Just outside of Bangor, Maine, lies the small city of Brewer, population 8,897. It's a tight-knit community almost equidistant from Boston and Montreal. That's probably the last place you'd expect to find a company some call one of the most technically knowledgeable distributors in New England. But this rural city is home to Lane Systems & Supply, a power transmission, materials handling and conveyor specialist that prides itself on providing solutions to complex problems facing its changing customer base.

“We've built our reputation as being problem solvers,” says company president Bob Taylor. “It's something we're really proud of. Customers depend on us to provide them with product, of course, but our specialty is providing solutions. Years ago these [customers] had their own engineers on their staff. They had close to the knowledge we have. But as those employees left, there was no one to take their place. That's where we come in.”

Lane's reputation as a problem solver is well-earned and has evolved from the changing New England marketplace. Many of Lane Supply's traditional customers have moved south or overseas. As they left, distributors in the region were faced with fewer customers and the influx of a growing number of national chain distributors that had expanded their reach into Maine through national or single-source contracts. As a result, Taylor and his right-hand man, Tim Cowan, found themselves competing with some of the bigger power transmission players in the country.

Taylor and Cowan chose not to compete strictly on price, so they adopted a strategy of providing technical solutions and problem-solving skills to industries such as paper, pulp, lumber and food processing.

In addition to selling bearings, drives, controls and other power transmission components, Lane also custom designs and fabricates screw, chain, belt and other conveyor systems. The company provides large-capacity machining solutions and special machining operations and offers design, fabrication and other services for customers throughout the region. Lane's own statement of purpose describes it this way: “We provide the best solutions by providing our expertise, ingenuity and craftsmanship to every project.”

Customers seem to agree. Bruce McLaughlin, operations manager and vice president of Robbins Lumber, a manufacturer of Eastern white pine lumber in Searsmont, Maine, and a long-time customer, says Lane's reputation is deserved.

“Lane brings technical expertise along with its products,” McLaughlin says. “That's been their forte. They understand any technical problems we have and how they can be solved. They don't just come in and try to sell us products like bearings. They come in and tell us how we can improve our operations.

“I really can't say enough about them. Their interaction with us has been fantastic. They've always been extremely responsive. Whenever they undertake a project, they always make sure it's done right.”

Taylor, who's been with Lane for nearly 35 years and its president since 2002, and Cowan, a 25-year veteran, are part of a team of product specialists who take complex problems and offer solutions for specific applications in a variety of industries. Take the case of a paper mill that needed drive upgrades for their paper machines, a project that would also require reducers. The paper company already had an existing contract with one of the largest distributors in the country to provide them with power transmission products. But Lane got the job. Here's why:

“We weren't just going to provide them with reducers,” says Cowan, a graduate of the University of Maine. “We custom-designed bases to take the new gear boxes and adapted them to the existing bases.”

Lane designed and fabricated the base plates, made other modifications and adjustments, oversaw the entire project and made sure the machines were up and running. Working with the general contractor, Lane acted as a project engineer for the entire eight- to 10-week project.

“By us taking over the project, the company was able to free up their employees to do other work,” Cowan says.

Cowan also smiles when he recalls the competing PT distributor that was upset because it didn't get the work as part of its existing contract.

“Basically the customer told them they couldn't possibly have done all the additional things we did for them,” he says.

The technical expertise that Lane brings to the table doesn't go unnoticed by Jim Koran, a sales representative for power transmission products manufacturer Dodge/Reliance, which was the first PT line the distributor represented.

“They're just a treat to do business with,” Koran says. “They're very loyal and have the technical expertise that few distributors have. Because of that technical knowledge they do a great job of solving problems for their customers.”

Solving problems is part of the everyday work philosophy at Lane Systems & Supply, as is hiring the best qualified technical salespeople from the industries it serves. The strategy has paid off for the Maine-based company, whose expertise has taken it into neighboring states such as New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and even New York.

Lane started out as Hackett Machine in 1929, a company founded and owned by Oliver Hackett. The machine shop, basically a foundry, produced parts and pieces for the many sawmills that dotted the Maine landscape. The company today is still a division of Lane Systems & Supply.

Ralph Lane, Hackett's son-in-law and also an employee, saw the opportunity to sell belts, bearings and associated products. Working out of his garage, he realized that selling parts and products seemed a lot more profitable than machine work. As business picked up he moved out of the garage and Lane Systems & Supply was born. The company's first employee was Jim Rawcliffe, who worked for Lane for 43 years. In 1975, Rawcliffe and a business partner, Wally LaQualia, bought the company. Today, Lane Systems & Supply is owned by Northstar Capital, an investment firm in Minneapolis.

