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How on-the-job field-testing builds strong customer
relationships while ensuring exceptional product quality

Below, you will find a case history article that I wrote for Vibro Industries. The story profiles Vibro's field testing collaboration with one of their key customers. Why is this remarkable? This is a fine example of how to turn customer partnerships into good press opportunities, while gaining valuable customer goodwill at the same time.

Field testing case histories are always effective. Editors are always receptive to these kinds of stories. In writing a collaboration project, you and your customer receive good visibility...a real win-win situation. The visibility produced by this feature will surely generate increased interest in both companies.

For a fraction of the cost of traditional print advertising, strategically-placed, highly-targeted editorial will give your company valuable exposure in the publications your customers and prospects read most...and simultaneously build brand recognition in support of your other sales promotion efforts. Do you have products in field testing. If not, why not? Perhaps this would be a good time to approach key customers with the idea. Then, while testing is underway, write about your experience.

To date, this article has appeared in Metal Forming magazine (circulation 59,972) and American Tool, Die & Stamping magazine (circulation 30,502). The full text of the article follows.

How on-the-job field-testing builds strong customer
relationships while ensuring exceptional product quality

Fourscore and sixty-five years ago, Abraham Lincoln said, "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." As they apply to the metal stamping industry, truer words have never been said.

Many metal working manufacturers today employ adjunct equipment and production accessories that are designed to improve or extend the performance of manufacturing operations. Yet over time, many of these products can fall short of expectations. Whether it's due to inferior components or poor design, under performing production equipment can drain profitability and erode customer confidence -- a total 'lose lose' situation.

Field-Testing -- The Science Behind The Success

One company has developed a method that ensures total customer satisfaction in the performance of its products, while building strong customer relationships at the same time. Vibro Industries, a Port Royal, PA manufacturer of air-operated conveying systems, employs good old-fashioned field-testing trial and error. Field-testing allows Vibro to fine tune its products, called Transporters, to handle on-the-job performance requirements before they are released to the market en masse.

The principle behind the Vibro Transporter is its pneumatic cylinder design that operates on air pressure to move a product-tray back and forth, causing the material to steadily advance. On the slow-accelerated forward stroke, material is transported forward. During the rapid return-stroke, material remains stationary, thus ensuring constant movement in one direction. Leroy Johnson, president of Vibro Industries, introduced the first Transporter in 1985. Since that time, Vibro continues to improve its products with extensive experimentation and rigorous testing. Today, Vibro Transporters operate in a wide variety of conveying applications in manufacturing operations worldwide.

Depending on the situation, Vibro provides test-site customers with Model 250, 320, 450 and 850 Transporter prototypes. Once installed, Vibro closely monitors the performance of each test unit. Typically, a unit is tested for approximately one year. Then a new unit is installed and the process begins all over again. When a customer recommends adjustments, Vibro employs them. Then Vibro installs the newer, modified unit. "I need to know that our units will stand up to whatever customers can throw at them," said Lee Johnson. "I would rather take the time to make engineering adjustments now, at the prototype stage, than live with the consequences of a disappointed customer after the sale."

New Standard Corp. Partners With Vibro To Test the "Brute"

One Vibro test-site customer, New Standard Corporation of York, PA, is currently testing several Transporter models, including the newly reengineered Model 850 Transporter (the Brute). New Standard Corporation (NSC) is one of several Vibro test-site customers. NSC began operations in 1941 as a manufacturer of kitchen appliance parts and assemblies. The company later moved to metal stampings in the 1950s. Today, NSC is a world class manufacturer of metal stampings, fabrication and assemblies. With two Pennsylvania manufacturing facilities, NSC features the largest bed capacity stamping press available on the East Coast - with a whopping 2,600-ton capacity.

