http://issuu.com/alltorque1/docs/attpresentation
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Thursday 29 December 2011
Wednesday 14 December 2011
All Torque's Christmas Closing Scenario
Preston branch will be closing from Friday, the 23rd of December so we can play a bit of cricket. The re-open date will be Tuesday the 3rd of January, 2012.
During this period, all calls will be transferred to Braeside, where Rob, Gail and Ernie all have the honours of getting up early after New Year's Eve.
During this period, all calls will be transferred to Braeside, where Rob, Gail and Ernie all have the honours of getting up early after New Year's Eve.
Monday 21 November 2011
English Electric Motors
Not content with giving the world bangers and mash, black pudding and mushy peas, the English were at the forefront of electric motor design. The only problem is, some equipment still coming across our counter is the original English sizing, which doesn't fit directly with a NEMA replacement or an IEC equivalent.
Retrofitting has been around for ages and we are getting very good at subbing the old blighty equipment with a modern-day equivalent when required. The funny thing is, I know which of the two will still be around in 50 years with everything else being equal.
Retrofitting has been around for ages and we are getting very good at subbing the old blighty equipment with a modern-day equivalent when required. The funny thing is, I know which of the two will still be around in 50 years with everything else being equal.
Monday 31 October 2011
Melbourne Cup
If stopping a nation isn't enough, the whole of Melbourne goes to sleep for what amounts to a four-day weekend when the Melbourne Cup comes around every year. The first Tuesday in November is a major event on Melbourne's calendar and the streets are nearly abandonded during the running of the event.
Traditions abound; such as having a barbecue with friends and family, a cup sweep that the same person seems to win every year, running late to work on Wednesday and Rob drawing the short straw and being the only one to work across both branches of All Torque Transmissions.
Good on ya Rob.
Traditions abound; such as having a barbecue with friends and family, a cup sweep that the same person seems to win every year, running late to work on Wednesday and Rob drawing the short straw and being the only one to work across both branches of All Torque Transmissions.
Good on ya Rob.
Wednesday 5 October 2011
Review of “Changing How the World Does Business” by Roger Frock
Well, what a story and a half! Talk about taking risks. Changing How the World Does Business details
how an idea, a lot of luck, a lot of in-house and investor money and some stern
lobbying can all come together to create a fortune. Roger Frock was there from the very early days
of Federal Express and was on hand for many of the crucial decisions made by
the management team, chiefly among them founder Fred Smith.
Smith had sunk his every cent (and some ‘other’ funding) into Federal Express, buying a whole heap of Dassault Falcons and starting up an overnight package-delivery service for across the US. Doing the math on this one is not hard, as established players were already on the scene and the fixed costs would be massive. In fact, it would take five years for a profit to be made, right in the thick of expansion.
As Frock details, many of the entrepreneurial business decisions paid dividends, but it could very easily have gone the other way, with Smith doing time.
Changing How the World Does Business takes a little while to get going, but then the business decisions start coming thick and fast and the pace really picks up. It is recommended reading for anyone in business who is looking to start their own overnight package-delivery service. In all honesty, strategic thinking is at the forefront off all decisions in this book and strategic planners will be all across the thought processes behind them. It is still very entertaining.
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1576754138
ISBN-13: 978-1576754139
Smith had sunk his every cent (and some ‘other’ funding) into Federal Express, buying a whole heap of Dassault Falcons and starting up an overnight package-delivery service for across the US. Doing the math on this one is not hard, as established players were already on the scene and the fixed costs would be massive. In fact, it would take five years for a profit to be made, right in the thick of expansion.
As Frock details, many of the entrepreneurial business decisions paid dividends, but it could very easily have gone the other way, with Smith doing time.
Changing How the World Does Business takes a little while to get going, but then the business decisions start coming thick and fast and the pace really picks up. It is recommended reading for anyone in business who is looking to start their own overnight package-delivery service. In all honesty, strategic thinking is at the forefront off all decisions in this book and strategic planners will be all across the thought processes behind them. It is still very entertaining.
Hardcover: 239 pages
Publisher:
Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2006) Language: English
ISBN-10: 1576754138
ISBN-13: 978-1576754139
Friday 30 September 2011
What is the Best Tablet for Business?
No really, I'm asking...
