Day Fifty - Monday
I woke up to being kissed on the nose by Sue. When my eyes opened, she smiled at me and said, "Morning sleepy head, it's past time to get up and get going."
The clock said Six-fifteen. I felt rested but didn't really want to get up. Sue got out of bed and headed into the bathroom. Guess it was time to begin the day.
Before going into the bathroom, I started two pots of coffee and unlocked the door and opened it in case someone came over and needed to get at the coffee.
Sue was getting out of the shower as I was getting in so the closest I got to some loving was a couple of kisses on the way by. Ten minutes later, after a shower, shave, brushing my teeth, and dressing in regular work clothes, I was having my hair brushed out by Glenda who was in a friendly mood this morning.
The weather was acting like it was going to rain so we turned on the TV to listen and watch the local news and weather. There was a front moving through and we were expected to get wet.
When Sandy and Mandy came for morning coffee, Shawna excitedly told them that I wouldn't care if Carl and Kurt came to work for us. The two girls were as excited as Shawna was. These two guys must be good.
Ruth and Tiny said they would help Phil and Judy, who were just pulling up, to find me a sales assistant. She could help Phil and Judy's group when she had slack time. Phil said he would push the office expansion as he could see that it was going to be needed quickly.
Phil said that today was going to be busy, as he had the two potential road guys coming by. He said the shop, and all the activity going on, would impress them. Judy asked that I greet these guys in the big office, as most salesmen are real ego guys. The big office would make them want to be a part of us even though they would hardly ever be around.
I asked Phil what he was going to do for an encore after last week's super success. He shook his head and said there was no way to repeat that, but he was working on several pretty big deals. He even had a couple of customers that were coming into town to discuss major purchases.
I asked Tom and Al if they could paint the frame in the showroom and re-hang it. I also said that there were plans for a drag bike frame that I would like made for display. I would get the neck so they could finish it.
Jim said he knew of a guy who had a drag bike that wasn't worth the tires it sat on, but could be dolled up to look good for the showroom. I asked him to follow up on it and see if it could be bought cheap. Now all I needed was a big generator, a compressor, and a car painted up as if it were a car sponsored by S&S.
Sue said she needed to work on her catalog business today but would try to get loose for lunch with me. Everyone had something to get busy on, so we all left by seven fifteen to start our day.
When I pulled up in front of the shop, there were two guys standing by a pickup, waiting. I introduced myself and asked how I could help them. They said Hap had encouraged them to try out for welding positions with the company.
I unlocked the door and brought the guys upstairs to the big office to fill out applications. Ruth came in carrying two foam cups of coffee for them and told me that Dan had a new man that he wanted me to meet as well, and that the contractor was on his way.
The two guys thanked Ruth for the coffee in a very respectful way. Hap had them on their best behavior. I was impressed.
I looked over their apps, asking about the welding school they had attended, and why they didn't take advantage of some of the opportunities the school always found for the graduates.
They told me the only positions open were for either a high rise construction job in New York or the Alaska oil fields. They both had elderly parents that they took care of and couldn't leave the area. I explained the company's philosophy about perfect work, saying our reputation has been built on work of the absolute best qualify. They both said they were willing to learn.
I took them back to Tom, who was busy with Tim and Bob, double-checking their work on the group of frames they were working on, as well as the other new guy, Ted, helping him and showing him the best was to prepare the metal before tacking it.
With a smile, Tom got out the usual scrap for interviewees to work on. He gave them the same pitch I had given him and the others while showing them a finished product. Tom showed the two a finished piece of test pipe that Bob had done then said to take their time and do a good job so we would know the quality of their work.
If these two worked out, that would give us three teams to manufacture frames. That would be enough to do all the NASCAR orders, as well as other types of frame orders I hoped to begin getting.
I walked to the next shop area to find Al and Dan watching a guy using a forming tool with an expert's ease. He apparently had cut some raw material into the correct patterns, and was now forming it to the specifications on the print.
Al came to me and said, "This guy is good. He knows his stuff and can probably teach Dan and I a lot."
The man took the finished panels and began double-checking the forms and bends to the print. When he turned around and began walking to us carrying the panel, he had an exaggerated limp. He looked like he might have an artificial leg.
Al complimented him on his work, as well as his expertise in using the equipment. Al handed me his application, introducing him as Drew.
