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CINCINNATI—Pilsen
Imports increased its business during 2001’s economic recession
with targeted sales and delivering quality customer support. The
company’s addition of a dedicated parts support specialist,
its growing relationship with TOSHULIN vertical turning lathes (VTLs),
a customized user documentation department, and its recent hiring
of a new field service technician are helping the company to position
itself for record growth again in 2002.
“Our
customer’s lean manufacturing needs really drove Pilsen’s
customer support expansion,” says Bob Pruden, President of
Pilsen Imports. “The manufacturing slowdown that occurred over
the past year and a half required us to look even harder at how
we could enhance our relationships with our customers, vendors,
and TOSHULIN. We already work with the best people and products
in the industry and expanding on our support seemed like the natural
extension. Now, we’re taking it (our support) to the next level.”
In
early 2001, Pilsen recruited Nick Daniele to launch the company’s
dedicated Parts Support Specialist role. With 27 years industry
experience, Mr. Daniele is well versed in the variety of parts and
components associated with all makes and models of vertical and
horizontal lathes, making him a perfect choice for the role.
“We’ve
always provided a full-service parts function, however, we’ve
not had a dedicated parts department,” says Mr. Pruden. “What
we have done with this is to increase our customer and vendor communication
to help determine our parts inventory. Nick has increased our inventory
level while at the same time eliminating years of non-moving parts.
Nick’s job is to build a history of each part, customer and
machine to ensure that parts are delivered as promised.”
Since
initiating the Parts Support role one year ago, Pilsen has increased
its capability for delivering spare parts to customers within 24
hours to over 90 percent. Mr. Daniele attributes this high response
rate to Pilsen’s ability to dedicate an experienced technician
to this role, expanded vendor relationships, and the company’s
overall commitment to enhanced customer contact.
R&D
Tire Mold Company in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee has used TOSHULIN machines
since 1996. Plant Manager John Wilson says Pilsen’s Customer
Support Team is a key reason why R&D has been able to minimize
downtime over the past several years. “Any time we stop production,
that’s a loss of income,” Mr. Wilson says. “There’s
no room for downtime in our business. Pilsen’s machines have
been a solid piece of our manufacturing process for five years.
When we need service; we need rapid service. And they (Pilsen) deliver.
Even over the phone. We can call them and describe a problem that’s
cloudy for us, and they’re good at clarifying the problem and
then delivering the replacement parts.”
Mr.
Daniele points out that while Pilsen boasts a rapid response rate,
the Customer Support Team’s objective is to work proactively
with customers to prevent downtime and other problems. “We’ve
made it a point to contact our customers every week to learn what
they need,” Mr. Daniele says. “I set up accounts with
vendor companies to get OEM discounts and support. They customize
their equipment to our specifications. Those discounts and support
transfer directly to our customers.”
During
the past few years, Pilsen has provided a host of other support
developments, the most recent of which is the addition of Dan Davis
as a service technician. Mr. Davis comes to Pilsen with 12 years
experience in the machine tool industry. Pilsen recently implemented
an updated network system to increase customer awareness throughout
the company and to track parts shipment. There is an ongoing development
of Pilsen’s in-house “customized training documentation
department, which writes customer-specific addenda to TOSHULIN user
manuals and provides detailed training to transfer knowledge to
customer personnel.
Other
expansions include the promotion of Mr. Al Roberts to Regional Sales
Manager. Al, a Mechanical Engineer, has over 20 years of machine
tool experience. “VTLs are not commodities like some other
machine tool products,” says Mr. Roberts. “The idea of
customizing each machine per customer order makes sense. Documentation
supplements are dedicated to a customer’s machine. It’s
a very, very unique situation that delivers real value to our customers.”
The
ability to build business in a slow economy due to enhanced customer
support could tempt any company to rest on its laurels as the economy
improves. But according to Mr. Roberts, Pilsen refuses to let that
happen. The company continually works with its customers, suppliers,
and TOSHULIN to improve the products and services it delivers to
its customers. “Being satisfied with our customer care isn’t
our nature,” Mr. Roberts says. “We never want to get comfortable
in that respect. We’re always improving. If we were successful
in 2001, then we will strive to top that in 2002 and 2003. And as
the economy turns, we expect to enjoy a growing market.”
To
learn more about Pilsen Imports, Inc., and its commitment to customer
service, visit www.pilsenimports.com.
Pilsen
Imports—Your Vertical Turning Machine Specialists
Pilsen Imports is a leading supplier of vertical turning equipment,
specializing in the installation, service, and support of TOSHULIN
vertical turning machines. Pilsen’s highly skilled machine
specialists have an average of 23 years experience in the machine
tool industry. We are dedicated to providing our customers with
24/7 service and support, including overnight delivery, phone and
on-site support, and comprehensive operators’, programming,
and maintenance training for every machine we sell.
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