All Torque's [account managers / sales engineers / sales representatives] are traditional salespeople: on the road, in front of customers all day, managing the entire supply process. As such, catalogues, presentations and information gathering are all done using traditional paper-based media.
Well, the world is turning quickly and information technology follows Moore's Law religiously. Tablet computers have become the weapon of choice for all businesses on the go, but which is the best one and what apps get the most out of it?
With the iPad holding the high ground and the Playbook and ThinkPad looking to compete at the top end, new offerings like the Kindle Fire are aiming for a different (non-business) market altogether.
We've got a collection of iPhones and Blackberrys to help us on our way at present. My preference is for the Blackberry with its superior e-mail capability but news about RIM's ongoing viability is always concerning.
Help me out here, people! Let me know, money no object, what the best tablet for business currently available in Australia is. Also, let me know when the money is a slight object.
All Torque's [account managers / sales engineers / sales representatives] are traditional salespeople: on the road, in front of customers all day, managing the entire supply process. As such, catalogues, presentations and information gathering are all done using traditional paper-based media.
Well, the world is turning quickly and information technology follows Moore's Law religiously. Tablet computers have become the weapon of choice for all businesses on the go, but which is the best one and what apps get the most out of it?
With the iPad holding the high ground and the Playbook and ThinkPad looking to compete at the top end, new offerings like the Kindle Fire are aiming for a different (non-business) market altogether.
We've got a collection of iPhones and Blackberrys to help us on our way at present. My preference is for the Blackberry with its superior e-mail capability but news about RIM's ongoing viability is always concerning.
Help me out here, people! Let me know, money no object, what the best tablet for business currently available in Australia is. Also, let me know when the money is a slight object.
Sunday 18 September 2011
Two-Tier Wage System?
As you can see on this link, the US is looking to reinvigorate its depressed jobs market by allowing the Big 3 car makers to employ new workers for $14.00 per hour, whilst veteran workers earn twice that amount. Even at this rate, employers received 100,000 applications.
Australia has wage issues of its own. The mining boom (with all of its attached wage rise complications) has drawn some of the best talent to work in rural Australia, whilst sapping the balance of the economy of labour. Wages in many fields have risen, although manufacturing jobs have been steadily going by the wayside.
Instead of a rise in unemployment, all we are going to see is a shift in the patterns of employment. Mining is going to be the major beneficiary, yet wages will not shift at all, even after the influx of new miners.
The question still remains, of how someone earning $560.00 per week can afford to look after a family. I am not fully aware of the total cost of living in Michigan but I'm sure that making ends meet would be hard at that income level. Still, beggars can't be choosers.
Australia has wage issues of its own. The mining boom (with all of its attached wage rise complications) has drawn some of the best talent to work in rural Australia, whilst sapping the balance of the economy of labour. Wages in many fields have risen, although manufacturing jobs have been steadily going by the wayside.
Instead of a rise in unemployment, all we are going to see is a shift in the patterns of employment. Mining is going to be the major beneficiary, yet wages will not shift at all, even after the influx of new miners.
The question still remains, of how someone earning $560.00 per week can afford to look after a family. I am not fully aware of the total cost of living in Michigan but I'm sure that making ends meet would be hard at that income level. Still, beggars can't be choosers.
Wednesday 14 September 2011
Out With The Old, In With The New
Well, All Torque Preston's trusty old laptop whirred and fizzed its last noises last week, before keeling over and yelling "Enough!!"
Life's Good, claimed the logo on the front of Ol' Faithful, but life turned pretty ugly very quickly as we hurriedly hunted down our last backup dongle. Luckily, it was only from the previous day so there wasn't too much that needed to be recovered.
Crisis management became the catchcry of the day. We organised for a new desktop to be built (something we had in the pipeline anyway, so we just had to bring it forward), whilst a reserve laptop was rushed into temporary service. Photo at left - Greg at work on Ol' Faithful. May he rest in peace.
Our new computer arrived this week and it is FANTASTIC! All of a sudden, our computing power has skyrocketed to today and has made our lives a lot more straightforward.
If there was a moral to this story, I would say that keeping up to date with technology may be expensive, but the cost of not doing so is frightening, especially when something goes wrong.
