In pursuit of Excellence

Since setting up shop in 1983, Mosier Fluid Power of Kentucky has seized every opportunity to grow in the Louisville market and beyond

By -- Industrial Distribution, 12/1/2000

Mosier Fluid Power of Kentucky has come a long way since its doors opened in 1983. At that time it was a southern branch of a larger firm, Mosier Fluid Power of Indiana, and experienced some ups and downs before finding its niche as a super-specialized distributor of factory automation equipment.

Today, the independent company couldn't be more focused on its market and its future. Mosier sells traditional fluid power systems and components as well as electronic controls and equipment to customers throughout Kentucky. With 15 employees-five times the number they started out with 17 years ago-the firm is slowly moving into the border states of Ohio and Tennessee and adding complementary products to its core, high-tech lines. Company president Dan McFarland says the firm has seen between 12 and 15 percent annual growth over the last few years and looks for much of the same in the years ahead.

Those are just some of the reasons Mosier Fluid Power of Kentucky has been named one of this year's Excellence In Distribution award winners. The company is committed to serving its niche market by providing technical expertise and application support to customers. Combining that commitment with a strong employee training and benefits program gives this small distributorship a recipe for success.

New beginnings

McFarland moved from Ohio to Louisville in 1983 to launch the Kentucky branch of Mosier Fluid Power. During the first couple of years, he experienced many of the growing pains associated with a start-up operation. First and foremost, he was trying to compete with well-established firms that offered the same or similar products and services. It was a difficult task, to be sure, and the branch lost money during those first few years. In 1985, however, McFarland got his first "big break" with the addition of a line of electronic controls for factory automation. The line was from Omron Electronics, and since then there's been no turning back.

"When we took on that line, it was kind of a new birth for us," says McFarland. "In the past, we had always been fluid power-and until then, fluid power meant pneumatic controls. ...We moved into electronics when we took on this line and it really opened a lot of doors for us."

The experience opened new doors, but it also helped open old doors a little bit wider. Instead of turning away from its traditional fluid power business, Mosier began to use the electronics line to widen its offering of solutions to OEMs, machine builders and others in the Louisville market.

Mosier's move into electronic controls is illustrative of a shift occurring in the fluid power industry. As customers' needs have changed and the industry has become more competitive, many "traditional" fluid power houses have branched out into the electronics realm. It's a trend many in the industry expect to continue.

At the same time, the focus on electronics causes many firms to heighten their technical and engineering expertise. That's certainly been the case at Mosier Fluid Power. After adding the Omron line, Mosier soon hired an application engineer, Mike Koehler, to support salespeople and customers. Today, Koehler and a second application engineer, Bill Smith, offer day-to-day support and conduct training sessions for customers. The training programs represent yet another growth opportunity for this small company, which posted sales of $5.7 million last year.

"The electronic lines pretty much pushed the issue for us to get more into engineering expertise," says McFarland, adding that his company is known for its ability to support the high-quality products it sells.

Mosier's business partners agree with that assessment. Kyle McClanahan, a technical marketing manager for Norgren, Inc., says he appreciates Mosier's ability to work with his company's engineers to develop solutions for application problems. Norgren makes a variety of factory automation equipment, including pneumatic and linear actuators, directional control valves, fittings, and airline prep equipment. McClanahan also values Mosier's ability to buy different products and put them together in a system for the customer. The company's focus on pneumatics and electronics, and on how those elements can complement each other, is key to that solutions-based approach.

"We want to be a solution-type sales force, focusing on fluid power and electronics," says McFarland, adding that lately suppliers have approached him about adding hydraulic products to the mix. "For now, with the industry and economy we're in, we have to stay on course and do what we do best, and that's being a supplier of electronic and pneumatic controls. You've got to realize where your strengths and weaknesses are."

Branching out

Mosier Fluid Power is banking on its strength as a problem-solver for continued growth. Three years ago, the company split from its parent and has since added five new employees. The firm also opened a second branch in Northern Kentucky last January in hopes of expanding into the Cincinnati and Southern Ohio markets. Two salespeople work out of the Erlanger, Ky., office, which also includes facilities for the company's growing training and education business. Mosier's engineers offer customized training programs that can be conducted at the customer's plant or at Mosier's training rooms in Erlanger and Louisville.

