Company Reports - Samco Machinery Ltd.
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Samco Machinery Ltd.
Taking steel to the limits
Written by Martin Slofstra & Produced by Irtaza Malik
In early 2008, Samco Machinery had celebrated one of its finest moments. Founder and CEO Joseph Repovs could be seen interviewed on TV with his company making headlines having scored a real coup: It built the machine (known in the industry as a “roll former”) used by Tata Motors of India to produce the chassis for their new $2,500 NANO “people’s car”. The world had taken notice not only of this groundbreaking new car but a Canadian manufacturer from Scarborough, Ont.
“A lot of our recent automotive success came with the Tata Nano vehicle. We were quite involved with that project,” says Bob Repovs, Samco’s President and COO and son of the company’s founder. It’s a deal which, he says, came about because a few years ago the company decided to go out and find new markets.
Not all of Samco’s products are as high-profile as the roll former but are just as important. The company has a long list of products produced by machines it has designed and manufactured, including steel studs and tracks, roofing and wall panels, automotive parts, shelving and racking, HVAC, furniture components, as well as other customized products.
Formed in 1972, Samco is still a family owned business with the elder Repovs still active in the company as Chairman and CEO. The younger Repovs was promoted to president in 2005 and has been instrumental in the company’s transition to a global player.
LOCAL TALENT - GLOBAL REACH
“Five years ago, 80 per cent of our products were shipped to the U.S. market. We were growing in leaps and bounds in those days, largely as the result of large building construction projects,” he says. Today, the company’s U.S. revenues make up ten percent making the decision to move into global markets highly rewarding.
“We are everywhere in the world now. We have a secondary manufacturing plant in India (for the past four years) in an effort to increase service and support to that part of the world,” says Bob Repovs. The company also has partners in Europe, Mexico, Russia, South America, South Africa and in the Middle East.
“The more global and diverse we are, the better,” says Repovs. “By doing that, when one market is down, the other one is up. Also, we have a lot of technology to offer to global markets, whereas before our focus was on the growing North American market.”
Bob Repovs has been active with the company for 12 years, deepening his knowledge while learning the ropes. “I’ve always had a keen interest in running a business,” he says. After completing a university degree in communications, he had the opportunity to come on board working on the shop floor, with an emphasis on machine shop and assembly trades and he took it.
His “first major undertaking” at the company was to implement the ISO 9001 program. From there, he became quite familiar with all the systems and challenges that went along with the ISO 9001 implementation, becoming vice-president of operations in the process. He has at various times been a project manager, in charge of Human Resources and involved in IT and business processes. With a passion for improving business processes, he implemented an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software system.
“I’ve worn many hats,” as he says and the experience has served him well. It has given him “a good feeling of what goes on behind those doors, and a good chance to learn the culture and the people involved.”
The Samco philosophy, he says, is to do everything in-house, from design, to machine shop, electrical assembly and final assembly and testing, to run as one complete integrated system. As time goes on, says Repovs: “We’ve really learned to constantly improve the process. We measure a lot of things in terms of project milestones, quality objectives and we have a process for employees to suggest how we can make things run more efficient, cost effective and better. We don’t stand still, we are constantly reinventing ourselves.”
As for its competitive differentiator: “We have a lot of firsthand contact with our customers as far as our service goes. People can talk directly to the engineer or technician involved. If you have issues with your equipment or just fact-finding, you are able to get through to the right person.”
For example, Samco recently undertook a large project for Dietrich Industries, the largest steel framing company in North America whereby Samco built a machine based on their design input.
“But in this case we were able to develop a new machine – a multi-zone automated roll former – that was fully adjustable for width, height, double lips, and thickness. An operator can literally type in the required sizes into the machine and all mechanical adjustments will move automatically,” says Repovs.
Samco is also doing a lot of work in the HVAC industry, for example, building a machine that can produce a base rail (for air conditioners) that goes from steel coil to finished product in one process including punching, notching, forming, bending and material handling. Similarly, Samco works closely with its suppliers. Of note among their suppliers is Olympic Tool and Die which designs, manufactures and repairs tool and dies, as well as special purpose machinery. “Olympic has been a reputable supplier to Samco for the last 15 years and rises to the innovative opportunities we present, often challenging the status quo, and their service is excellent”, adds Repovs.
Despite all the opportunities at home and abroad, Repovs believes that in the short-term, the company will need to brace for the economic downturn. “We are obviously facing new challenges every day with what is going on in the world, especially with the state of manufacturing in Canada,” he says.
“In 2009, we are going with the expectation that there will be tough roads ahead and we have prepared ourselves to weather the storm. We are all facing the biggest fight of our lives! We have to remember what got us here to today, will not guarantee our future. Our focus will be to come out of this recession stronger, leaner and meaner.”
