At S&S Equipment Company

Service Makes the Sale  

This crane distributor owes much of its success to its technical staff and to the versatility of its product lines.

"We work to keep the cranes running," says Will Simmons, president of the Gastonia, North Carolina-based company. It's something S&S accomplishes by keeping the company "heavy on the technical side and lean on the management side," notes Simmons. "If we had more salesmen it would increase our sales, but it would strap the technicians and we wouldn't be able to service our sales." So to back up the efforts of its three salesmen--Simmons, Charles Bryant, and Roy W. Smith, Sr.--S&S employs nine technicians, led by the company's vice president, Jerry Slaughter. As further evidence of the company's commitment to service, Simmons notes that his company usually sends two to four technicians on every service call and all of S&S's service trucks have dual cabs, which are capable of transporting four people.

Customers call on S&S technician for all kinds of service--from changing oil to repairing hydraulics. But those technicians have a primary responsibility to modify the cranes S&S sells so they can handle scrap applications m the first place.

Modification Approaches Manufacturing

S&S sells new cranes made by two manufacturers--Barko and Daewoo--and each line requires a different amount of modification. Barko machines arrive from the factory ready to handle scrap, so S&S technicians simply customize the cranes for buyers and adapt their hydraulics to operate magnet packages. However, the Daewoo line requires extensive modification; for these machines, S&S becomes more of a manufacturer than a distributor. It builds and installs new booms, widens the undercarriages, elevates the cabs, adds generators, and even paints and stencils the equipment.

Technicians perform a fair amount of modification to the crane attachments S&S sells, as well. "Nobody builds the whole works-attachments and cranes," says Simmons. "So we have to be the marrying point." To make the match between a crane and its grapple, shear, and/or electromagnet work, according to Slaughter, may take 20 to 30 hours of modification.

To make the whole modification process more efficient, the company keeps an inventory of cranes on its 5-acre site. "As soon as we get a piece of equipment in we automatically start working on it to get it ready for scrap," says Slaughter. That way, explains Simmons, when an order comes in, "we have it pretty much ready to go"; all that's left is customization for the buyer's specific needs. Keeping an inventory also allows the company to lease its cranes.

The used cranes S&S handles--most of which are Akerman cranes acquired as trade-ins for new crane sales--also get technical attention as soon as they arrive in Gastonia. After being cleaned and repainted, technicians troubleshoot and repair them as necessary. Used equipment is sold with an S&S warranty of three t o six months, depending on the machine's application.

Versatile Lines for Present and Future

Although the used cranes are of all makes, Simmons says his company will stick with the two manufacturers it now offers for new crane sales. "Right now we have the most complete line in the business," he explains. "There's nothing we don't have in both size and application." Through the combination of the two manufacturing lines, S&S is able to offer cranes ranging in lift capacity from 4,750 pounds to 84,000 pounds and ranging in mountability from trucks to rubber tires to standard tracks to pedestals.

Simmons believes the versatility of mounts will become especially important in the next few years as storm water runoff laws requiring paved yards are enacted, necessitating the use of rubber-tire undercarriages. What else does the future hold for scrap-handling cranes? Slaughter thinks scrap processors increasingly will perform off-site work using truck-mounted cranes, which avoid the need for a transport truck. "They'll be able to go to these off-site places, load the materials into containers, and ship them straight to the mill. That way they avoid the liability of bringing the materials into their yards." Currently, the truck-mounted crane is manufactured only by Barko, but if his predictions take hold, says Slaughter, S&S may put together a Daewoo truck mount using the upper portion of that manufacturer's standard track machine.

Expect Expertise

Tackling such extensive modification may seem a bit much for a company with a staff as small as S&S has, but, Simmons assures, "there's not too much we can't do to one of these machines." The reason for his confidence? S&S's technical expertise, which is directed by two men: Slaughter and his head technician and hydraulics specialist, Dale Bode. From his background as a welding and construction contractor, Slaughter brings the company fabrication and electrical know-how, which is complemented by Bode's experience as a scrap plant hydraulics mechanic. Bode's familiarity with scrap operations and understanding of what can go wrong with equipment is helpful not only to S&S's technicians but also to the mechanics working at the plants Bode and his crews visit. "We're trying to tram them to be more m tune with what's going on," says Simmons, "and that's what [Bode] does."