Drew had been out of the military, the Marines, for five years and had been employed by three times that many companies. The reasons for leaving were all employee downsizing, and three that said they didn't feel he could do the work.
I shook hands with Drew and quietly said, "Semper Fi."
Drew looked up into my eyes quickly with a smile spreading across his face and gave a very vocal, "Hoorah!"
I asked him if he needed any special equipment or facilities considering his leg. He said there were times when he couldn't move as fast as others, but he did pretty well. Drew also said, he was due for a new prosthesis this month that should help him walk better. He asked if I might give him a chance.
My only reply was an extended hand saying, "Semper Fi, my friend, a Marine is always faithful."
I thought the man was going to cry. Instead, with watery eyes he turned to Al and said, "Let's make some panels."
Back in the welding shop, Hap's two guys were doing a decent job on their samples. It looked like Tom was going to have his hands full making sure that we did perfect work, but his attitude would keep him after perfection.
I went over to the motor shop to find Sandy and Mandy with the used motor, mostly torn down already. They were showing a couple of parts to two thin, smallish, guys. They were all pointing and rubbing their fingers over a couple of parts.
As soon as I came in, Mandy said, "Steve, this is Carl and Kurt that I told you about. They want to come to work here. They are already impressed with your perfect work signs all over the place. Here, Steve, look at this. When we began tearing the motor down, we found a ton of sloppy workmanship and crud that had been left in the engine when they buttoned it up. Since the motor never did run well, it hasn't been used enough, in its poor condition, to kill it. We'll have this ready by tomorrow. What are you going to have these two guys and us do then?"
"I'm way ahead of you. By the time they are ready to go to work this afternoon, work will be waiting for them."
I shook hands with Carl and Kurt and told them to have Shawna show them upstairs so that they can fill out apps for the file and meet Ruth.
From there I went to my office and called the Parts House. I made sure that we had been approved for an open account, then ordered four crate engines. Two to be delivered this morning, and two to be delivered on Wednesday. I also wanted to order three more mobile engine mounts and a motor lift. I entered the information in the computer, under purchases pending delivery.
The tray on the fax was overflowing. It would have to wait till after I talked to the contractor.
Upstairs, in the big office, the contractor, Tiny, and a guy who was introduced to me as an architect, were busy putting together an office addition at the round conference table. I asked the contractor if he had the print of the existing building and the paint shop addition. He pulled out another rolled up set of prints and spread them out.
"With the growth we're experiencing, this is what I want to do." I took a big piece of graph paper they were drawing on and set it up so the edges fit the side of the existing building and the back edge against the new paint shop. I roughly drew a line from the outer wall of the paint shop to a line that intersected with a line across the front of the building.
"I want a wide open walk-through from the original building into the new building to give it the appearance that it has always been there. This addition will be two stories, with the upstairs hallway an extension of the balcony hallway. Upstairs, just inside the new building, as well as downstairs, I want bathrooms for both men and women. The existing building does not have sufficient bathroom facilities for office staff. This will give folks from both buildings easy access. I want windows completely around two sides, on both floors, so we have as much natural light as possible. The windows need to be tinted and insulated so the air conditioning will keep it cool. I want the traffic in and out of the new building to be through the hallways and our front door. To meet code we will probably have to have a doorway in the front and another stairway and doorway in the back. Both of those doors should bethe "push to open" kind that automatically locks.
"I don't care how you bust up the upstairs into offices, but I think it would be best if we were to have them in an open format, using cubicles instead of a bunch of little offices like storage bins. Make sure that you use everything that is sound deadening and, if necessary, we will use some white noise to help. Downstairs, I want to devote the offices for road people and support staff for the other divisions. You can work out how to lay it out."
Tiny said, "That is a great layout. Why not do both floors in large cubicles? Road guys would still have a place to be when they are in town. They really wouldn't need an office to keep closed up and smell musty."
"Good idea. I think we should make sure the cubicles are large enough, so figure out how to get the maximum amount of them in our space.
On the other side of the building, I put another piece of graph paper and drew a line from the front edge of the new rebuild shop, to a line that intersected from the front edge of the main original building. I put the same openings on the paper and said that this could be a future expansion, but we might as well consider building it now, while we have the financing, rather than wait till we are in a crunch.