Recession or not, it’s full steam ahead. “We are going to continue to maximize our global efforts, in India, Europe and Russia,” he says. “When they start spending money again, we will be ready.”
With a plan like that, not only will they be ready, they will be ahead of the game.
“A lot of our recent automotive success came with the Tata Nano vehicle. We were quite involved with that project,” says Bob Repovs, Samco’s President and COO and son of the company’s founder. It’s a deal which, he says, came about because a few years ago the company decided to go out and find new markets.
Not all of Samco’s products are as high-profile as the roll former but are just as important. The company has a long list of products produced by machines it has designed and manufactured, including steel studs and tracks, roofing and wall panels, automotive parts, shelving and racking, HVAC, furniture components, as well as other customized products.
Formed in 1972, Samco is still a family owned business with the elder Repovs still active in the company as Chairman and CEO. The younger Repovs was promoted to president in 2005 and has been instrumental in the company’s transition to a global player.
LOCAL TALENT - GLOBAL REACH
“Five years ago, 80 per cent of our products were shipped to the U.S. market. We were growing in leaps and bounds in those days, largely as the result of large building construction projects,” he says. Today, the company’s U.S. revenues make up ten percent making the decision to move into global markets highly rewarding.
“We are everywhere in the world now. We have a secondary manufacturing plant in India (for the past four years) in an effort to increase service and support to that part of the world,” says Bob Repovs. The company also has partners in Europe, Mexico, Russia, South America, South Africa and in the Middle East.
“The more global and diverse we are, the better,” says Repovs. “By doing that, when one market is down, the other one is up. Also, we have a lot of technology to offer to global markets, whereas before our focus was on the growing North American market.”
Bob Repovs has been active with the company for 12 years, deepening his knowledge while learning the ropes. “I’ve always had a keen interest in running a business,” he says. After completing a university degree in communications, he had the opportunity to come on board working on the shop floor, with an emphasis on machine shop and assembly trades and he took it.
His “first major undertaking” at the company was to implement the ISO 9001 program. From there, he became quite familiar with all the systems and challenges that went along with the ISO 9001 implementation, becoming vice-president of operations in the process. He has at various times been a project manager, in charge of Human Resources and involved in IT and business processes. With a passion for improving business processes, he implemented an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software system.
“I’ve worn many hats,” as he says and the experience has served him well. It has given him “a good feeling of what goes on behind those doors, and a good chance to learn the culture and the people involved.”
The Samco philosophy, he says, is to do everything in-house, from design, to machine shop, electrical assembly and final assembly and testing, to run as one complete integrated system. As time goes on, says Repovs: “We’ve really learned to constantly improve the process. We measure a lot of things in terms of project milestones, quality objectives and we have a process for employees to suggest how we can make things run more efficient, cost effective and better. We don’t stand still, we are constantly reinventing ourselves.”
As for its competitive differentiator: “We have a lot of firsthand contact with our customers as far as our service goes. People can talk directly to the engineer or technician involved. If you have issues with your equipment or just fact-finding, you are able to get through to the right person.”
For example, Samco recently undertook a large project for Dietrich Industries, the largest steel framing company in North America whereby Samco built a machine based on their design input.
“But in this case we were able to develop a new machine – a multi-zone automated roll former – that was fully adjustable for width, height, double lips, and thickness. An operator can literally type in the required sizes into the machine and all mechanical adjustments will move automatically,” says Repovs.
Samco is also doing a lot of work in the HVAC industry, for example, building a machine that can produce a base rail (for air conditioners) that goes from steel coil to finished product in one process including punching, notching, forming, bending and material handling. Similarly, Samco works closely with its suppliers. Of note among their suppliers is Olympic Tool and Die which designs, manufactures and repairs tool and dies, as well as special purpose machinery. “Olympic has been a reputable supplier to Samco for the last 15 years and rises to the innovative opportunities we present, often challenging the status quo, and their service is excellent”, adds Repovs.
Despite all the opportunities at home and abroad, Repovs believes that in the short-term, the company will need to brace for the economic downturn. “We are obviously facing new challenges every day with what is going on in the world, especially with the state of manufacturing in Canada,” he says.
“In 2009, we are going with the expectation that there will be tough roads ahead and we have prepared ourselves to weather the storm. We are all facing the biggest fight of our lives! We have to remember what got us here to today, will not guarantee our future. Our focus will be to come out of this recession stronger, leaner and meaner.”
Recession or not, it’s full steam ahead. “We are going to continue to maximize our global efforts, in India, Europe and Russia,” he says. “When they start spending money again, we will be ready.”
With a plan like that, not only will they be ready, they will be ahead of the game.
