What does it take to stand out from the “crowd” of steel rule die makers?
At SRD, we have given this question a lot of thought over our many years of operation. It’s no secret that we work within a very traditional industry — after all, processes are familiar and straightforward, and there is no true desire to “reinvent the wheel” or to “fix what isn’t broken”.
Within this dynamic, however, lies the risk of stagnancy and complacency — where new ideas are ignored simply because of the effort or time involved in changing away from the current solution. This stagnancy can also often be the consequence of missing information — a lack of an opportunity to discuss and explore something new. We lack communication!
But for businesses that are already facing the constant challenge of deadlines, labour, budgets, and the myriad other issues to consider while running operations, how can it be determined whether or not a new process or material is worth the investment?
Statistics suggest that 80% of all press downtime is associated with the tooling. Compared to printing, substrate or mechanical, this is the elephant in the room. This means that a large portion of the downtime on press is set before the die even makes it to the chase. Press performance starts in the die room.
Over time, as SRD has grown into the business it is today, we’ve explored this challenge and as a result have developed our slogan of “Your Partners in Production”.
Like with all relationships, business or otherwise, the key is clear communication. A consistent and reliable transfer of information between supplier and consumer, through a working relationship built on trust and mutual interests, helps start necessary conversations and uncover solutions that otherwise would have been missed.
Our perspective is to listen so we can clearly understand your pain points and encourage a free flowing transfer of information. The pathway to improvement is built on communication.
Our success is directly correlated with the quality of the dies that we provide to you — our customer. And we rely on feedback and information from you in order to continuously improve the level of service and quality you can expect. A true partnership means that both parties improve, rather than having one take advantage of the other.
We recognize that in business these days, words are cheap. It’s easy to proclaim oneself as “solutions focused” or “goal oriented” without making any real commitment towards improvement or innovation. What really counts is being able to hold yourself accountable to your claims — to stand by them day in and day out, 365 days a year.
That’s what we aim to deliver so that we can truly say that we are “Your Partners in Production.”
Stay tuned for more on how SRD is working to improve the conversations in our industry.