Automotive News - March 3, 2008 - (Page 24f)

24F • MARCH 3, 2008 Repair company grows as Detroit 3 struggle Industrial Control Repair thrives with business beyond its traditional base Brent Snavely bsnavely@crain.com WILLIAM PUGLIANO Says Industrial Control Repair CEO Paul Gutierrez: “You constantly have to look at your business and say, ‘How am I going to improve?’ ” DETROIT — Paul Gutierrez is increasing his business even though his company’s traditional customer base, the Detroit 3, is struggling. Gutierrez is CEO of Industrial Control Repair Inc., of suburban Detroit, which fixes robots and equipment used in manufacturing plants. ICR is thriving because it branched out and landed business with import-brand automakers such as Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., as well as nonautomotive customers such as FedEx Corp. Also, about four years ago, ICR became the only authorized repair center in the United States for Kawasaki Robotics (USA) Inc. and Nachi Robotic Systems Inc. The result: ICR’s sales have jumped from $16 million to more than $30 million in the past five years. Mom-and-pop shops Richard Litt, chairman of Genesis Systems Group LLC in Davenport, Iowa, says many of the companies in ICR’s line of business have annual sales of as little as $2 million. “Most of those companies in the controls and industrial repairs services industry are almost mom-andpop operations,” says Litt, who also is president of the Robotic Industries Association in Ann Arbor, Mich. “The fact that ICR has figured out how to take that to a larger scale, that’s very unique.” Gutierrez, 47, says he recognized long ago that ICR needed to adapt, and he put a plan in place to go after new customers. “You have to recognize where the industry is going,” he says. “You constantly have to look at your business and say, ‘How am I going to improve?’ ” ICR fixes robots, servomotors, cathode ray tubes and welding controls. Through the 1990s, ICR grew beyond its roots as a welding equipment repair business into a company that manages plantwide asset-management programs for automakers. Asset-management programs call for a company like ICR to place one or more full-time employees at the customer’s plant to monitor equipment and even predict when parts are nearing the end of their life spans and need to be repaired. Time for change But by about 1998, Gutierrez says he realized his company needed to evolve again. At the time, ICR’s sales were almost exclusively with the Detroit 3. But expanding beyond them posed a challenge. “If you only know the automotive, and you know nothing outside, how do you diversify?” Gutierrez says. He started by hiring the best sales and business managers he could afford. In 2006, ICR landed its first contract to manage repairs at Toyota’s assembly plant in Princeton, Ind. This year the company will take over asset management at four more Toyota plants. Today about 65 percent of sales are from outside the Detroit 3. ICR also is about to launch a Webbased software system called Business Asset Manager. The company began developing the program a year ago, but Larry Obermesik, vice president of information technology, says he has been kicking the idea around for about seven years. The system gives ICR the ability to manage and track equipment repair cycles across multiple plants and will help further reduce repair times and costs. ICR is in final testing of the software and plans to launch the program soon. It expects to begin with six to eight customers and track the equipment repairs of about 30 plants. A New Vision It starts with a new name for the Schefenacker Group ––– Visiocorp, a new force in automotive rear-view mirror and camera-based environmental sensor technologies. The name Visiocorp reflects both a clear vision of the solutions we supply, and the highly effective global network we have built to deliver them. Visiocorp represents the combined skills of more than 5,000 employees in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia working in 21 production and development locations to support automotive customers all over the world. Some setbacks ICR also has dealt with setbacks. Last year it lost its contract with General Motors, ending a 10-year relationship that included repair work at 10 to 12 plants. “We declined the GM contract because we could not meet their pricing terms,” Gutierrez says. “We did not even come close.” ICR’s competitors are mostly in the Midwest, including K&S Services Inc., PSI Repair Services Inc. and IVS Inc., all of suburban Detroit. K&S Services was founded in 1982 and is among the largest manufacturing equipment repair companies in the business. It is about three times the size of ICR and fixes a broader range of equipment for numerous industries. Genesis’ Litt says more companies want to repair their robotic equipment rather than replace it, especially in the automotive industry. George Ternes, facility engineering manager for Chrysler LLC’s Warren Stamping plant, says Chrysler’s business with ICR has grown over the past 10 years. Before ICR, Ternes says, Chrysler had bad experiences with other repair companies: “We went through two or three companies in three or four years.”c visiocorp.com http://visiocorp.com http://visiocorp.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - March 3, 2008

Bob Nardeli's new big-idea guy New Kia boss reaches out to restless dealers Scion hits a wall Lithia losses raise caution flag Detroit 3 shun talk of NAFTA do-over Lincoln names new marketing manager Mercedes to launch hybrid sedan in '09 Mazda has new top marketing exec M-B will hit the road with 50-state diesels Pontiac puts big ad bucks into traditional media for G8 Reynolds, ADP diverge on growth strategies Ford plans to cut fleet sales 10% in 2008 Mazda: New models, styling will boost its loyalty rate Run-up to axle strike adds to supplier woes Webasto's fast heater will debut by 2010 Russian plant wants to be world's biggest A Lancer is hatched Chrysler throws out purchasing rulebook Honda sets lofty hybrid goal, with Civic's help Honda: Use of ethanol limited, must be biomass Honda CEO Fukui: No recession in U.S., despite soft sales in spots 550 hp? 620 hp? Is GM crazy? Doug Fraser was a great leader How ironic: Lyons learns caution Well done, Doug Don't let Calif. impose fuel rules on the nation Blame the dealer, not the brand Cutting weight doesn't cut safety When Lutz dumps on global warming ... JM exec Czubay: A taste for hogs, pierogi Doug Fraser: A good man to have known Fraser led UAW with 'combination of substance, politics and charm' Autonet finds success at NADA with wi-fi for cars GM to sell medium-truck business, keep dealer network Web classified ad firms renew marketing to dealers, buyers Chery designs venture's vehicles China venture eyes 20,000 Fiesta hatchback sales Toyota plans crossovers in China Dongfeng, YuAn plan minicars BMW shakes up global marketing, sales ranks Delphi divestiture boosts forging supplier Is Blackhawk purchase bucking a trend? Repair company grows as Detroit 3 struggle BorgWarner unit expands German automakers seek more parts sourced in North America Hyundai picks ArvinMeritor Japan parts firm to build Miss. plant Nissan to increase spending on IT Purchase keeps Tenn. plant open Automakers hit with apartheid claims Mexico sales flat in January Ford prices '09 Flex atop crossover line Hamp rejoins Visteon board RV deliveries decline 3.4% in December Subaru lowers Forester price Personnel Bright future for LED headlight suppliers? Valeo's Morin to Pardus: Learn before you leap German automakers aren't worried about U.S. recession Porsche's Wiedeking: We must retool VW Europe's loud debate over quieter tires Noise level depends on the tires, the road Auto industry robotics spending jumps 43% in 2007 Electronic brakes struggle to get traction Big Texas dealer returns to some domestic brands AutoNation chief sees tough '08, better '09 In downturn, Sonic looks beyond new cars GM promotes service, parts leads for dealerships 10 cool dealership technologies found at NADA Dealers Kia will build transmissions at Georgia plant Gibson leaves DealerTrack board Akebono closing Kentucky plant Feds issue Ford fire warning Magna net income drops VW to use Siemens' software A tale of 2 exhaust systems EU wants CO2 in ads; battle looms Maize malaise stalls ethanol Tata to siesta during Ford's Fiesta Honda moves its American bike offshore Honda will recycle cycle plant Tom LaSorda's multimillion-dollar smile

Automotive News - March 3, 2008

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