Thursday 8 September 2011
Saturday 3 September 2011
Torque in Gear Drive Design
There is one key issue that many users of power transmission equipment have when detailing their requirements with us; underestimating the torque requirements of a particular drive.
Many is the time a customer will say “it is only going very slowly” without realising that this is how a lot of torque is generated. Most gear drives utilise a four pole electric motor (1400 RPM) on the input and reductions generate torque as a function of their ratio.
When converting motor design power for a particular job into the output torque, the following formula is used: Torque (Nm) = (Motor Power (kW) x 9550) / Speed (RPM of output shaft). As we can see, the denominator is speed, so the slower the unit is going, the less we divide by and the higher the torque value. In American terms, Torque (in lb-ft) = (Motor Power (HP) x 5252) / Speed (RPM).
Very large reductions will require a very large gearbox, usually with an electric motor that looks tiny in comparison and out of place.
Monday 29 August 2011
Poor Coffee Retailers
Why does every charity, pay TV provider, insurance company (and many, many others) choose to quantify how much their product is by equating it in coffee terms? How many times have we heard that by giving up a coffee a day, we can do something?
If we give up our daily coffee (which I consider an absolute daily must, not a luxury!) the first time, we can only give it up once. I can only give it up once to sponsor a child, get funeral insurance or buy a coffee - oh wait, not that last one.
A daily coffee is obviously a luxury that advertisers think we can do without. Do they dislike the poor coffee farmers the world over, not to mention our dairy farmers? Come to think of it, the cups are made in Australia, too.
If we give up our daily coffee (which I consider an absolute daily must, not a luxury!) the first time, we can only give it up once. I can only give it up once to sponsor a child, get funeral insurance or buy a coffee - oh wait, not that last one.
A daily coffee is obviously a luxury that advertisers think we can do without. Do they dislike the poor coffee farmers the world over, not to mention our dairy farmers? Come to think of it, the cups are made in Australia, too.
Friday 26 August 2011
Matching Output With Demand
Significant Australian steel manufacturer (and All Torque Transmissions customer), Bluescope, has recently announced 1000 job losses across its Australian manufacturing operations. As usual, the strength of the Australian dollar has made the price of exported product prohibitive.
This news comes fresh on the heels of manufacturing job losses at Heinz, SPC and Ford, where reaching a shutdown decision was made easier by the lack of international demand. All three are also All Torque customers.
Economists the world over sing the praises of an economy that expolits what it is good at, whilst less efficient industries shrivel up and die. In this sense, comparative advantage is a relative term, as Australia enjoys a virtual resource monopoly on much of what it has.
Economists are also quick to point out that consumers value variety and are willing to pay for it. As each Australian manufacturer becomes a 'former Australian manufacturer', that variety is being continually and quickly eroded.
Luckily, Australia's poor mining fraternity lobbied the Australian government for a lesser mining super profits tax, so the sharholders can sleep well at night.
This news comes fresh on the heels of manufacturing job losses at Heinz, SPC and Ford, where reaching a shutdown decision was made easier by the lack of international demand. All three are also All Torque customers.
Economists the world over sing the praises of an economy that expolits what it is good at, whilst less efficient industries shrivel up and die. In this sense, comparative advantage is a relative term, as Australia enjoys a virtual resource monopoly on much of what it has.
Economists are also quick to point out that consumers value variety and are willing to pay for it. As each Australian manufacturer becomes a 'former Australian manufacturer', that variety is being continually and quickly eroded.
Luckily, Australia's poor mining fraternity lobbied the Australian government for a lesser mining super profits tax, so the sharholders can sleep well at night.
Monday 8 August 2011
Check, Then Doublecheck Please
Last week I received a call from a customer whose newly-supplied gearbox was making a very large noise during operation. After getting it back to the workshop, we found that one of the gears was not secured properly and was actually floating on the shaft. Luckily, there was not too much damage to the internals.
Looking back on the original job sheet revealed that the gearbox was required extremely urgently. This can only mean that the unit was not test-run at the factory. I know that we didn't test it when it came through our place as we had to get it straight to the customer for fitment.
When stuff is rushed mistakes are made. Unfortunately, stuff is going to get rushed all the time and limiting mistakes is an ongoing business.