Tiny said that this cuts the huge office upstairs in half.
I agreed, "But the office will still be larger than any other office up here and if you look toward the other side of the door, it's like a big living room, as opposed to useful space. That side can be another office that will be pretty big, or perhaps a conference room. The big office will remain an interview room, and an entertaining and closing office. My goodness, the thing is still going to be twenty-two foot wide by over thirty feet long."
"I don't mean to run, but I have a lot going on today." I looked at Tiny and the contractor, "Remember the phone, data, and alarm folks, and make it happen. Oh, and one last thing, we should probably have a small break room downstairs in the addition. The existing break room is going to be too small real soon."
I went to see Phil and Judy. Judy was training someone, while Phil was in his office talking to two men. He called me in and introduced me to the two men who were applying for our road representatives. Both had Onan experience and knew the products well. When I asked how they felt about additional lines, such as welding equipment, they both were excited and felt they could produce even more business with more lines.
When I found Judy, to ask her to clear the fax machine, she introduced me to what could have been Shawna's sister, a tiny redhead with an appearance uncannily close to Shawna's. This was Debbie Wilson, and she was going to be my assistant.
"I like you already Debbie, I need a keeper." Turning to Judy I asked, "When will she be ready for me to use and abuse."
"Later today, Steve," Judy replied. "I'm teaching her order entry as well as purchase order entry. She should be able to keep you in raw materials for all the shops. She will also be able to keep the fax clear and call back customers to confirm and thank them for their orders. That's how we get so many pre-paid orders. We offer them a discount if prepaid, and a lesser discount if they pay for most of the order."
Judy then said, "Did you notice your big conference table is gone and your desk is now all the way to shop end of the office? Ruth purchased a desk and chair for Debbie. Her desk will look out onto the showroom floor. Ruth has ordered Debbie a phone too. There may be room for your little table and the chairs. I will look later."
I told Debbie that I was looking forward to working with her.
I walked through the break room then went downstairs, going to the motor shop. Shawna was receiving the two crate engines, the new stands, and the lift. Mandy and Sandy were amused and happy that I had instantly taken their recommendation to buy the GM crate.
"That's what you girls said was the best, so that's what you get. Does Carl or Kurt have a different opinion?"
Sandy said, "I don't think so. He's the one that told us about the differences in the first place. They will be happy to get good raw material to work with."
I told Shawna that we had an open account with the Parts House and that she should use them, whenever possible, for the parts they need to build the motors. Some of the stuff came from specialty racing supply houses and would still have to be bought through them, but the Parts House's availability would be an asset to us.
Sandy and Mandy said they had two pages of notes on the poor build of the motor they were working on. They were both surprised that it had ever been in a race car.
The sheet metal guys were really turning out panels fast. There were stacks of each full set. It looked like we would be able to ship the bigger order today or tomorrow.
In the welding frame area, six guys were all working diligently on various tasks.
When I walked into the rebuild shop, Abe was in his office, talking to a guy about thirty. Abe waved me over and introduced me to Matthew or Matt, as he liked to be called. He was applying for the road tech position. Onan had recently upped the price for a road tech, eliminating two positions.
I wanted more than a road tech, "Matt, while you are in the field at customers, you need to keep your eyes open for used and abandoned equipment. We are going to need a continuing supply of product to rebuild. The shop is already exceeding my expectations and is a major profit center. This department is also accountable for warranty work, so your salary should be taken care of by warranty alone. How did you work your territory before, did you have a truck or did you have some tools in your car?"
"Onan wasn't that smart, Mr. Sharp, we would fly to a customer's city, rent a car then, when necessary, rent tools, or use the customers tools when we could. So many times we would fly back into town, then go right back to a location, near where we had been, for another call. A truck would be a great way to handle calls. I like the road. Motels aren't too bad if we watch where we stay and eat reasonable. We know how to keep expenses down."
"This is what I want you to do. Design a truck that will have the space for the tools you need and the few parts that are always going bad. Either a van with bins or a pickup. If you have another guy, or two, or three that we're going to hire, have them help in the design so we have several opinions. Phil has mentioned that several customers are asking for warranty help now."
Abe asked, "How many road guys can I have?" "The same answer as always, Abe, as many as you need."
