It's no grind attracting new customers
By Industrial Distribution Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 8/1/1999
A downturn in the aerospace industry caused aircraft giant Boeing Co. to announce layoffs of up to 48,000 employees, including thousands near Seattle. But last spring Boeing, in a partnership with one of its Washington state distributors, began expanding a niche business that may secure jobs and shows promise for both companies.Boeing now offers its cutting tool service center to other manufacturers and job shops that need end mills, drills, routers and other tools refurbished and re-coated. And in a new twist for a distributor, Seattle-based Aronson-Campbell Industrial Supply Inc. markets the grinding service for Boeing, its largest customer.
The arrangement is already attracting interest among Aronson-Campbell's customers, says John Buchberger, president of the $30 million distributorship. Founded in 1890, the company specializes in cutting tools, machine shop and other industrial supplies for customers throughout the Northwest.
At the cutting tool service center in Auburn, Wash., 220 Boeing employees re-sharpen and re-coat items such as high-speed carbide cutting tools. For years the two shops were reserved for Boeing's own tools, which then were shipped back to plants across the country.
Employees use CNC (computer numerically controlled) grinding to factory specifications, which helps extend tool life an average five times for drills and three-to-four times for end mills, Buchberger says. Precise regrinding and re-coating for closer tolerances is critical for performance, especially for high-speed tools that run as fast as 40,000 rpms.
Aronson-Campbell promotes the service with sample kits, written materials and this summer is co-producing a video about it. Buchberger says offering the service opens up other doors with customers, and some have already asked his company to manage their tool vending machines and tool rooms as a result.
"My whole desire for this is that customers will buy my tools up front," says Buchberger. "We supply the new tool from our major suppliers and we get behind it. We envelop the whole process: with a carbide cutting tool, we help with the speeds and feeds, or we take an end mill and get it ground in the best way. The customers are just finding out this is a nice business."
Sam Godwin, superintendent at the service center, says Boeing picked Aronson-Campbell to represent it because it wanted a partner that shared the same values of having a strong technical service focus, quality and customer service. Boeing has a separate agreement with a primary supplier to market its re-coating service.
"We felt Aronson was the best match for that," Godwin says. "They handle the sales and marketing essentially. We're kind of the back shop and we focus on our technical expertise, which is grinding and coating."
Godwin says Boeing is leveraging the know-how of its 180 tool grinding experts and equipment in a "lean manufacturing" model. So far less than five percent of the facility's work comes from about 35 outside customers, but he expects that to increase to more than one-third soon. Meanwhile, having a more diverse customer base provides security to all involved, he says.
"It's new. Nobody's ever done it before and that's half the fun," adds Buchberger. "I think we've learned a lot and I certainly think it's where the future's going to be."
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