Looking back on the original job sheet revealed that the gearbox was required extremely urgently. This can only mean that the unit was not test-run at the factory. I know that we didn't test it when it came through our place as we had to get it straight to the customer for fitment.
When stuff is rushed mistakes are made. Unfortunately, stuff is going to get rushed all the time and limiting mistakes is an ongoing business.
Monday 1 August 2011
The Various Skills Requirements in Mechanical Power Transmission Supply
The mechanical power transmission industry is very specialised, to the point where there is not a lot of crossover from other industries when sales is the key outcome.
Traditional methodology in recruiting people for the PT supply industry saw businesses training youngsters from scratch; giving them a solid grounding in every aspect of the sales process and developing product knowledge all the while. This is, however, a rather costly and time-consuming exercise, especially when the individual is not able to make the transition to becoming an effective salesperson.
Another school of thought has been to recruit ex-tradespeople (or those with either an electrical or mechanical engineering degree). This has also proven to be a bit hit-or-miss, as many skills required to be an effective engineer have little bearing on becoming an effective supplier. There is also the added disincentive of having to match equivalent wages which are invariably quite high.
Product knowledge is always of prime importance (as it is in most industries) but simply knowing your own product range is not enough: a solid understanding of all available supply options to a specific problem is required. This sort of understanding takes at least ten years to develop to an acceptable state, with three to five years a bare minimum.
Understanding customer requirements is just as difficult as knowing how to fulfill them, at times. This also takes a long time to harness and is one of the areas that the degree-holders have an advantage.
Good salespeople are very thin on the ground in the mechanical power transmission industry. The WA and Queensland mining boom only continues to draw evermore human resources.
Traditional methodology in recruiting people for the PT supply industry saw businesses training youngsters from scratch; giving them a solid grounding in every aspect of the sales process and developing product knowledge all the while. This is, however, a rather costly and time-consuming exercise, especially when the individual is not able to make the transition to becoming an effective salesperson.
Another school of thought has been to recruit ex-tradespeople (or those with either an electrical or mechanical engineering degree). This has also proven to be a bit hit-or-miss, as many skills required to be an effective engineer have little bearing on becoming an effective supplier. There is also the added disincentive of having to match equivalent wages which are invariably quite high.
Product knowledge is always of prime importance (as it is in most industries) but simply knowing your own product range is not enough: a solid understanding of all available supply options to a specific problem is required. This sort of understanding takes at least ten years to develop to an acceptable state, with three to five years a bare minimum.
Understanding customer requirements is just as difficult as knowing how to fulfill them, at times. This also takes a long time to harness and is one of the areas that the degree-holders have an advantage.
Good salespeople are very thin on the ground in the mechanical power transmission industry. The WA and Queensland mining boom only continues to draw evermore human resources.
Tuesday 26 July 2011
Reverse Engineering Run Amok: Chinese Gearbox Manufacturing.
Things are really coming to a head in the geared motor industry, as Chinese gearbox manufacturers continue to produce look-alike models and dump them on markets around the world. In Australia, copies of nearly every SEW-Eurodrive offering are being supplied as substitutes to the real thing, not as pass-offs but as explicit alternatives.
Not content with the SEW range, Motorvario wormboxes are rich pickings for the copiers, as are Cyclodrives and even Var-Spe units. Chinese manufacturers have reverse-engineered nearly every geared motor that is available on the market today.
Many gearbox brands are manufacturing components in China and importing them for local assembly, which manages to keep a handle on production quality. Unfortunately, the range of fully-imported copies is poor by comparison and I sincerely hope that customers do not suffer for it too soon.
Not content with the SEW range, Motorvario wormboxes are rich pickings for the copiers, as are Cyclodrives and even Var-Spe units. Chinese manufacturers have reverse-engineered nearly every geared motor that is available on the market today.
Many gearbox brands are manufacturing components in China and importing them for local assembly, which manages to keep a handle on production quality. Unfortunately, the range of fully-imported copies is poor by comparison and I sincerely hope that customers do not suffer for it too soon.
Friday 22 July 2011
Why Fridays?
Why does every single Friday afternoon turn to mud after lunch? After a reasonably quiet day, all hell broke loose today at around 1400, with one customer requiring an urgent taxi, another an urgent point-to-point courier and another wanted something delivered after hours tomorrow.