At its peak, Lane Systems & Supply had 75 employees, generating $15.5 million in sales. There was plenty of business during those boom years. The paper, pulp and lumber industries were running full throttle as were the fishing, shoe, textile and poultry sectors. In fact, at one time there were four poultry processing plants in Maine. Today there are none. The paper and pulp business dropped off markedly, and the textile and shoe industries moved south, eventually relocating overseas.

Today, sales at Lane are roughly $11 million with 52 employees and business is expected to remain flat this year. The company is still recovering from a sharp drop off in the paper and pulp business in the late 1990s. And after the tragedy of 9/11, revenues dropped to less than $9 million. In the past few years sales have rebounded as Lane positioned itself to look at markets beyond Maine.

All that revenue doesn't come just from distributor sales, though. Lane also manufactures specialty screws. About 35 percent of its revenue comes from that side of the business, 55 percent from the distribution side, and the remainder from its other businesses such as its machine shop and steel operations. Its major customers still include the lumber sector and food processing industries, such as blueberries and potatoes. Now the company is optimistic about new industries such as waste-to-power power plants and water treatment plants, both in nearby states.

Taylor joined the company as Lane's fifth employee in 1973 and says the firm has always put its strength in its people.

“I learned a lot from Jim [Rawcliffe] and one of the most important things was to hire the right people, don't micromanage them and let them do their work,” he says. “We want people who think on their own. At the end of the month, the numbers tell you if they're doing the job.”

That philosophy has resulted in low turnover at the one-location distributorship. Seventeen of its 52 employees have with Lane for more than 20 years, 15 between 10 and 19 years, and eight between five and nine years.

That stability has greatly enhanced Lane's ability in the marketplace, says Dodge/ Reliance's Koran.

“They're so knowledgeable and they have the right people in place, so it makes it easy for us as a manufacturer to deal with them,” he says.

Cowan, a mechanical engineer who worked in the plumbing business and sold bearings for another distributor for a few years, joined the company in 1982 as the result of a chance conversation with Taylor at a hockey game. It's a decision he says he's never regretted. Other key members of the management team are salesmen Mike Richardson and Jeff Nelson, who each have more than 25 years of service at Lane.

Titles don't mean a lot at this company. There are no vice presidents or other such titles. Instead, they have a teamwork approach toward one goal: solving customer needs. Every employee draws on the experience and knowledge of the others.

“We have to wear many hats in this company and everyone works to help one another out,” Taylor says.

Finding technically astute people is one of the most difficult problems facing Lane. The company has hired employees from the industries it serves and provides “on the job” training. And to keep people on board, Lane has a number of benefits that stand out. For example, salespeople are not paid on a commission basis. Every employee in the company is eligible for a bonus based on performance and the profitability of the company at the end of the year.

Also, employees pay only $5 a week for health insurance; the remainder is covered by the company. Lane also pays 75 percent of employees' dependents' insurance and offers a 401k match and a vacation plan. Employees are also allowed to accumulate sick time against the event of a major illness.

Like most distributors, Lane Systems & Supply is faced with the problem of making customers understand that they must pay for technical services—all while competing with larger distributors in the marketplace.

Citing one example, Cowan noted that Lane had lost business with a customer to a newly authorized distributor on the basis of a national single-source contract.

“Ironically, that customer still calls today when they have a problem,” Cowan explains. “The purchasing agent told me that any information we give them is considered free service and that in order to be paid they would have to provide us with a purchase order. The customer is the one losing out.”

The bottom line, Cowan says, is, “We sell what we know, not just the product.”

Getting that message across is difficult, but Lane is in the initial stages of forming a deal to be paid on a retainer basis by one customer for providing technical expertise and assistance.

“We've been trying to put together a package we can take to the customer and explain how we can work with them on an annual contract basis,” Cowan says.

Cowan and Taylor say the advantage for Lane is that many of their customers have drastically cut back on their technical staffs. Lane is able to provide everything from CAD drawings and installation to fabrication and traditional products, giving the company a leg up on the competition.

To learn from other distributors and take advantage of that knowledge, Lane Systems & Supply is a member of the Power Transmission Distributors Assn. and IDC-USA, a co-operative group of independent PT distributors that primarily serve the power transmission industry.

“By participating in these organizations, it allows us to network and talk to our peers,” says Taylor.

Lane sees a tough road ahead. Competition is fiercer now than ever before, national contracts are continuing to grow and although some new industry has moved into the Pine Tree State, it hasn't been significant. Expansion into other states has created opportunities in emerging industries. No matter what happens, Lane won't be looking just for products to sell, but for problems to solve. And that's what they say will continue to separate them from the competition in the years ahead.