"I can get four experienced techs right now," Abe said. "I've divided our territory into four reasonable geographic areas that should be fairly convenient to cover. We will be able to give some really good support by using trucks to travel and having tools and parts with us."
"One more thing, Abe and Matt, the road guys will have to spend some time with Phil. While they are at a customer location, they can sell products, fax the orders in, and receive regular commission, in addition to their regular salary. If I'm thinking correctly, you will probably increase your income by twenty-five to thirty percent."
Matt stood to shake my hand, "Thank you, sir. I can't tell you how many times the customer wanted to buy something, but I had to beg a sales type to help the guy. More often than not, the customer would either just forget it or buy from someone else. This is great and you may be surprised how much we can produce. The road salesmen will love us, as we'll set them up on all the big stuff. We can now follow-up to make sure the customer is taken care of."
"Abe, perhaps we need six men to work the territory. If they can support themselves through warranty and sales, we would be foolish to overwork them."
"Let's start with four and work our way up, Steve," Abe said, happy to have so much going for him.
Abe's shop was full, with six guys each working on an individual project. A couple more generators were ready to be started and tested soon. The forklift, that had looked and acted like it was on its last legs or wheels, was looking very nice. If it ran as good as it looked, it was going to be sold quickly.
I started to think there was a lot of painting going on. I went back to see Shawna, but Sandy said she was next door in the paint booth. When I looked into the booth window, Shawna was in her coveralls, face mask, and head cover, painting another rack of frames and some panels for the rebuild shop.
I hadn't asked her about Debbie Wilson yet, either.
Back in the motor shop, I asked Sandy to have Shawna find me when she came out of the paint booth. These two girls were fast, as they appeared to be closing up the motor already.
I asked them, "Are you bringing this one up to the same spec as the motor you built?"
"You bet, the parts were all correct. Only a couple of parts had to be replaced. The problem was sloppy work, failure to clean up as they went, and failure to check everything. This should be as good an engine as the other. This one won't have to be broken in at all. It should run good from day one."
It was getting close to noon, so potentially, Sue would show up for lunch. I looked through the new orders for race car support. There were orders for a total of five frames and twelve sets of sheet metal. There were also two motor orders from teams that I didn't know. I entered the orders and put them into a tray that was marked for filing.
Looking at the monitors, I saw that Shawna was back in her shop, taking off her coveralls. I went back to get her to go with Sue and I for lunch. I knew she would be ready for a break, as working with all the extra clothes on was hot work, even with the air on real high in the paint booths.
I asked Shawna if she wanted to come to lunch with Sue and I. She was all for it and asked if Sandy and Mandy could come too. Kurt and Carl were at the back door to unload tools, so Shawna said that they should come too.
So much for a quiet lunch, I thought.
Judy paged me that Sue was up here for lunch. These folks washed up at their clean-up sink and followed me up front. Sue was standing with Phil, Judy, and Debbie, waiting to go to lunch.
Shawna and Debbie took one look at each other and both squealed and jumped in each other's arms. They spoke excitedly for a couple of minutes, till Shawna noticed we were all waiting on them, "This is my cousin Debbie, she's been in Georgia since we were about fifteen. We haven't seen each other for a couple of years. Come on, we'll talk at lunch."
It took three vehicles to get the ten of us to lunch. Debbie and Shawna rode with Phil and Judy, while Sandy and Mandy rode with Sue and Carl, and Kurt rode with me. The Greek guy had a fit that I had brought so many for lunch. He was so happy that he threw in free iced tea.
Debbie and Shawna had a non-stop conversation throughout lunch. When I finally got a word in, I asked Debbie if she was married? No, but she was living with a guy named Hank Wilson. (I thought, 'what a coincidence that the two had the same last name.') Where was she living? They were currently in a little motel room that had a cooking area. What did her boyfriend do? He was, or at least had been, a painter at a body shop and was looking for a job.
Shawna's eyes got big around as she looked at me and mouthed, "Can I?"
I nodded and she started asking questions about the character of Debbie's boyfriend. If he checked out as well as Debbie described, we could have our painter. I'm sure we could find other work for him when he wasn't painting. I gave my cell phone to Debbie and told her to call him to come in this afternoon. She said she would call him, but she had the car. His motorcycle was still up in Georgia and was going to stay there until they both had a job.
