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March 2021 #13260 Page #65
Genuine Business Partnerships Can Produce Amazing Results
By Ed Serrano Managing Director VektaUSA
T
raditionally, suppliers are selected through a bidding process. The standard transactional process has always conformed to goods and services for money. After the money changes hands, the relationship concludes.
In contrast, a partner provides a tailored business relationship based on mutual trust, openness, and shared risks and rewards. Partners often participate in product design processes, and these are fluid, flexible relationships that depend on honesty and integrity to succeed. A partnership not only creates a competitive advantage for both parties but also a feeling of satisfaction and even excitement. To tell you that you need a partnership when choosing a supplier for automated equipment for your component manufacturing plant would be preaching to the choir. As many already know, a linear saw, an automated jig, or automated infeed system is not just a piece of machinery that is swapped for money and the relationship ends. Training, service, and support are fundamental elements that create business partnerships. When automating an entire plant, should the normal partnership rules apply? NO Should you expect more? YES In late 2019, Vekta was approached by The Truss Company (TTC) in the USA regarding options for automating a new plant they were building in Centralia, Washington. They already had a Vekta Razer V5 and were curious about what else Vekta could supply. The result: a partnership based on openness, mutual trust, shared risk, and shared reward. “The team at Vekta was instrumental in the design of this system and were able to open our eyes to possibilities we didn’t know even existed. The finished product has not only met but exceeded our expectations. With the minimal footprint of the PackFeeder, the accuracy, speed and reliability of the Razer V5, the speed and efficiency of the Material Conveyor system, and the overall support by this team, we are extremely pleased with the outcome.” Josh Wright, V.P. of Manufacturing The Truss Company, Centralia, WA
It all starts with OPENNESS – in other words, communication. From the start of the relationship, TTC was clear in their objectives for their plant: highly efficient, high volume operation, built-in redundancy, safe, and cost effective. TTC was also open about their concerns, both with Vekta and the approach. In return, Vekta was clear and open about what TTC should expect (the good and the bad) and pitfalls encountered in the past with such a factory approach. However, given our 15+ years of experience with these kinds of installations, Vekta was able to work through the concerns and come up with a solution that ticked all of the boxes.
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