I'm not going to link to anything corny about Fridays, such as this, this or, heaven forbid this, but it would be really handy if customers could break things on Monday or Tuesday mornings and give suppliers a one day heads up.
In the washup, not everything managed to get out as some of ATT's suppliers had knocked off early for a traditional Friday beer. One requires all of their diplomacy skills in relaying this information to the customer.
I'm not going to link to anything corny about Fridays, such as this, this or, heaven forbid this, but it would be really handy if customers could break things on Monday or Tuesday mornings and give suppliers a one day heads up.
In the washup, not everything managed to get out as some of ATT's suppliers had knocked off early for a traditional Friday beer. One requires all of their diplomacy skills in relaying this information to the customer.
Friday 15 July 2011
Risk Management in the PT World
Yesterday (July 14th, 2011), the courier company Couriers Please had a technical meltdown which resulted in the inability to receive bookings - both on the phone and the internet.
All Torque uses Couriers Please for the majority of our daily pick ups for a number of reasons: they pick up and deliver three times per day, the pricing is reasonable and bookings are normally trouble-free.
It is only in times of crisis that one realises how much they rely on something. We had expected seven things to be coming in for customers, as well as two things going out, when we found that the Couriers Please system had failed. In desperation, we had to triage the most important jobs and organise point-to-point couriers to keep things coming in. This was only achieved well into the afternoon, when the Couriers Please website eventually gave word of the problems they were experiencing.
Couriers Please are normally quite reliable, but yesterday's delays proved that relying too much on one supplier can be hazardous. From now on, we will have to keep two courier companies on the hook for our business, cost economies of scale be damned.
All Torque uses Couriers Please for the majority of our daily pick ups for a number of reasons: they pick up and deliver three times per day, the pricing is reasonable and bookings are normally trouble-free.
It is only in times of crisis that one realises how much they rely on something. We had expected seven things to be coming in for customers, as well as two things going out, when we found that the Couriers Please system had failed. In desperation, we had to triage the most important jobs and organise point-to-point couriers to keep things coming in. This was only achieved well into the afternoon, when the Couriers Please website eventually gave word of the problems they were experiencing.
Couriers Please are normally quite reliable, but yesterday's delays proved that relying too much on one supplier can be hazardous. From now on, we will have to keep two courier companies on the hook for our business, cost economies of scale be damned.
Thursday 7 July 2011
School Holidays - Fantastic!
Well, school holidays are playing havoc with the All Torque roster; with Craig already part way through his break and Greg about to enjoy two weeks on a Pacific island. Added to this is the bout of flu going around at the moment, with the occasional day off thrown in.
We run a fairly lean operation so any staff shortages require everyone else to step up. School holidays are great for the flow of traffic in the morning but for some reason there is no equivalent reduction in workload. Can anyone explain it?
We run a fairly lean operation so any staff shortages require everyone else to step up. School holidays are great for the flow of traffic in the morning but for some reason there is no equivalent reduction in workload. Can anyone explain it?
Sunday 3 July 2011
Only the One Price Rise
All Torque has a range of suppliers, chiefly Bonfiglioli, Baldor, WEG, Flender, Warner, Comintec and PIV. Most of these are exclusive or shared distributorships and are important to our continued growth.
Of all of these, Baldor are the only supplier to have a "New Price List" for the new financial year. With most of the product range coming directly from the United States and the skyrocketing Australian dollar, it is a wonder that most of the Baldor offering has risen in price (there are some notable exceptions, where the price has actually reduced).
The question now is: how many suppliers have reduced their prices based upon the stong Australian dollar?
We have seen recently that bringing stuff in directly ex Europe or the States for one-off jobs has been quite lucrative for our customers. Many are buying in new equipment to replace existing that only two years ago they would never have dreamed of doing.
I'm sure the business to be in at the moment is international freight forwarding.
Of all of these, Baldor are the only supplier to have a "New Price List" for the new financial year. With most of the product range coming directly from the United States and the skyrocketing Australian dollar, it is a wonder that most of the Baldor offering has risen in price (there are some notable exceptions, where the price has actually reduced).
The question now is: how many suppliers have reduced their prices based upon the stong Australian dollar?