Bill Gurreri, a NSC veteran of some 20 years, is the engineering set-up specialist responsible for production procedures at NSC. "Bill checks all new incoming jobs here at New Standard," said Frank Parduski, plant manager of NSC's Hellam facility. "He determines new procedures for getting raw material into a press, how we're going to remove stamped parts, and how we're going to remove the scrap. He engineers this all up front so when the job comes in, the chutes are made up, the racks are ready, the conveying system is in place, and everything is ready to go," explains Parduski.

Bill Gurreri was instrumental in forming the testing collaboration with Vibro, and he has been closely involved with the process ever since. Most recently, Mr. Gurreri chose to test Vibro's reengineered Brute 850 Transporter on an 800-ton Minster press.

The Brute 850 has been reengineered from Vibro's original Model 850 Transporter to provide four distinct user benefits. First, the Brute 850 now has a smaller profile and is lighter in weight (47 lbs./ 21.3 kg) when compared to previous models, making it an excellent choice for removing scrap from beneath machine tools or other processing applications. Plus, it moves a combined capacity of more than 500 pounds of load and 100 pounds of tray weight. It features low 3.4 CFM** air consumption (certified at half the air consumption of other models) and offers a variable speed of 15 to 40 ft/min. This means multiple trays can be mounted to a single unit, replacing several conventional belt conveyors. Surprisingly, the Brute 850 costs no more today than the very first model in 1994.

The Brute 850 is adaptable to existing production lines and can transport a wide range of materials quietly and efficiently, without the downtime typically required for clean-up and repair attributed to ordinary conveyers. Reengineered units are now steel sleeved for longer life, they employ longer-lasting bearings, and they feature rails with self-cleaning wipers. The life expectancy of the Brute 850 is now comparable to other models. All models are warranted for two years. After two years or when needed, they can be factory rebuilt and warranted again for two more years.

Communication Is Key In Successful Field-Testing

NSC plant manager, Frank Parduski, is pleased with the Vibro relationship. "Vibro is always eager to work with us to make adjustments in their designs. We provide input on things that we see fail for us and note the problems we run into. Sometimes our suggestions for refinements work and sometimes they don't. Either way, this process will ultimately turn up a winner," Parduski added. "We need something that's going to work for us. It has to be durable, dependable, cost efficient, and it has to get the job done...every time."

Parduski appreciates the integrity Vibro brings to the testing process. "They never act as if it's their product alone or dictate how the process will be handled. Instead, they ask what can we do to improve the equipment? Or, what can we provide to help your production process improve?," Parduski said. "We have parts and scrap to move. We have to get them out and away from the tool before they begin to build up causing unnecessary die damage. Efficient scrap and part removal is very important to us."

Parduski also sees the need for ongoing communication with the supplier during the test process. "Vibro has been very open and very honest about their product and willing to try different things to improve their product. We're very honest with them and this is the only way that both parties can ever arrive at their intended goals," said Parduski. "It is a WIN-WIN situation for both our Companies. They're on-site at our facility often and this allows us to provide visual feedback on an ongoing basis.

Other Conveying Systems Not Up To The Test

The Vibro Transporter is not the first conveying system that NSC has tested. Parduski recalls other conveying systems that have come and gone over the years. "We tried belt conveyors, but they required too much maintenance. With belts, shafts, and motors, you've got to keep those all repaired and in good running condition all of the time. Plus, energy costs were much higher. Chute vibrator systems and air blasts operate with a very high noise level, so noise becomes a safety concern," Parduski said. "We like the benefits of the Vibro Transporter. It is quiet and efficient. And because it operates totally on reduced air pressure, it saves energy and money." Parduski also likes the Transporter's low profile, which allows installation in tight and cramped places. Because multiple chutes can be mounted on a single unit, one Vibro Transporter can replace several conventional belt conveyors.

Old Abe once said, "Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time." Perhaps he would have agreed with Vibro's time-tested field-testing approach to product development. More importantly, Vibro's customers do.

** Certification testing was performed by an independent testing lab with equipment that complies with ASME Std. MFC -18M (2001).

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