This month, we are highlighting longtime team member Dave Olson, who is the sales manager for CCTY’s specialty recreational vehicle market at our Lake Zurich, Illinois, facility. Since helping to found our North American branch nearly 25 years ago, he has been instrumental in both the initial development and continued growth of this important market segment.
Can you tell us about your experience getting CCTY’s North American branch off the ground? What were some of the biggest challenges you faced along the way?
When Evan Poulakidas and I founded CCTY’s North American branch in 2001, we were venturing into completely different product lines as compared to our previous experience—which had mainly been ball and tapered roller bearings.
Getting this new branch off the ground greatly tested our abilities as both office and sales managers at the time. In addition to venturing into new product lines, we initially encountered the stock market crash of 2000, which significantly impacted the marketplace. Soon after, the 9/11 terrorist attacks understandably put a pause on customers’ willingness to change suppliers. Not long after that, China was hit with the SARs epidemic, which led to a severe slowdown in manufacturing and shipment of goods.
But through all these obstacles, our perseverance, grit and hard work eventually paid off and, within a few years, we were able to actively penetrate several target markets that were a good fit for the various products that our Chinese plant produced.
You played a key role in breaking into the ATV/UTV/SSV market. What were some of CCTY’s competitive advantages in this space that made the biggest impact?
Prior to joining CCTY, I worked for another bearing manufacturer where one of my main job functions was to identify and develop factories that could supply us with bearing products for the U.S. market. I traveled all over the world auditing many factories that were concentrated mainly in Eastern Europe and Asia, mostly in developing nations. Unfortunately, many of these plants lacked good quality controls.
But when I visited CCTY’s facility in China, I immediately noticed a significantly different mentality. CCTY’s plant personnel and management team placed a huge emphasis on rigid manufacturing standards, attention to detail, consistent quality control, engineering support, automation and strict adherence to international bearing standards. Simply put, CCTY was not like all of the other plants that I had previously audited.
On top of this, the off-road market started to experience significant growth in the early 2000s. Manufacturers of recreational vehicles began placing a high value on quality, durability, competitive costs and engineering support from their bearing suppliers. CCTY’s competitive advantages meshed well with this trend. Not only could we offer superior quality and competitive pricing, but our biggest advantage was the engineering support. Our dedicated team of design and manufacturing engineers—both at our plant and across engineering sales offices—were tailor made for this industry.
What are some of the biggest trends and/or technological advancements you’re seeing in the recreational vehicle market as it relates to motion control solutions?
At CCTY, we have a mantra for this fast-growing market: faster, lighter, longer life and durability. Manufacturers within the recreational vehicle space have been pushing their vehicles to the limit for years—which means there is a great need for better and more sophisticated materials such as newer resins that can handle extreme temperatures, higher stress factors and improved durability. These are all areas where CCTY has a distinct advantage since we are constantly developing and testing new products.
This is demonstrated through our ability to produce “mating parts.” Instead of the recreational vehicle manufacturer having to source a bearing, link rod, housing assembly or other component from different suppliers, CCTY has the unique capacity to produce a comprehensive, ready-to-install unit—thus offering recreational vehicle manufacturers significant time savings from product sourcing through production and assembly.
Can you share a recent project where CCTY product(s) significantly improved the performance and durability of recreational vehicles for off-road use?
A major recreational vehicle manufacturer approached CCTY looking for help in the redesign of a ball joint. The ball joint needed to be able to handle higher stress loads, meet specific axial and radial loads, and contain a housing design that could be interfaced between many different models (currently, several different ball joints are being used).
Our engineering team was able to custom design and test a component that met the manufacturer’s strict requirements. When submitted for testing, these sample parts exceeded lab and field testing requirements established by the manufacturer. Also, since the volume of this ball joint was extremely high, CCTY was able to meet its target price.
To learn more, visit: www.cctygroup.com/atv-utv-bearings-tie-rods
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