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| Where Are They Now? |
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This is Dan Gorman, the new second
generation owner of Gorman Machine Corp.
Like with many Companies, my Father Ken
Gorman started the Business out of a Garage
in 1952. I would
like to give you some things to consider
before you make that important decision on
who to go with for your next Coil winding
machine.
A winding machine purchase
is a significant capital investment. I would
think you would want to consider not just
the capabilities of the machine but also the
service and support you will require over
the useful life of your machine which can
easily run over 30 years depending on how
you take care of it.
Not long ago I
came across a July 1969 issue of Circuits
Manufacturing Magazine. My father saved a
stack of them as the cover has one of our
machines on it. We have scanned the pages of
an informative article that covered most of
the major players of that era when many were
jumping into the business of making coil
winding machinery. It is copied further in
this commentary.
What struck me most
was how many of those businesses are long
gone. Some of the ones that are still with
us today have made the decision to make
their machines in China or import foreign
machines and have them private labeled as
their own. |
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I spent a few hours
researching each Company
in the article on Google. I was surprised to
find out that only about 5 are still in
business under the same name and of those 5
only Gorman Machine and George Stevens still
exist as original coil winding machinery
manufacturers. Universal was bought out by Jovil so their product line is continuing
under new ownership in one form or another.
I don't know why the Bachi Company was
omitted but they are technically still in
business but also have spun off into two
successor Companies Itasca and Machine
Control Specialists who are with us today.
I don't know the particular story behind
the failure of each Company, but I do know
that we came close to going under during
several of the major recessions. My father
was careful not to expand too fast and
fiscally conservative so I believe that is
how he weathered the tough times. In
addition, we have the advantage of having
hundreds of machines in the field still
working and they need parts and repairs.
This is a source of revenue recent startups
don't have to survive the lean times.
The coil winding machine business is
feast or famine from what I have observed. I
have learned that customers only buy
machines during times of growth. They get
new business or an increase in business that
can't be handled with current machinery so
they buy new machines. When there is no
growth there is very little demand for new
machines.
With the competition we
are facing from cheap foreign imports, in
combination with the off-shoring of coil
winding activities, I have wondered how we
can face these challenges to our future as
an American manufacturer. I realized that
there are three main strengths we have which
are quality, service and longevity.
Quality: Customers are still sending
machines from the 70's and earlier to us for
repairs. Our machines are built heavy and
rugged. They are designed to endure abusive
work conditions. As long as critical parts
are available, they can last indefinitely.
We don't design for planned obsolescence.
Historically, our customers go out of
business before our machines fail.
Service: When you call us for help with your
machine, you don't have to listen to a menu
system that leads to a dead end or wait days
for a response. You get a live person who
will either answer your questions directly
or transfer you to the person who can. What
you get when you buy a new Gorman Winding
Machine is dedicated service before AND
after your purchase. We want satisfied
customers. We want customers who will come
back to us for repeat business. An existing
Customer is just as important as a new
customer.
Longevity:
We lasted 63 years with just the first
owner, my 93 year old Father who sadly
passed away in 2014. Now in our 67 Th year I
hope to continue his legacy for as long as I
can.
If
any of my comments regarding the Companies
in this commentary are incorrect, please
update me so I can correct that information.
Dan Gorman
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To download a Higher-Res version of this
PDF,
Click Here |
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