While we were eating, I told Sue that she needed to clue Debbie in on my work habits and shortcomings, so she could cover for me.
Sue asked Debbie, "There is a cute little trailer for very low rent in the park where we are, why don't you come over and look at it tonight. It would be a lot cheaper than a residential weekly rate at a motel."
Debbie was excited again, saying, "Wow, what a lucky break to answer that ad yesterday. Thank you, God. This is going to be a red letter day."
Sue had Debbie call her boyfriend to get ready to come in to interview and Debbie was being sent get him.
When we got back to the shop, I went to find Abe and ask about his little trailer. He said it was still available and he could transfer the deposit I put on it to the kids if I wanted. He saw right through me, suspecting I was trying to help someone.
In my office I tried to pencil some kind of forecast of what I might need for materials for the welding, sheet metal, and the motor shops. The whole thing was so far over expectations, that I thought the only thing I could do was to remain reactive. The supplier for metals was being congenial and very fast for delivery of our large orders.
The fax machine was beeping; signaling anyone who would listen that it needed paper. The stack of fresh paper in the stand below the fax was empty, so I went upstairs to get some more. Ruth told me to take an ink cartridge too, as I would probably need a new one pretty soon, considering the amount faxes we were receiving. When I put fresh paper in the fax, the little window displayed twenty-two faxes in memory. Paper began spewing out of the machine. We needed a fax that held more paper.
I daydreamed while the fax finished printing the stored messages, thinking about how uncomplicated my life had been. These last few weeks had been so busy and exciting, that I had not taken any time to contemplate about where I had been, what my intentions had been, and where I was at today. This was like trying to organize a bunch of people I worked with up in Alaska and in Oklahoma. You got them all going, made sure that they had everything they needed, then helped to make sure it was all done. That must have been my formal education for what was happening now.
There was a long beep from the fax telling me something. It was done for the minute. I took the large handful of faxes and sorted them. You have to lay them out in groups, as the last page is on top, so you laid each fax out by itself, and sorted them as to where they were going.
The rebuild shop had three orders, neat. I guess Phil was telling customers they could order directly from the rebuild shop. I set those aside so I could ask Phil how we were handling those.
Phil and his group received most of the faxes. I noticed one was a request for a bid for a huge amount of equipment to export. Since we seemed to be getting a lot of these orders, perhaps I needed an export expert who could recommend an attorney so we complied with all of the export laws.
Total orders for five more frames, and a surprising sixteen sets of sheet metal, and two motors were from the team in Lakeland. He obviously heard about our success at the track. Gene had an expedite order for one motor. I would have to call to see what expedite meant.
I took the stack of orders up to Judy and showed her the export bid. She excitedly went to Phil who came back to her office saying this one was a lock. We would hear a confirmation on this within less than twenty-four hours. I asked him about any export problems. His reply was that the factory did the shipping and co-ordination with customs. All we did was get the orders and bill the customers. This bid would include someone directly from Onan to work with the customer.
Phil explained how he had been presenting the rebuilt equipment. So the customers would know that we were not trying to move them one way or the other regarding new or rebuilt equipment, he had instructed those interested to order the equipment directly from the "Rebuilt Equipment Department."
I told Judy that as soon as she could get Debbie going, I could really use her. She said Debbie was learning fast but there was a lot to learn, even in an upstart place like we were.
Tiny was looking at a bunch of different forms with a serious stare. He explained he was trying to figure out what order forms would be best to use in-house, and in the field. I suggested he call our attorney or to find one that would be good to advise us. The objective would be to get a common form that could be used both inside and on the road with a check box for the department. I told him since we seemed to be growing, he might leave a couple of blank check boxes for future profit centers. Wonder why he laughed as I was leaving.
I went to the motor building crew to find Sandy and Mandy testing the rebuild they did for Gene. Kurt and Carl were hovering around them, checking the monitors to see the results. They shut the motor down and nodded to each other with a smile as they were taking off all of the wires and hoses they had installed for the test.
I was going to prod them to turn out a motor as quick as possible but had an idea.
To Sandy and Mandy I asked, "So how do you feel about that motor? Think it's race worthy? Gene needs an emergency motor, think this one will do it?"
Mandy replied, "It's probably better than a new one, as it's already broken in from the previous use, so you know what might fail. The only reason that motor didn't work well is the six pages of notes we have for what was wrong. I would drive with this mill in my car."