We have seen recently that bringing stuff in directly ex Europe or the States for one-off jobs has been quite lucrative for our customers. Many are buying in new equipment to replace existing that only two years ago they would never have dreamed of doing.
I'm sure the business to be in at the moment is international freight forwarding.
Wednesday 29 June 2011
The 5 Best Business Podcasts
Driving around all day one gets tired of listening to the radio and the CDs are pretty tired. I really enjoy podcasts and here are (in my opinion) the best in the business.
The Hobson & Holtz Report is a weekly podcast that is absolutely mandatory in the field of PR and technology. It is usually over an hour long but every minute is well worth the investment.
The HBR Ideacast normally goes for about ten minutes and it features an interview with someone from the Harvard Business Review magazine of that month.
Mixergy is an absolute must watch / listen. Andrew Warner interviews individuals with an extreme business streak in an intriguing fashion, getting through the usual fluff and uncovering some great insights. Especially noteworthy is his series on businesses that have failed.
Everyone is a salesperson these days and The AdvancedSelling Podcast is a light-hearted look at how individuals can make the most of their inner merchant.
The Financial Times has a good podcast section, the pick of which is Listen to Lucy. Lucy Kellaway delivers a five minute stab at the latest management decisions and fads and always brings a chuckle with her wit.
Friday 24 June 2011
Book Review of "Pitch Invasion – Adidas, Puma and the Making of Modern Sport"
Well researched and written, I have reviewed Pitch Invasion by Barbara Smit from a managerial perspective.
Brothers Adi and Rudi Dassler were partners in Gebruder Dassler, a Herzogenaurach (Germany) specialist manufacturer of sports footwear. Famously falling out after WW2 and starting Adidas (Adi) and Puma (Rudi), the brothers fought hard for market share with each other and the world – utilizing very different management styles in the process.
Although giving a full history to the current day of the many and varied contests endured by Adidas and Puma, Pitch Invasion introduces the reader to the innovative thinking and entrepreneurship of Adi’s son, Horst Dassler. When aged merely 20, Horst was Adidas’ “man on the spot” for the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 and singlehandedly ensured that most of the track athletes wore the ‘Three Stripes’.
Groomed to take over the sporting behemoth that Adidas was quickly becoming, Horst tried to involve himself in more of the business than his father was comfortable with. As a result, his parents set him up in Adidas France by buying him a disused clothing factory and supplying him with a small amount of seed money. From here, Horst used all of his skills to develop Adidas into what we know today.
Although supposed to be merely a subsidiary of the German parent, Adidas France innovated like no other sporting goods manufacturer had before. It is clear that Horst understood the value of branding, utilizing the Adidas logo and developing lines of clothing, bags, footballs and swimwear that all capitalised on the perceived quality that Adidas enjoyed. Soon, the French son would be dictating terms to the German father as money exploded into the world sporting scene.
In DISC terms, Horst could be categorised as a ‘High D’. According to one of his senior managers, Alain Ronc “He just didn’t care about consultation, weighing problems and costs. He took bold decisions, then it was up to us to find the means to implement them.”
This high D behavioural characteristic is further backed by evidence that Horst was himself a workaholic, with single working stints lasting two days at a time.
Knowing how to get the best out of his employees was probably the key achievement of Horst’s behavioural style. No matter where on the Adidas France foodchain, Horst Dassler’s employees were all a part of the family. Horst infrequently called in favours with the local law enforcement when it was required (staff drink-driving charges) and even lent some staff money. These small gestures were more than enough to ensure staff loyalty for years afterwards, especially in a time when poaching was rife.
The top-down, dictatorial managerial style was common during this period in business and Adidas had a ‘Manufacturing Focus’. The strength of the brand was so good that distributors the world over wanted whatever Adidas made, with lead times stretching out to two years for most products. This obviously made product development and life-cycling key.
Horst’s firm style and ‘win at all costs’ mentality knew no bounds. After his cousin (Rudi’s son) at Puma reneged on a deal to stay clear of football great Pele, Horst did what it took to secure the contracts of the world’s best – in every sport and by any means.
In showing that innovative thinking requires more than being a futurist but coupling this with the ability to know how to exploit the weaknesses of your competitors, Pitch Invasion is compulsory reading for any aspiring manager looking to develop the thought processes of success. It is filled with anecdotes about how Horst went about building one of the world’s biggest brands, then rested on his laurels at exactly the wrong time.
Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Allen Lane (25 May 2006)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0713998881
ISBN-13: 978-0713998887
Brothers Adi and Rudi Dassler were partners in Gebruder Dassler, a Herzogenaurach (Germany) specialist manufacturer of sports footwear. Famously falling out after WW2 and starting Adidas (Adi) and Puma (Rudi), the brothers fought hard for market share with each other and the world – utilizing very different management styles in the process.
Although giving a full history to the current day of the many and varied contests endured by Adidas and Puma, Pitch Invasion introduces the reader to the innovative thinking and entrepreneurship of Adi’s son, Horst Dassler. When aged merely 20, Horst was Adidas’ “man on the spot” for the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 and singlehandedly ensured that most of the track athletes wore the ‘Three Stripes’.
Groomed to take over the sporting behemoth that Adidas was quickly becoming, Horst tried to involve himself in more of the business than his father was comfortable with. As a result, his parents set him up in Adidas France by buying him a disused clothing factory and supplying him with a small amount of seed money. From here, Horst used all of his skills to develop Adidas into what we know today.
Although supposed to be merely a subsidiary of the German parent, Adidas France innovated like no other sporting goods manufacturer had before. It is clear that Horst understood the value of branding, utilizing the Adidas logo and developing lines of clothing, bags, footballs and swimwear that all capitalised on the perceived quality that Adidas enjoyed. Soon, the French son would be dictating terms to the German father as money exploded into the world sporting scene.
In DISC terms, Horst could be categorised as a ‘High D’. According to one of his senior managers, Alain Ronc “He just didn’t care about consultation, weighing problems and costs. He took bold decisions, then it was up to us to find the means to implement them.”
This high D behavioural characteristic is further backed by evidence that Horst was himself a workaholic, with single working stints lasting two days at a time.
Knowing how to get the best out of his employees was probably the key achievement of Horst’s behavioural style. No matter where on the Adidas France foodchain, Horst Dassler’s employees were all a part of the family. Horst infrequently called in favours with the local law enforcement when it was required (staff drink-driving charges) and even lent some staff money. These small gestures were more than enough to ensure staff loyalty for years afterwards, especially in a time when poaching was rife.
The top-down, dictatorial managerial style was common during this period in business and Adidas had a ‘Manufacturing Focus’. The strength of the brand was so good that distributors the world over wanted whatever Adidas made, with lead times stretching out to two years for most products. This obviously made product development and life-cycling key.
Horst’s firm style and ‘win at all costs’ mentality knew no bounds. After his cousin (Rudi’s son) at Puma reneged on a deal to stay clear of football great Pele, Horst did what it took to secure the contracts of the world’s best – in every sport and by any means.
In showing that innovative thinking requires more than being a futurist but coupling this with the ability to know how to exploit the weaknesses of your competitors, Pitch Invasion is compulsory reading for any aspiring manager looking to develop the thought processes of success. It is filled with anecdotes about how Horst went about building one of the world’s biggest brands, then rested on his laurels at exactly the wrong time.
Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Allen Lane (25 May 2006)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0713998881
ISBN-13: 978-0713998887
National Manufacturing Week
I went in to Jeff’s Shed in Melbourne for National Manufacturing Week (NMW) on the Wednesday (May 25th) during the day. I have been to all of these since 1995 both as a visitor, an exhibitor (with Motion Industries – now CBC Motion) and also representing Binzel when my race team was sponsored by them and we had our car on display. With all the excitement that builds up before the event, I walked away thinking I could describe my feelings in one word – “Meh...”
There was a lot of hype about the event for 2011, with all of the usual superlatives out in force. Numbers were up across the board, everyone was happy, etc.Walking around the place, there wasn’t really a marked increase in foot traffic over previous years. The usual big clans of university students swarmed around any stand with free stuff or girls in miniskirts and one only wonders what exhibitors did before plasmas and LCD TVs were on the scene.
This year NMW also became rather political, with visits to the Endeavour Awards from Tony Abbott and the event itself being frequented by state and federal ministers. On the tip of everyone’s tongue – carbon tax. That’s when the eyes glaze over.
