Our sales rep attempted multiple cold calls at a truck body manufacturer with little results. They were supplied by a competitor who luckily for us ran the customer low on welding wire. We were able to get them some wire and we asked to meet the Production Manager who was the key decision maker. The Production Manager agreed to a shop tour.
During the tour, we cataloged that the shop had twenty (20) manual weld stations with ten (10) fixed location stations and ten (10) mobile stations. We noticed that the customer welded a high tensile strength steel that was much thinner material than their competition. Our customer’s trucks weighed 500 pounds less than their competitor giving them a marketplace advantage.
Management’s primary concern was material distortion so they limited the voltage range on the weld machinery. We asked to do a survey/test to see if we could improve welding
We did run a weld test with an alternate welding gas AR/CO2/O2 to see if we could lower heat input and we were able to arc around 14.5V with the same WFS. To impress the Production Manager, we decided to do a full analysis showing many ways that we could offer benefits to their shop focusing on the material distortion. We also determined that we could provide drum wire to all of their fixed location weld cells offering labor savings.
The Production Manager was impressed with the work we had done. He focused on the distortion issue and asked if we could prove what we were saying. We used a video of the welding that we had done at his location to prove our case. Next he asked if we could train his whole staff to reduce their arc-voltage. In exchange for their business we agreed to provide the training.
We gained a new customer who averages $200K annually. They gave us opportunities to look at other items they purchase like abrasives and safety. We gained that business which is included in the $200K number listed above. A strong relationship with Senior Management has led to an annual joint shop tour that looks for areas to improve our customer’s operations.