"Why don't you guys have one of the sales girls type that up for you real quick so I can give it to Gene when I deliver this motor."
Mandy and Sandy grabbed the notebook and headed upstairs. I went to Shawna's office to call Gene. When I asked what he meant by expedite he said, as fast as you can get me one. I have a Busch car that is struggling. The motor came from the same people that built the one you're rebuilding right now."
"Tell you what, that motor has just finished being tested. I'll bring it over with the list of what was wrong with it. Use that engine and get us the bad one right away. I'll start on a new one, but we can rebuild the one you have faster, as all the spec parts seem to be correct. It's the workmanship that leaves something to be desired."
Gene paused then said, "From anybody else I would say 'bullshit, ' but from you, all I can say is thanks. The rebuilt will work. How soon can you bring it."
"I'll have it over there in under thirty minutes," I said, hoping the girls were getting the notes typed right away.
"We'll pull this other piece of junk and swap when you get here. You wouldn't have any kind of list of what was wrong with the motor would you?"
"Way ahead of you. The notes are being typed as we speak."
Gene said, in a less agitated voice before hanging up, "See you soon, thanks."
I brought my truck around to the back and used Kurt and Carl to help me load the motor. Sandy and Mandy came in with a couple of copies of their typed notes. I took one set, and advised the girls that I had another rebuild, from the same company that had done the other, coming back with me.
Gene's overhead door was being raised as I backed up to it. Gene's men had the motor off the truck before I hardly stopped. The motor was immediately rolled to a car on a lift by the door. Gene and I maneuvered the bad motor into the truck. I handed Gene the five typed pages.
Gene read over the list and said, "They are going to say a lot of these comments are nit picky. But then that is what you pay for; you order and expect a motor that has been created as perfect as possible. Just like your motto, "You do perfect work." When the story gets out about your motor peoples' success, you won't be able to keep up."
"We'll keep up. I just have to have the people who created your motor, teach, mentor, and monitor my new technicians. Just watch them, you're going to see some great stuff out of them," I said with pride and conviction.
Gene was smiling, "My guys aren't telling, but when it gets out that your original builders were two females, the industry will shudder. This is a good ole' boys world, you know."
"That's alright, let it shudder and shake. As long as the loose change falls out of their pockets for my folks to celebrate."
"I never did thank you for feeding us out at the track. Your folks had quite a celebration. I've never had a group watch test runs with so much enthusiasm. The guys said you all need to come out all the time."
As I left Gene said, "Send me a bill."
Back at the shop we put the other motor on a stand and wheeled it to the girls' bench. Sandy quickly unbolted the intake manifold then turned it upside down. She pointed to several small holes that seemed to be clogged with small metal shavings.
"That is most of the problem right there, but we'll redo the whole thing and make it like everything you want out of here, perfect," Sandy said with a laugh in her voice.
Carl and Kurt had their bench completely covered with parts laid out on a mat similar to what the girls had used. They were working quickly, taking one part at a time, inspecting it, measuring some, but polishing every one, then replacing it on the mat.
Carl asked, "If you need this motor in a hurry, Kurt and I can finish this tonight for delivery in the morning."
Mandy heard the conversation and offered, "Why not shock the shit out of Gene and we'll get this one done tonight too. If you deliver both in the morning, the company will really look good."
Mandy was waiting for my answer when Sandy asked, "Gene was your first NASCAR customer wasn't he?"
"Yep, he was, he was desperate for a frame, so I built one for him in his shop, using his materials. He liked the work we did and the rest is history."
Sandy then added, "Let's give him something else to brag about, you don't really mind the overtime do you?"
"Not at all guys, I'll make sure supper is brought down to you later. Enjoy, I know how exciting it is to create something special for someone you like."
Damn, I sure am one lucky sucker to keep getting good folks.
Over in the rebuild shop, Abe was having two of the big generators that were complete, loaded onto a flatbed truck. When they were loaded, he put the rebuilt forklift on the back, chaining it down as well. The three units were being delivered to a customer in Jacksonville. He had heard about our rebuilds from my welding supply house guy and contacted us directly. As luck would have it, he was in the process of trying to repair his forklift. Abe said Phil had made the guy a deal if he traded us back the scrap equipment he had. This truck would be bringing back the used equipment.