On the geared motor front, SEW had the biggest stand, with Nord just around the corner with a smaller display. Sumitomo had a minor stand out of the way. SEW had partnered with a computer vehicle dynamics simulation mob who had hooked up a GP driving simulator to a whole heap of servo motors and was giving punters a go. The SEW stand was probably best in show due to its interactivity. Most exhibitors would do well to follow their lead (obviously, budget permitting). With the investment demanded by these big trade shows, companies really need to convert enquiries into sales to make it all worthwhile. Simply having a ‘presence’ isn’t enough to justify the spend. I probably saw more customers (and suppliers) by walking around seeing everyone on the floor – and all it cost was the $10.00 car park at Crown!
Monday 20 June 2011
All Torque Hits Twitter
Well, a natural progression of a blog is a twitter account, so All Torque now has one which I will be looking after. Although twitter has been up and running for a few years, there are not very many accounts from those in the power transmission world, making us an early adopter for our industry.
One of the main problems that I'm already seeing is that having a twitter account opens up all of the pretend followers who inundate you with spam. I'm going to follow them back until they get too annoying.
There also haven't been that many of All Torque's customers using twitter yet, but that's what being an early adopter is all about - being there when the early majority come on board.
Our feed is @alltorque1
Actually, it's a funny story; getting the @alltorque1 handle. The main twitter names for All Torque have all been taken, mostly by cybersquatters who are not using them at all. Business at its best?
One of the main problems that I'm already seeing is that having a twitter account opens up all of the pretend followers who inundate you with spam. I'm going to follow them back until they get too annoying.
There also haven't been that many of All Torque's customers using twitter yet, but that's what being an early adopter is all about - being there when the early majority come on board.
Our feed is @alltorque1
Actually, it's a funny story; getting the @alltorque1 handle. The main twitter names for All Torque have all been taken, mostly by cybersquatters who are not using them at all. Business at its best?
Monday 6 June 2011
4 Significant Challenges Facing the Mechanical Power Transmission Industry in 2011 and (How They Affect All Torque)
Interest rates - Driven higher by relatively high inflation
Interest rates and Australian monetary policy generally have seen the Australian dollar continue its upward surge, finding a new home above parity with the US dollar and over 70 Euro cents. As with all facets of the Australian market, the power transmission industry is reliant upon both imports and exports. Imports impact All Torque with our Bonfiglioli, Baldor, WEG, Comintec and Flender ranges, actually bringing the landed cost down across the board; whilst exports are a significant part of our customer income and directly affected by too high a local currency.
Our range of Reeves belt variators is also directly affected by the higher Australian dollar, with 90% of each unit manufactured in Australia utilising local sub-contractors (foundries, machine shops etc.). Competitors can offer their fully imported belt variators dependent on the exchange rate of the time.
Continued erosion of manufacturing customer base
More and more Australian businesses are shifting manufacturing capacity to SE Asia and China for a lot of reasons. Whilst natural and sustained growth is also on the horizon for at least the next generation, the ratio of Australian manufactured goods is only going to continue to decline.
Inability to recruit salespeople with industry knowledge
The mechanical power transmission industry is not the sexiest game in town and getting quality staff with a broad knowledge of the industry is getting harder all the time. Whilst the average age of the active workforce continues to creep higher, so too does the average age in the PT industry overall. Finding, training and maintaining quality staff is the key across all industries.
Reliance on strength of mining for continued growth
It used to be the sheep’s back that carried Australia. No one will deny that Australia is now reliant upon the strength of the Western Australian and Queensland mining industries for future prosperity. Issues with handling the two-speed economy are the biggest for any government of the day, but impact upon every business in Australia.
Friday 6 May 2011
All Torque Transmissions Enters the Blogosphere
My name is Damian Harris and I am an account manager at All Torque Transmissions.
All Torque is customer focused, in that you can ring us up at any time and we will answer the call. The main reason for this blog is to delve a little deeper into what makes All Torque tick - mostly the characters behind the show. Who knows, I may even ask for approval before posting...
All Torque is customer focused, in that you can ring us up at any time and we will answer the call. The main reason for this blog is to delve a little deeper into what makes All Torque tick - mostly the characters behind the show. Who knows, I may even ask for approval before posting...
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