Ellison is the largest machine tool integrator in North America, with more than 600 employees and more than 20 locations and technical centers throughout the United States and Canada.

Now doing business as DMG/Mori Seiki/Ellison Technologies, they are the exclusive distributor for DMG/Mori Seiki’s full range of products including: horizontal and vertical machining centers, turning and milling, as well as 5-axis/5-sided machining.

Hartwig, which serves the Midwest and Mountain regions of the United States, has eight offices: two in Texas, two in Missouri, and the others in Oklahoma, Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas. The company also recently partnered with Okuma to develop two technical centers: in Houston, Texas, and Kaysville, Utah.

Offering Solutions
With more than 30 years experience in the industry, Morris Groups’ Stine has witnessed the supply side’s shifting priorities first-hand. Quick response time has always played an integral part, but Stine says customers today require more than fast-acting technicians.

Customers need “someone who takes the time to understand [the manufacturer’s] business and challenges,” he says. “Someone who is considered a reliable resource – both reactive to needs and proactive with knowledge.

“Customers look to us to bring them the latest information and solutions, and to do it in a time-efficient and targeted manner. That is why having staff that understands the customers’ business, needs, and drivers is a must to provide valuable forward-looking solutions, not just reactionary response to the urgent issue of the day.”

Many of Morris Group’s clients have pinched back on staff, to cut costs, depriving them of engineering teams that used to devote time to researching and studying advancements in machining technology. Morris Group has several resources to combat this disadvantage. Two-thirds of the company’s staff directly supports customers in parts, service, and application engineering roles, with expertise in milling, grinding, turning, among other processes. Morris Group employees receive certified training from the company’s key builder lines, which include Okuma, Makino, Doosan, Haas, Tsugami, Hardinge, and Bridgeport. In addition, Morris University, which offers onsite and online training for company engineers, keeps staff updated on the latest technologies and advancements in machining.

Ellison, through its expanded partnership with DMG/Mori Seiki, runs its own educational program where customers can send employees to receive specialized training.

According to a company spokesperson at Ellison, DMG/Mori Seiki University is designed for “customers who are looking to improve the skill levels of their workforce,” adding that Ellison and DMG/Mori Seiki offer both classroom training and on-demand courses online.

Providing convenient solutions to customers is a common thread connecting machine tool suppliers today.

“Technology is changing so fast and with limited resources (to find) experienced employees, customers need a distributor that is taking on the role of being able to pass on the knowledge from the OEM to their manufacturing process,” says Greg Hartwig, sales manager for Hartwig.

Hartwig has 21 application engineers on-hand to tackle customer challenges. The experienced group has more than 300 turnkey products and automation solutions under its belt, and another 61 factory-trained service technicians and 11 parts coordinators are also available for customers. In-house education is emphasized to enhance employee knowledge of industry processes, procedures, and updated equipment technology. The company’s eight core lines include Okuma, Hexagon Metrology, Hardinge, GF AgieCharmilles, SNK America, KIRA, Okamoto, and Tsugami. Hartwig also offers products in automation and inspection equipment, but Hartwig explains that engineered solutions give the company its competitive edge.

“Customers need to be able to trust a distributor and know that they can call on them if a problem does arise,” Hartwig explains. “They need to feel like [Hartwig is] not just a sales company, but an overall company that can assist with all areas of manufacturing: applications support, service support, parts support.”

In addition to supporting those concerns, the four distribution companies also offer the following service to their customers: applications engineering and support, machine tool integration specialists, technical support, training, sector specialists, and field service after installation.

On its website, Ellison uses case studies to demonstrate how its services can improve a manufacturer’s production. According to one case, a medical component company’s increase in intensive inspections stalled its throughput capabilities. The company’s use of stainless steel and titanium required higher tolerance requirements.