That is pretty neat. Three more units out the door, with some equipment to remanufacture, to boot.
One of Abe's men came up to me and asked if health insurance would be available to purchase soon. I told him I thought the policies were being prepared right then. He asked that we advise him how much family coverage would cost him, as he had a son that had been sick on and off for over a year. He said that when he was laid off from Onan, it really hurt. It had taken all of their savings to pay for his son's care.
I told him I would look into what was being done.
Upstairs I asked Ruth what was happening with the health insurance. She had the brochure from the insurance lady and said she had forwarded all the employee's information as soon as they were hired. When I asked about dependent coverage, she smiled, "Of course you bought dependent coverage for your folks. You're that type of guy."
I explained the rebuild tech's situation so she called the agent and asked where the policies were. The agent said that she kept heading over to us but we kept calling with another new hire, just like we did today with three more. Ruth confirmed that pre-existing conditions were covered and asked her to bring over what packages she had. Ruth said she would take care of explaining the coverage to our folks.
Debbie was at her desk working on some orders. She now had a PC and a phone. I had not seen the guys installing the equipment. They were sneaky that way, but then again, I had been gone a lot.
I asked Debbie to go through all the papers on my desk to make sure I didn't forget an order. I laughed a little about having someone do my paperwork for me. Usually I'm a neat person, almost anal, but there had been too much going on lately to keep track.
While we were looking at orders, I showed Debbie the material inventory program and how it was matched to orders. I gave her an idea of what would be the point at which we order to keep our inventory of materials at a level that should keep the men working. We also discussed the benefits of ordering enough for us to get a dedicated truck.
Debbie wanted to know what to do with an order for two motorcycle frames. The order was from the local builder. I dug out the blue print for the frame and wrote down the quantities and dimensions of the tubing needed. This I multiplied by four, as I wanted to have at least one set of spare material and one to build up for display.
I called the builder and asked what necks he wanted. He gave me the manufacturer and the part number and the approximate price I should pay.
The manufacturer of the necks didn't cut me any slack for only three necks but did give me free standard freight. I had Debbie make a note to add the material to the next big material order from the same company. She was to call me when she ordered it so I could introduce her to the sales agent she would be dealing with.
Shawna came in and said she wanted to hire Debbie's boyfriend. She said she had him paint a set of frames and two sets of sheet metal from the rebuild shop while she stood over his shoulder. She said he did a good job. She promised to teach him how we did things and said she could use him throughout the shop for other things when he wasn't painting. She said that right that second he was doing what we always did when we finished a job, cleaning up.
I told Shawna the four technicians in her group were going to stay to work overtime for a special order we had. She asked if she were going to be needed to help or did they need some of Abe's people. I told her to ask. The overtime wouldn't be a problem on this order.
Tom and Al had been taught to make sure they logged material out of inventory and assigned it to jobs before they started. Tom asked me what job he was supposed to assign the additional two paint racks. I told him to mark it 'house project' on the computer. He said they had ordered the wheels for the racks and all should be complete by tomorrow morning.
Tom said they had enough room for two more men but were two welders short right now, as they only had two welders for six men. He said two for four men is perfect, as while one guy was welding, the other could be cutting and bending. I told him that each work area needed its own equipment. I would order all the necessary equipment for the additional stations.
I called the welding supply house and gave them a list of measuring tools, safety equipment, and supplies for each station. Then I called one of our new manufacturers and ordered four more wire feed welders. They were excited that they were receiving their first order from us. I assured them more was on the way. They said that the equipment should arrive tomorrow sometime, as they were located in Melbourne, Florida, on the other side of the state.
The day was winding down for me. I wondered how Sue was doing. It was nice when she was here but we were really busy and I wouldn't be able to spend much time with her even if she was here.
Tiny was trying to figure out how much to get for a new motor. I told him that a price was already in the computer as that was what Gene was going to pay for the first one. The next one would be higher but he needed to let me know if building them was going to be cost effective.
"Oh, they are profitable all right," Tiny said, "I didn't realize the number you put on the computer was the sales price. At that amount, even with the overtime, we make a killing. Hope those engines are as good as everyone thinks as that department is going to have a nice profit. Are the two new guys any good?"
