Womack looks toward the future
Fluid power distributor adds automation and motion controls to its basket of knowledge
By Susan L. P. Srikonda -- Industrial Distribution, 9/1/1999
"I think that the [fluid power] business has a lot of future. Hydraulics is the most dependable method of transmitting power there is and until they come up with something else, we're going to know all there is to know about it," says Bob Womack, president of Womack Machine Supply Co., with the spirit of a true entrepreneur.That entrepreneurial spirit made Bob Womack a pioneer in the fluid power industry and it is equally evident in the company today which, with annual sales of $60 million, remains an industry leader. Thus far, Womack Machine Supply, headquartered in Dallas, Tex., has been able to resist the growing movement toward consolidation and even branch out into automation and motion control.
"The family that owns Womack, intends to continue to own Womack for years to come," says Mike Rowlett, executive vice president. "This is a very exciting time for us. Because of the work of a large group of people, the company has grown to the point that now we have the resources we need to spend a portion of our time developing new directions that complement and support what has been our traditional business.
"A new direction for us is automation and motion controls and we've just increased our emphasis in that direction," Rowlett says. "The idea being that we can meet our customers' fluid power, automation and motion control needs."
In addition to expanding its offerings to customers, the Womack leadership team focuses on educating its employees and customers, as well as keeping a close eye on industry developments.
Satisfying end users
Keeping abreast of industry trends and new technologies enables Womack to solidify its relationships with customers by continually offering them more services -- from inventory and training to technical capabilities customers can depend on.
"There's no limit to what we bring to the table, as long as we're thinking creatively," says Rowlett. The company sharpens its creative edge, in part, through its memberships in both the Assn. of High Tech Distributors and the Fluid Power Distributors Assn., which make it easier to stay informed of industry developments.
Time Manufacturing in Waco, Tex., has developed a partnership with Womack Machine during the last six years to supply hydraulic valves for truck-mounted aerial lifts -- the kind that are used by utility and cable television companies, as well as construction and maintenance, tree-trimming and sign companies. The market for these trucks is mature, says Randy Breyer, vice president of engineering, and is highly competitive. In order to remain retain an edge on the market, Time Manufacturing has to provide a reliable and safe product at a very competitive price.
"Most purchases for aerial lifts are made on the purchase price rather than features that would have reduced maintenance costs over the life of the product," Breyer says. "Trying to do that without sacrificing reliability and the safety of the product means we do whatever we can do to save costs, including reducing inventory through a just-in-time system."
Enter Womack Machine Supply. Womack provides a critical function to Time Manuf. because it removes delivery fluctuation from the supply side of the cycle and absorbs the inventory costs for this customer by forecasting their needs and making appropriate buying and stocking decisions.
"The products that they supply to us are all specific to our company, so they have to place orders for these or they don't exist," says Time's Tom Wilson, senior buyer. "They're making financial commitments to products based on our needs and what they think their suppliers performance will be."
It's a tall order to fill, but Womack has proven its commitment to meet it. Time Manuf. experienced a period of time during which Womack's primary supplier of aluminum manifolds had restructured and was unable to provide the aluminum block. Womack contracted with a third party, with the blessings of the original supplier, to temporarily manufacture the aluminum blocks so that Time Manuf. production cycles were undisturbed.
"They spent an enormous amount of hours managing the problem, pretty much transparent to us," says Wilson. "They kept us informed, but it was painless on our side. I would have to say, that in my career in purchasing of about 15 years, I've only seen about three examples of that. It was a tremendous effort; you can't quantify it. It allowed us to operate as normal and generate revenues without much fluctuation."
The customer
Sandwiched between the supplier and the end user, it's easy for distributors to think of the end-user as their customer and to think of themselves as the supplier's customer. But Womack considers Sun Hydraulics Corp. -- makers of hydraulic components and cartridge valves sold exclusively through distribution - a customer just as much as Time Manufacturing.
"As a distributor, we have two customers: our suppliers and our traditional customers," Rowlett says. "The attitude to do whatever we can, whenever we can, to make our customers' and our suppliers' lives easier has been the key to our success and we expect it to serve us well in the future. One of the biggest mistakes distributors have made over the years is to forget that they have two customers."
That two-sided commitment is important to Sun Hydraulics, says Al Carlson, who works in operations. Sun seeks out distributors that are making investments on Sun's behalf, are willing to change the services they provide to meet customer's needs, that are technically competent, application oriented and proficient at logistics. Womack, he says, is on the leading edge of each of those things.
"We look at the distributor as our sales force," Carlson says. "When they're in front of the customer, they are our sales force. Womack's got good people. They know their territory. Their attitude is 'if it looks like hydraulics, we want to own it and we want to provide the service to the customer.'"
Education inside and out
A large portion of the investment that Womack makes on behalf of both of its customers is in education.
In-house, all of Womack's new salespeople go through an extensive training program that costs about $20,000 per new employee. The company also runs continuous training and education programs for all employees. The focus of the training programs ranges from the basics of pneumatic, hydraulic and electronic controls to company policies.
Womack's commitment to training and educating its employees benefits suppliers like Sun Hydraulics because it means fewer technical assistance requests.
"In this technical age, we want to stand head and shoulders above our competition," says Womack. "It's easy to pick up the phone. But we have a standing rule that we don't call any supplier for information until we've talked with our own people in the field, and that saves our supplier a lot of time and makes them appreciate us as a better quality operation."
Glen Chambers, an area manager who has been with Womack for 22 years, says the company's training programs are instrumental to introducing new recruits both to the ins and outs of the business.
"They spend time with all the departments in the company and get exposed to terminology, circuits and hardware, so that when they go out to the field they have basic fluid power knowledge," Chambers says, "and hopefully they know which of our suppliers can provide specific products, and the basics of our company."
For Womack's traditional customers, the company offers an extensive training program as well as a variety of textbooks dedicated to hydraulic, pneumatic and electronic controls produced by its own publishing division. Born out of a need for practical education in fluid power, the Womack education programs educate up to 500 students a year at Womack facilities and another 2,000 who attend training sessions based on Womack's textbooks in other locations.
So why offer training programs to customers? Simple: it's good business.
"We meet an awful lot of customers in these schools and get to know them," Womack says. "We get in on the ground floor of a lot of projects that are starting because the company's principals send their people to get a little more education about the hydraulics involved."
This article was reprinted from ID's 1999 Fluid Power Distributor Assn. convention guide.
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Womack Machine Supply Co.
Headquarters: Dallas, Tex.
Principals: R.C. (Bob) Womack, President and Board Chairman; Mike Rowlett, Executive Vice President
Year founded: 1943
1998 sales: $62 million
Employees: 145
Branches: 19
Product categories: hydraulic, pneumatic and automation equipment
Web site: www.womack-machine.com
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