Day Sixty - Thursday
I woke with my face against Sue's lovely chest. The softness of her breast was just the surface of how firm she was.
As soon as I shifted, she opened her eye and kissed me saying, "I love you."
We slid from between our bedmates and began our morning routine. In the shower, I made sure Sue had a full donation of my half of the mixture needed to make the new life she wanted so much.
As we were drying, the sleepyheads came into the bathroom, peed, then got into the shower. I was dressed when they both came out of the bathroom naked, saying that I couldn't leave till I had thoroughly kissed both of them.
I kissed both of them untill I was tented with the anticipation of more playtimes.
The morning crew showed up a little droopy this morning. It always seems that if one was sleepy in the morning, everyone was dragging. Tiny called Phil and asked him to bring lots of sugary donuts, as everyone needed a sugar rush.
Phil and Judy were sleepy as well, so they welcomed the strong coffee and the sweet donuts and pastries.
Phil and Judy had a standing order for thirty breakfast sandwiches, so I had one of those too, filling up for the day ahead.
Dan and I took off for the body/bed company before eight. When we showed up without a truck to mount the bed on, I had to explain to the foreman why. He was perturbed that we would doubt their work, but showed us the completed bodies and left to call the owner.
The first thing we saw was the sloppy paint job. Dan thought that the steel for the whole box was thinner than the one we had. I had my note pad and took notes. The latches and locks were not the same as the ones we had received before, and were obviously inferior. This was very disturbing. I went into the showroom they had and picked up one of their brochures that had specifications on it as to size and thickness of steel.
I found the foreman and said we had to get something from our shop and would be right back. We went back to the shop and picked up some tape measures and a couple of micrometers to check the steel's thickness.
When we returned the owner was there with the foreman. He was equally put off that we doubted their work. I pointed out the bad paint, several sloppy welds of the diamond plate, and the inferior handles and locks on the compartments. Dan was taking measurements of the thickness of the various partitions and the body itself, finding they were made with fifteen to thirty percent thinner sheet metal. When I showed the owner his specs and what we had found, he turned red in the face, becoming belligerent, saying I ordered the beds and I would accept them as they were.
I told him that I would accept work that was comparable to the body that I had on my truck and the four bodies that he had delivered previously to us. He kept making up reasons why he couldn't do that, continuously threatening me with a lawsuit and a fat lip. Dan and I left after I advised the owner my attorney would be in contact with him.
On the way back to the shop, Dan said, perhaps I should build them myself as we had all the equipment. He thought we could improve on the beds in a couple of areas and make the compartment doors a little different in order to have them open and close easier.
I asked him if he had ever used drafting software. He had learned how to use it in his schools, so I suggested he design a bed that would be right for what we were doing. He needed to design one with a boom as well.
I put him in Sue's chair and let him play with the drawing and design program. During the day, I saw him make trip after trip out to our truck to measure something, then come back to work on the design.
Abe's group was putting out the product. Now that he had fourteen stations he was turning out close to fourteen units every second or third day. The amount of painting and additional sheet metal work was keeping Al and Hank busy. Building our trucks was going to stagnate until we could correct the beds.
I had Betty send out a note to all of the truck-buying customers that the bed bodies are temporarily back-ordered, but that their orders should be delivered before the promised six week delivery time.
Near five, Dan came to me saying he wanted to show me what he had come up with. For outward appearances the design didn't look that much different than the original, but then Dan began showing me the differences. He had some larger compartments, and some sectioned into smaller compartments to fit each of the various items, but still leaving a few of each size compartment for the customer to use as he needed. The raw material area was larger and easier to get at. Dan had built in racks for the standard gas rig, a wire feed gas rig, two regular arcs, a mig, and a tig. It was amazingly compact for six pieces of equipment. His built-in areas for the portable generator and compressor set them out of sight, but easy to reach for repair, replacement, and maintenance. A big difference was the boom truck. Dan had beefed up the steel used to mount the boom allowing it to set a little higher on the bed, so there was raw material storage underneath the base of the boom. Now this bed had as much storage room as the standard.
Dan showed me the design for the pull out worktable. He showed me the catches that released the legs as the table was pulled out so the operator didn't have to take time to set the legs in place. Dan showed me how it should work to retract the legs into position when the table was pushed back in. If that modification worked, we needed a new video.
He then showed me how the software exploded the drawing, separating each piece and panel, to give a manufacturer sizes of metal. Dan had a separate list of miscellaneous parts, such as locks and drawer guides that we would buy rather than try to manufacture.
He wanted to go over the sheet metal with Al to see if he was correct on the gauge that should be used. He also said he wanted to use more diamond plate so the deck and steps of the bed would not be slick.
While he and Al were working on the specifications, I looked at the sheet metal area and decided that we could manufacture the beds in the added on area. This was going to take at least two more guys who were capable of heavy-duty metal work, as well as being good welders. That was Tom and Al, but who would take their place for the manufacturing we were already doing?
Dan and Al said they wanted to have a talk with me, including Drew, after hours, and Al suggested Dan and Drew come out to the house for a beer with us. I agreed and said it looked like beer time to me so for them to get their area ready and let's hit the road.
At the house I drew us a beer then we sat at the bar so they could tell me what they thought.
Dan said, "I want to build the body at our shop. Al wants to do it with me. We talked about it and believe we can build one a day or at the most in ten hours. We might me a little slow when we begin, but we will pick up speed.
"You can save a little if you were to use all stainless steel for the bed. I haven't compared prices yet, but there seems to be a backup in the paint shop lately, with all the frames and the re-build department sheet metal.
"After looking at the junk we looked at this morning, I believe we could produce a great product. It might only be for us, but there are modifications we could make to build a bed for smaller trucks for electricians, plumbers, or even carpenters. If we build a body, it would be top of the line and that's what you want to sell, right?"