"They are supposed to be better than Mandy and Sandy. We'll know after tonight. They are all staying late to get a couple of motors out for Gene. They may use a few of Abe's guys like we did before. It should be profitable and the goodwill is priceless."
I told everyone that I was leaving and called Sue on the way home to see if she had time for the gym before supper. She did and was ready when I got there.
I changed clothes and we went to the gym for a little over an hour of intense exercise. We both agreed to go for a walk and swim later to keep ourselves in shape. The only thing left is to make sure she gets enough sun to keep her nice tan.
We got back to the house at quarter to six, in time to join the crew in enjoying a beer. Abe came over and said he had rented the trailer to the kids and they were off to get their stuff right then. He said Alice was waiting for him, so he couldn't even have a beer. He would see me tomorrow.
Phil and Judy both had a glazed look in their eye from an intense day. Phil was saying, "In all the years at Onan, I never had a day like the days we are having. The pace is so fast and so intense I can't believe it. I ask for something and it appears. I ask something from another department and they beg to do more for me; it's really nice. Coming here to wind down after work is really nice too. It's kind of a wrap up for the day."
I asked Phil if he had heard we now had four road technicians starting to handle customer service and warranty work. I told him he needed to get with them so they could sell too. I wanted them to be able to pick up orders while they were attending to customer service. I figured the warranty work would pay their salaries, and any new orders would be a bonus.
Phil said, "You need to get them cars so they're not flying and renting cars. They can't do much without tools."
"We are going to design a truck just for them with the necessary tools and equipment to do an on-site repair. Abe has the territory divided into four areas with each man working an area. If there is a need, they can overlap as far as necessary to take care of a problem."
"That is absolutely great. That's the way to do it," Phil said then turned to Tiny, "How do you keep track of the constant changes Steve makes. He's adding to costs every time I turn around."
Tiny gave me accolades, "So far every time he's added a dollar to cost, we received two dollars in profit. I can't wait to see what he does for an encore. Do you know you're on pace to almost match last week? That deal you made for the big generators at the hospital is worth a ton. I understand you bid on a FAA job for new generators, too. I filled out all of the paper work for us to be a select contractor. Since one of our owners is a disabled vet and the other a woman, we will get some preference."
Phil nodded, "With all these bids on government projects, we're going to need an engineer type salesman to do the bids. The specs are often written for a specific manufacturer, but most products can be modified to meet the spec, or we can either make an objection or make an exception. That takes an engineer in our field."
"See if you can find one, or a consultant that will work with us. A lot of industrial engineers are loaners and prefer to consult rather be an employee. There is a lot of that in the oil industry," I said, remembering some of the folks I had met over the years.
Tiny showed that he didn't want to sit back on his laurels and get stagnant by asking, "If this part of the country is so neglected, what about the rest of the country. We could put a couple of ads in trade magazines for product. Our dealership contract gives us a half of one percent toward advertising. The amount will build quickly at our present growth. Our contract also says we can ship to any area we just can't physically solicit in territories other than ours."
Phil laughed when I said, "And you're one of those stodgy bean counters, huh?"
I went for another beer, decided against it for a Beefeater martini, then finally replied to his obvious query to expand even more, "My first impulse is to take a breath before pushing on for more. I can see that you, Phil, are riding a high that is so intoxicating, you want more and more. Tiny, you are having a ball, playing with numbers that are so staggering, that you want to see if there is more. Me, I'm still on a vacation that I started almost two months ago. Somehow I stumbled onto this merry-go-round and haven't been able to get off. Yes, I'm excited about what the business has progressed to be and the character it has taken. I'm excited every day for us to be able to bring more and more people into our circle that will succeed under our umbrella. And the most important part, I'm so proud of the entire organization, it is difficult to express. Has this been too fast? Have we been too successful, too fast? Are we growing too fast? I hate to look back, so to all of this, I say we are only beginning, and to you Phil, be reasonable, but water us, fertilize us, make us grow some more. Why not."
Phil and Tiny raised their glasses to me, while Sue who had joined me before my speech, hugged my arm tightly and kissed my cheek.
We finally had supper then Sue and I took a long walk, ending at the pool where we swam hard for over a half-hour. We sat by the pool for a while just talking. It was nice to be together talking about life, instead of business.
An hour later we were sleepily cuddled together watching television.