Service Makes the Sale  

This crane distributor owes much of its success to its technical staff and to the versatility of its product lines.

"We work to keep the cranes running," says Will Simmons, president of the Gastonia, North Carolina-based company. It's something S&S accomplishes by keeping the company "heavy on the technical side and lean on the management side," notes Simmons. "If we had more salesmen it would increase our sales, but it would strap the technicians and we wouldn't be able to service our sales." So to back up the efforts of its three salesmen--Simmons, Charles Bryant, and Roy W. Smith, Sr.--S&S employs nine technicians, led by the company's vice president, Jerry Slaughter. As further evidence of the company's commitment to service, Simmons notes that his company usually sends two to four technicians on every service call and all of S&S's service trucks have dual cabs, which are capable of transporting four people.

Customers call on S&S technician for all kinds of service--from changing oil to repairing hydraulics. But those technicians have a primary responsibility to modify the cranes S&S sells so they can handle scrap applications m the first place.

Modification Approaches Manufacturing

S&S sells new cranes made by two manufacturers--Barko and Daewoo--and each line requires a different amount of modification. Barko machines arrive from the factory ready to handle scrap, so S&S technicians simply customize the cranes for buyers and adapt their hydraulics to operate magnet packages. However, the Daewoo line requires extensive modification; for these machines, S&S becomes more of a manufacturer than a distributor. It builds and installs new booms, widens the undercarriages, elevates the cabs, adds generators, and even paints and stencils the equipment.

Technicians perform a fair amount of modification to the crane attachments S&S sells, as well. "Nobody builds the whole works-attachments and cranes," says Simmons. "So we have to be the marrying point." To make the match between a crane and its grapple, shear, and/or electromagnet work, according to Slaughter, may take 20 to 30 hours of modification.

To make the whole modification process more efficient, the company keeps an inventory of cranes on its 5-acre site. "As soon as we get a piece of equipment in we automatically start working on it to get it ready for scrap," says Slaughter. That way, explains Simmons, when an order comes in, "we have it pretty much ready to go"; all that's left is customization for the buyer's specific needs. Keeping an inventory also allows the company to lease its cranes.

The used cranes S&S handles--most of which are Akerman cranes acquired as trade-ins for new crane sales--also get technical attention as soon as they arrive in Gastonia. After being cleaned and repainted, technicians troubleshoot and repair them as necessary. Used equipment is sold with an S&S warranty of three t o six months, depending on the machine's application.

Versatile Lines for Present and Future

Although the used cranes are of all makes, Simmons says his company will stick with the two manufacturers it now offers for new crane sales. "Right now we have the most complete line in the business," he explains. "There's nothing we don't have in both size and application." Through the combination of the two manufacturing lines, S&S is able to offer cranes ranging in lift capacity from 4,750 pounds to 84,000 pounds and ranging in mountability from trucks to rubber tires to standard tracks to pedestals.

Simmons believes the versatility of mounts will become especially important in the next few years as storm water runoff laws requiring paved yards are enacted, necessitating the use of rubber-tire undercarriages. What else does the future hold for scrap-handling cranes? Slaughter thinks scrap processors increasingly will perform off-site work using truck-mounted cranes, which avoid the need for a transport truck. "They'll be able to go to these off-site places, load the materials into containers, and ship them straight to the mill. That way they avoid the liability of bringing the materials into their yards." Currently, the truck-mounted crane is manufactured only by Barko, but if his predictions take hold, says Slaughter, S&S may put together a Daewoo truck mount using the upper portion of that manufacturer's standard track machine.

Expect Expertise

Tackling such extensive modification may seem a bit much for a company with a staff as small as S&S has, but, Simmons assures, "there's not too much we can't do to one of these machines." The reason for his confidence? S&S's technical expertise, which is directed by two men: Slaughter and his head technician and hydraulics specialist, Dale Bode. From his background as a welding and construction contractor, Slaughter brings the company fabrication and electrical know-how, which is complemented by Bode's experience as a scrap plant hydraulics mechanic. Bode's familiarity with scrap operations and understanding of what can go wrong with equipment is helpful not only to S&S's technicians but also to the mechanics working at the plants Bode and his crews visit. "We're trying to tram them to be more m tune with what's going on," says Simmons, "and that's what [Bode] does."