Let me explain by telling you a story about Roper Pumps and the spring of 2011. I don't know much about asphalt paving, but I am under the impression that in the fall, paving companies park their machines, crawl into a cave to hibernate, and dream dreams of an asphalt world. I get this impression because in the spring of 2011, our phones at JH Process Equipment were ringing off the hook with companies looking for Idler Shafts, Gears, relief valve springs and packing for their ailing Roper pumps. To the dismay of many of our customers, parts could take 1 to 2 weeks for delivery and up to 4 weeks for a new pump. Let's face it, in this economy, how many of us can afford to keep a lot of stock on our shelves.
Another critical part of this story is asphalt paving companies need it warm and dry to get the job done. "They need to make hay while the sun is shining." as the farmers used to say and a long wait for parts (and pumps) was not pleasant news but hey....what are you gonna do.
After taking the orders for the new parts (and pumps), I noticed a couple of similarities in almost every story:
1) Few paving companies did any "post season" maintenance to their pumps.
2) Few had a back-up pump.
It struck me as odd that any company whose pump is so critical to their operations, and with such a small window of opportunity to complete paving work would maintain such a bad practices. But I am not here to criticize, I am here to help come up with solutions.
What I came up with is a plan for the fall. Once our customers get out of the busy season we will sit down and talk about back up pumps, parts in stock and fall maintenance. You see, this way, we will all be prepared for the next spring and this time, we will have a much better start.