I must have been grinning as Al elbowed Dan and said, "We got 'em."
With a straight face, I said, "That's a great idea. We need to find some help or another leader for sheet medal forming, though."
"We're ahead of you," Dan began, "Drew is the ideal leader for the sheet metal shop. He has the most experience and he knows how to make good product."
"We interviewed and tested two guys Monday that would be perfect for what we do. Both are experienced and both want to work for a company that cares about the product they produce."
"Where do they work now?" I asked being curious.
"Nowhere, right now. They quit, or were fired, or whatever when they argued with their former employer over the quality of the work that was being done. They opposed cheapening the materials and the push to speed up production at the cost of quality."
This was a lot from Dan, Drew, or Al, all at once. Especially Al, who usually let others speak for him.
"So who did they work for?"
This time is was Dan, "The company we visited this morning. They left last Wednesday because of the problem with the cheap sheet metal and the harping over 'go faster, go faster.' When I told them that you have never asked us to go faster, but demanded perfection, they wanted to come to work for you right then. We didn't say anything about hiring them as we were keeping up with the orders pretty well and would continue, until you began cutting pickup trucks."
"Do you think you can check their work and do yours at the same time? There is a learning curve to what you guys do. Some do not pick up on it as well as you two have, so it will be important to supervise their work. We have to continue to produce the same quality, regardless of who is making the panels."
Drew spoke up for the first time. "That's my job. I enjoy teaching men how to use equipment and how to create good work. That is the most rewarding part of my career."
Dan explained, "Drew is better at quality control than either of us is, and he has some natural leadership abilities that we don't have either. He will definitely be your team leader there.
Al was smiling, "We gotcha boss, we know what has to be done and that this won't be a walk in the park. But it's a chance to head up a whole new part of the company. You watch, you'll be hiring more people for us to train and build bodies in no time."
"You two wouldn't happen to have a material list for a bed would you? Say what the raw sheets would be? We're going to have to research the locks and drawer guides too. I want really good ones so they will last through a lot of abuse and use. The locks and handles need to be the kind that can be replaced in case they do break or wear out, and the boom needs to be looked at to make sure the one they are or were using is the best, most trouble free, there is. Our trucks must be good, better than good and safe."
"That's what we love about the company, you always want us to build the absolute best. I've never heard you say, 'Can you go faster' but I have heard you ask if we could make it better. Dan and I are proud of our work and proud to work for you and the company. You'll see, we'll make you proud."
Dan gave me the list of raw materials he would need for one bed. I told both of them to help me figure out the best way to order the sheets of various thickness of steel to do the job. The first ones I wanted to be painted, like the one we had but I would buy a set of stainless so we could build one from stainless steel and see what the cost difference was." I called the steel company I most recently had been dealing with and spoke with a salesman. My concern was over delivery and asked if they had this in a nearby warehouse. I was on hold for a good while, then another voice came on, "Are you the Steve Sharp from S&S Enterprises that buys all the tubing from us?"
"That's me."
"Is this something you may be ordering a lot of?"
"Depends on whether we can do it and be cost effective. We also want to try these same thickness, using all stainless steel metal, so if you can get this order to me by morning, it would be a help."
The new voice began laughing. "Right now you have enough on order to qualify for a single shipment, and yes we do have this in Jacksonville, and yes I can make an exception for your company, and get this first shipment out to you tonight. I do have to ask for two percent more for after hours loading. Is that all right?"
"Did you use the discount level we are at right now with your company?"
"No, I didn't. I used the next higher discount level, as this puts your volume this month into a new level. Keep it up and we'll be paying you to get our steel."
"Somehow I don't think that will ever happen, but thanks for the additional discount. How much more is it?"
"You're now at our max of twenty-two percent, which is an additional four percent more than you were getting."
"That pretty much covers the after hours thing, doesn't it."
"Why do I feel that Steve Sharp would have paid list to get what he wants in the morning?"
"Thanks for not feeling for me too much. Go ahead and ship the stainless steel set regular shipping. We won't need it till either late this week or early next week, probably the latter." The guy finally told me he was one of the partners, and when he heard I was personally making the buy, he thought he should personally make the sale.
That's the way to do business.
I came back out to the patio to tell Al and Dan that the steel would be there in the morning. Al was with Joan, Dan was talking to Charlie and Hank, while Drew huddled with Mandy, talking like old home friends. I gave them the good news and they became even more excited.
When I told Tiny and Phil that I had decided to go into the body making business, they began laughing. Saying that I couldn't stand someone else's work and that if I could build trucks, Ford would never sell me another.
They were funny guys.
Sandy went with me when I filled my empty beer mug and asked if I had noticed how locked in that Mandy was with Drew. I looked over at them and they were fixated with each other. They were oblivious to everything outside of each other's eyes.
A little later when we were getting ready to eat, Sue asked me if I had noticed Mandy and Drew. She said it looked like we were about to lose a bed partner. Sue sounded happy for her, even though I knew how much she enjoyed having the two girls with us.
After supper, Sue and I went for a long walk accompanied by Sandy, Tiny, and Ruth. We went by the pool for a hard swim. The five of us sat in the tub for a few minutes then we all went home. I had told Sue and Sandy about the new item that we were going to try to make. Try wasn't the best word. I had committed a bunch of money for raw materials, so it better work.
When we got back home, Sandy had a message from Mandy, through Joan, that she would see her in the morning. Joan said that Mandy and Drew had left together. Sandy asked if she could stay over, as she wasn't used to being alone. Sue of course said yes. We sat out having that last drink of the night long enough to have three last drinks. Sue and Sandy were getting giggly so I straightened up, shut off all the lights and locked up. By the time I made it to bed, the two were cuddled together sound asleep. Too many last drinks.