Ellison engineers collaborated with the client for a solution that would meet expectations for labor efficiency, cycle times, and product quality. After different evaluations, the client selected to install a Mori Seiki vertical machining center with a 5-axis rotary table. According to the case study, the client reduced labor cost by 20%, decreased cycle times by 30%, and had a significant reduction in scrap. Within the first year, the manufacturer saved approximately $100,000.

Spokespeople at Ellison and Methods emphasized their company’s financing programs. Ellison’s in-house company, Manufacturer’s Financing Services (MFS), offers its clients flexible financing options as well as helps them capitalize on Section 179 benefits focused on capital equipment tax savings. Methods Finance tries to offer customers an easy way to purchase a product without having to bear the complete cost upfront. Methods Finance payment options include finance terms ranging from two to seven years, fixed interest rates, and loans.

Methods also offers a full range of machine tools for manufacturing large or small components. To meet manufacturers’ demand for small-lot production, especially in the medical industry, Methods has production-on-demand solutions, with advanced features that enable automation and lights-out manufacturing. For example, the RoboDrill Med Cell automates loading and unloading of medical device parts, using the FANUC RoboDrill machining center to provide full 5-axis machining capability.

Methods partnered with Fair Friend Group (FFG) in 2010 to become the exclusive importer of the Feeler line in North America. Methods worked closely with FFG to make design and engineering enhancements to the Feeler machines that Methods imports from Asia, says Bryon Deysher, president and CEO of Methods.

“You can’t buy this line of machines anywhere else in the world,” Deysher says. “It’s only for Methods and only North America. They are designed based on what we said our customers in the U.S. require.”

Methods also announced in September a new partnership with Yasda Precision Tools, a Japanese machine builder specializing in high precision and accuracy.

Face-to-Face Meetings
Deysher does not shy away from shifting trends. As president, he has emphasized machine automation and product line expansion, opened new offices across the United States, and expanded sales and service support. However, Deysher’s decisions remain in sync with the company’s longstanding principles, and nothing showcases his commitment to face-time like company open houses and technical seminars.

“[Customers] love to kick the tires of a machine, and that’s what they can do at an open house,” Deysher says. “If you display these machines at events like we do, our customers can bring in their parts and walk away with a definite solution for their future.”

The other suppliers follow suit. Stine says every Morris Groups facility holds multiple events “that allow displays and demonstrations of its regional products and solutions. A visitor can expect to see not only machine technology, but also a wide range of tooling, software, and accessories that we leverage to provide a greater completive solution.”

Morris Group also provides educational events for its customers both online and at regional offices. For example, Tsugami/Rem Sales LLC, a division of Morris Group that imports Precision Tsugami machine tools into North America, is holding classes until November to acquaint machinists with this technology.

“[Our machine tool suppliers] conduct frequent activities at their facilities to demonstrate both machine products and application solutions,” Stine says.

Hartwig hosted several open houses this year to promote new technology: a two-day event at its Utah facility; one at its Dallas, Texas, facility in May; and a June event for its sites in Houston, Texas, and Broken Arrow, Okla. The events showed customers how Hartwig’s application team “is helping folks in the manufacturing sector save time and money,” Hartwig explains.

DMG/Mori Seiki/Ellison Technologies exhibited at a range of manufacturing shows this year in the United States and Canada, and in November, will host its Manufacturing Days event at its new manufacturing factory in Davis, Calif.

But, as Deysher concludes, the business boils down to building meaningful relationships with customers, no matter how large a supplier grows.

“It is still a business that requires face-time and knowing your customer,” Deysher summarizes. “You can search the Internet, but it really comes down to relationships and delivering on your promises. The customer has to have the confidence in the company from the design of the machine, all the way through servicing the machine.”

DMG / Mori Seiki / Ellison Technologies
www.ellisontechnologies.com

Hartwig Inc.
www.hartwiginc.com

Methods Machine Tools Inc.
www.methodsmachine.com

Morris Group Inc.
www.morrisgroupinc.com

Danny English can be reached at denglish@gie.net or at 330.523.5354.