Five Questions

©iStockphoto.com/tostphoto Five Questions

RK Trading Company

Five Questions provides an opportunity for SMI associate members to tell the spring industry about the products and services they offer. In this edition, we talk with Robert Kupczak, owner and president, RK Trading Company.

1|Can you tell us about the history of RK Trading Company? As the owner of Jackson Spring, it all started for me with a trip in 1995 to investigate a variety of spring and wireforming machines being built in Taiwan. I spent three days visiting companies, and my last stop was at a small, family-owned company in Taipei called Hertong (now Herdon). I was intrigued, received pricing and delivery information, and told them I would return with a few others to confirm my opinion. I went back with our key setup person and a friend who also owned a spring company. They confirmed that Herdon machines were sturdily constructed, with interesting features and programming that was easier to use than most competitive machines. I immediately placed orders for two machines. I told the Herdon owners that if the machines worked well at my company, I might be interested in trying to sell their machines in the U.S. We reached an agreement in 1996 and I have never questioned the price. I just asked Herdon to build a quality machine for our market. We were fortunate enough to find immediate success, and RK Trading and Jackson Spring remain as completely separate businesses.

2|What types of machinery do you offer to springmakers? Herdon manufactures a wide variety of products to make compression, extension and torsion springs and wireforms. Compression spring coilers are available with a range of .8mm to 20mm wire size, from simple three-axis machines to multiple axis machines with or without camera gages. We will soon introduce a 12-axis coiler. Wireforming machines are available in a variety of configurations, with size ranges of 1mm to 8mm, from simple four axis to 14 axis, with a wide variety of possible attachments. Herdon also makes two sizes of grinders, both crush and/or downfeed. Powered payoffs are available with capacities from 50kg to 2500kg.

3|What services do you offer customers? As an owner of a spring company, I bought a few machines over the years that would have better served as very expensive boat anchors. I was determined to provide a superior product at fair prices with the best service in the industry. We have full-time, very knowledgeable service technicians who are expected to promptly return all phone calls regarding service issues. We offer full training, either in our facility or at our customer’s facility. If the customer feels the need for added training, it’s available. We maintain a large inventory of tooling and spare parts. We can also advise our customer on ways to set up difficult parts, optimize production speeds, etc. Our attention to service has resulted in more than 90 percent of our sales being to existing customers.

4|What are the latest equipment trends impacting springmakers? Easier, faster, stronger. These are the buzzwords in our industry today. Almost everyone we talk to is having a difficult time finding qualified setup people. Larger companies may have training programs but, lacking that, a possible solution is to invest in newer, more productive equipment which is easier to learn, use and maintain. Unless a company has carved out a specific niche, it is imperative to stay current with manufacturing capabilities. We’ve had some companies successfully integrate robotics into their processes. This trend will accelerate as labor becomes harder to get and more expensive. The use of artificial intelligence has entered into all types of manufacturing and will eventually be utilized in spring machinery.

A very wise man who owned one of the largest spring companies in the world told me at an SMI meeting that “making springs is a pennies and inches business.” In other words, to succeed, you must operate efficiently.

5|Can you tell us about a recent challenge that you were able to solve for a customer? Since we offer onsite service, most problems can be answered with a simple phone call. It is not uncommon for our service technicians to receive a phone call in the middle of the night. At no charge, they can walk the caller through the steps needed to correct the problem. If it is a parts issue, in many cases we have the part in stock and can air freight to the customer. There are times when we can tell a customer specific ways to increase their productivity. We once showed a customer how to thread one end of a part on their machine. We welcome these challenges. We understand that our business is, to a large degree, built on service. We don’t just “sell and ship.” We view ourselves as much more a service company than a machine seller. n

Robert Kupczak RK Trading Company 235 Bond Street Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 847-640=9771 rkinfo@sbcglobal.net www.rktradingusa.com