Customer Success Stories Prove Huffman Builds Machines With Exceptional Value

Communicating Equipment Superiority to Marketplace Creates Interesting Challenge

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK
by President Roger H. Hayes

At our recent sales meeting, threads of excitement ran through the many presentations given by company sales personnel and our business unit managers. I was reminded of Merlin the Magician, and earlier TV shows - The Millionaire and The Counterfeiters. All of the characters had money central to their personalities - whether it was turning lead to gold, giving away seemingly worthless checks or determining the real bill from counterfeit ones. As I listened to story after story about the success customers were having with Huffman machines reaping huge earnings, the reality of our products becoming like ATM machines was not fantasy.

Money Machines

Sales Representative Ray Zeman told of a customer who was making scrap parts totaling more than $300,000/year representing 5% of production. This was after the firm spent $380,000 to rebuild an old conventional grinder. After the purchase of a new Huffman unit, the firm produced 3.5 times more parts with no scrap parts. Not any! None! At current conditions, the respective Huffman machine produces value four to five times better than the previous rebuild unit, is about one-third the cost of a new competitive machine, and 87% that of a rebuild.

John Shumate's customer reduced partmaking from 30 hours to just five. And now with a slight change in fixture design, two parts are produced in the same time. "That's a six times productivity gain suddenly becoming 12."

Chris Juett told of a customer whose machines produced one part in six minutes. Following a joint application development on a new Huffman, parts are made every 30 seconds or 12 times the earlier productivity rate.

Jim Springle cited a customer who rebuilt a ten-year-old Huffman Model HS-75P machine for just $38,000 and is producing one carbide end mill every 20 minutes. A newer competitive machine takes 47 minutes to do the part. Also, this new machine costs 7.5 times the rebuild figure.

This Is Your Life

What do the above stories tell us about making real money using Huffman machines? Well, suppose you sold your products for $100 each, and it took you ten hours to make one. If suddenly you made one part in two hours, you would be five times more productive. As a result, the reduced machining time would lessen the overall cost of the product and greatly raise profitability. Secondly, the fact that you make five times more products in the same time means that if you can sell five times more product - your revenues will escalate substantially.

This is a simplified example of how quickly profits can be made under the right circumstances and market conditions. Does this business sound like one to stick your toes into? Don't bother, you're already in it investing your energies and wonderful spirit on a daily basis to build superior equipment delivering superior value to customers.

Too Good To Be True

Like the Millionaire TV program where people feared taking a million dollar gift, some sales prospects are reluctant to believe the glowing testimonials of customers who are reaping major earnings from Huffman machines. It is difficult for some industrial buyers to comprehend the scope of the real productivity value inherent in highly technical CNC equipment. They mistake an investment for a purchase.

Our sales group reports that the median return on investment ranges from 300-500% for a new Huffman grinder. This means that if we sell a $100,000 machine, the customer will get back from $300,000-$500,000 in the first year, and every year thereafter if the circumstances remain the same. Is the high value of this investment hard to believe? You bet. But is it true? Yes.
Market Communication Vital

Oddly, our challenge as a company isn't creating more value in our equipment, it is changing the minds of skeptics who question the success rates of our machine installations. There is a need to communicate more clearly so potential customers can better understand the truths in sales presentations.

Consequently, we are pursuing a strategy course that focuses on more active marketing communications. One successful tactic is our Process Development Program where Huffman collaboratively discovers the value creating components for a customer's business, and matches machine characteristics that will deliver them. Working elbow-to-elbow with customers greatly helps in convincing end users how our machines can generate high earnings - like Merlin the Magician who would turn lead into gold.

We are also targeting sales efforts at those market segments where our products can bring more value in machining higher value parts. We have moved into a time when Huffman Corporation has recovered its market position where we by far offer the highest investment value to machinery buyers. We deliver quality, productivity, low cost and low risk. It is an exciting time, and now the challenge is to spread the good news.