Mosier engineers train customers on a range of issues-new products, customized systems, and general electronic and pneumatic equipment issues. There is no set schedule for the training sessions. Instead, they are conducted on an as-needed basis-and Mosier charges customers for the service.

"Most times, people have it in their budget to pay for training," says McFarland. "Our guys are very talented and knowledgeable-and people don't mind paying the money to train their people, because it's good, quality training."

Koehler agrees that much of his time as an application engineer is spent on training issues-and not just on the Mosier training programs, but on education in general. If he's not working on a custom training program, he's helping an outside salesperson solve a problem or working with a customer on the phone about an application issue. All of those things, he says, involve educating the end user.

"Training is one of our biggest jobs," explains Koehler, who has been with Mosier Fluid Power for nine and a half years.

In that time, Koehler has gone through his fair share of training programs, workshops and seminars. That's the case with all Mosier employees, who each get an average 40 hours of training per year. After all, says McFarland, how can a distributor expect to educate his customers if he's not on the cutting edge himself? Engineers, outside salespeople and customer service reps at Mosier all go through regular product and computer training to stay up-to-date on the most recent technologies and new product developments. Representing 27 different lines makes that task especially challenging.

"We have to continually train and read and train ourselves," McFarland explains. "Our salespeople have to be more of a resource for customers. It used to be solely a relationship business. Now, you still need that, but you also need to be a resource."

Greg Schanding says he looks to Mosier Fluid Power as a resource. Schanding is the owner of Icon Automation, a company that designs and builds special manufacturing equipment used in the automotive, lighting and electronics industries, among others. He buys valves, cylinders and electronics equipment from Mosier. And while he and his staff have considerable technical knowledge, they still look to McFarland and his crew for help with certain products and applications. Schanding points to safety devices like light curtains and machine guards-used on machinery to protect factory and assembly line workers-as an example. Mosier added those complementary products to its mix five years ago.

"For light curtain applications, we may have some specific questions on how to interface a particular model with our applications," says Schanding, adding that Mosier's sales staff is always more than willing to help solve such problems.

Behind the scenes

As a small company, Mosier Fluid Power of Kentucky has another big challenge: technology. But it's a challenge the firm is equally ready to meet. A year ago, McFarland upgraded the company's computer system, putting in new workstations and computers, and connecting all customer service reps, salespeople, engineers and managers on a Local Area Network. T1 lines allow those employees to connect with the outside world via the Internet and they use Microsoft's Outlook program to share customer information, mailing lists and the like. While the entire system required a hefty investment, McFarland says it's been well worth it. Not only does the new technology make the company feel and look a little more high tech, but it has created internal efficiencies, as well.

"A simple thing like e-mail has really made our business more streamlined in the last year," says McFarland. "And we're just scratching the surface-there's so much more we could do."

One way the company plans to do more with technology is by expanding its use of the Web. McFarland says the company has received inquiries from across the country and around the world since setting up the Mosier Web page and his hope is to channel those inquiries into new business. Partnering with other distributors-those who could use Mosier's expertise and product lines-via the Internet is the most likely route. In the meantime, he hopes to put more resources into the Web, allowing customers to access technical literature and drawings online, for example.

While those initiatives are key, the most important behind-the-scenes element at Mosier Fluid Power is much less high tech and more personal. Simply put, it's people. Good people are the lifeblood of any distributorship, says McFarland, which is why he offers things like quarterly bonuses, 100 percent paid health insurance and a 401K plan. Without good employees, he adds, Mosier Fluid Power of Kentucky would not be where it is today.

"We've got to treat our employees the way we would want to be treated," McFarland explains. "If you can share some of the profit, that's the way you're going to keep good people."

And what if it comes down to cutting corners versus providing employees with good benefits? For McFarland, there's only one answer.

"We try and watch costs, but not at the expense of employees," he says, pointing to the full health coverage benefit, in particular. "I look at it more as an investment in people than an expense."

And that's one investment Mosier Fluid Power of Kentucky plans to keep on making.

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