Theevilzorg

Rock Auto is a replacement parts supplier we use to keep our fleet of vehicles on the road. We use them to keep us stocked with consumable parts, such as filters, lamps, fluids, brakes and other items we replace on a regular basis. We have found them to be as competitive if not more competitive then local discount auto suppliers. Since we are using them as a consumable's supplier, we can usually forecast need and not be hindered by delivery times.

Strengths: Widest range of internet based autoparts around. Multiple brands and price levels. Easy to navigate website which is also an amazing reference. Virtually every make and manufacturer represented. Actual photos of parts. Great prices. Variety of shipping options.

Needs to improve: Website is so huge, if you have a slow connection, finding the right part can be tedious.

We use SKB Cases to protect many of our high value measurement instruments we use in field work. SKB has a huge range of cases that fit everything we need protected. Often, the cases and instruments ride around in the back of a pickup truck over many miles of unpaved roads. We have never lost an instrument in one of these cases. Very happy with their products.

Strengths: Rugged, durable cases. Wide range of sizes. Quality locking systems. Energy absorbing interior foam liners. Plastic and metal outer housings.

Needs to improve: Pricey and time delays for custom cases

We have been specifying Square D equipment for all of our commercial construction projects for as long as we have been in business. We know our customers will get a safe, reliable system which will last for many years. Our dedicated sales rep, Dana LaPlante is great to deal with and he strives to make the most economical systems he can. We know that Square D will be around for a long time and we can continue to get the quality products we need.

Strengths: Complete electrical supply company. Established company with great sales and support staff. Easy to spec out their products. Can supply huge volumes. Dedicated sales rep. Repair and replacement parts widely available. Commercial quality products. Can handle huge current needs.

Needs to improve: Pricey.

We have a contract account with Costco Business to supply our start up with almost everything we need. They are super convenient and saves us time from making multiple purchases at different stores when we can usually handle everything from Costco. Our office consumables are delivered to our door and the drivers/delivery guys are super nice. On occasion, we found they have a limited supply/variety of items, but we usually can get what we need.

Strengths: Great prices. Prompt delivery. Wide range of supplies. Resale licenses. Super customer service. National company with a local supply connection. Delivery drivers are really helpful. Easy to purchase on website. Can handle large volume.

Needs to improve: Limited selection. Can't get everything you need.

I manage our office printing and copying needs and was looking at contract paper suppliers along with local office supply stores. I was impressed with JC paper's ability to supply a huge volume of paper, but discovered we could purchase locally at a cheaper price. We do not have large copying needs ( about 5000 pages per month) and the local Office Depot handled our needs better. If we ever ramp up to a large volume, I believe JC Paper could meet our needs better.

Strengths: Able to supply huge volumes of printing and copying paper. For larger companies, delivery is available. Green paper with recycled content. Nationwide presence

Needs to improve: Relatively more costly then other suppliers. Order delays.

Great local service. Discrete delivery means you are not attracting a bunch of attention to you use of explosives.

Strengths: Dyno Nobel is our raw material supplier of blasting agents. We typically use ANFO blasting agents for quarry rock demolition. Dyno Nobel is the descent of the original Alfred Nobel company which developed dynamite. We like ANFO because it is a stable blasting agent, easy to store and simple to use. Dyno Nobel also sells the detonating caps we use to set off the explosives. Typical blasting loads are between 1000 and 2000 lbs of agent. Dyno Nobel supplies at time of bast and we do not typically store more then what we will be using per charge. That makes it more expensive to blast, but we do not have to deal with the security issues related to having a blasting agent lying around.

Needs to improve: You need to have a blasting license, be vetted and established as a customer. Not cheap and super high liability if you screw up.

Overall, a great product and company. You have to know what it can do and what it can't do. Company has good support and replacement parts. Our machine is over 20 years old.

Strengths: We use a LittleMachineShop as a jack of all trades metal forming system. It is a pretty good press brake, punch, former and bender all in one. The great part about it is it does the work of 5 individual machines pretty well without taking up a whole shop's worth of space. It is relatively inexpensive compared to purchasing 5 individual components. Decent power for our 120 volt system. Works well up to 1/4 inch steel plate.

Needs to improve: It can't do everything. Limited throat capacity. Do to exceed rated specs.

Excellent service and rare, hard to find parts. A+++++

Strengths: So, why would someone use a toy store for component supply? Well J&M Hobby house is not a simple toys r us. It is this old school, hobby and model shop which you can purchase these great supplies for architectural model making, small part manufacturing and electric servo motors. The guys there are really informative and you can buy just about everything you need. We purchase a significant amount of balsa wood for our modeling operations, but also can by miniature trees and scale people too. Walking into this store is like walking back to the hobby stores of the 1960-1970's.

Needs to improve: Pricey and limited operating hours. Local only. No web presence.

Great system and fasteners.

Strengths: We spec nylok fastners and thread coating in high vibration environments where we need a fastener to remain tight, but do not need a castellated system or the complexity of a cotter pin. Nylok brand fasteners give a higher performance then imitation or import knock off nylon lock nuts. They also seem to have a superior coating on the steel nuts which resists corrosion better. Great range of sizes and both metric and SAE threads. From very small to very large sizes. Well engineered.

Needs to improve: Not as cheap as knock off. Of course, knock offs don't perform as well. You get what you pay for.

Great service and quality work. Once, in a rush, I needed a rack to be welded up. They did it on the spot for 20 bucks and a six pack of beer. Can't say there is any better service then that!

Strengths: Great local company which makes customer designed metal pieces and their own design racks, carriers and other small scale welded components. They also have powder coating and painting services. You can work hand and hand with the employees to ensure you are getting exactly what you have designed. They can manufacture structural steel and decorative iron work. Excellent service, super nice guys and they work closely with Allied Iron and steel, who is next door, for raw materials. Fast turn around and high quality work.

Needs to improve: Local only. SF Bay Area

Exceptional service and experience make transactions really easy to deal with.

Strengths: We use First American Title services to handle our business real estate transactions. We use the Menlo Park CA office and usually work with Anne Kaz. They are super reliable and work really hard to minimize screw ups and title problems. If Anne detects a problem, she get's it fixed immediately. The staff is super nice and friendly and you don't get the normal. We have done over 100 commercial transactions and there has never been a problem. They answer your questions, reply to your emails and phone calls and get the job done. Transactions are recorded with the county in a matter of hours.

Needs to improve: None.

Exceptional service and integrity. Very honest guy.

Strengths: Wayne Weathers is a State Farm Insurance broker. He is a super responsible guy that provides great customer service. He is at least a 2nd generation State Farm broker. He is very knowledgeable about his insurance products, but does not try and oversell you on things. When it comes to auto insurance, he is top notch. As a car enthusiast, he knows cars and how much insurance to provide. Super honest and has your back when you have a claim. He will work really hard to make sure you are satisfied. Also is really supportive of local charities. Gives back to the community.

Needs to improve: None

Not that great a service. Amerigas knows you are dependent on them and they treat you like you owe them. Vast differences in the way individual offices treat you, but overall, not really very good at customer service. They don't really care if you are satisfied.

Strengths: Amerigas is a large, nationwide supplier of liquid propane. We have a contract for propane supply for our field offices which use propane for heating, hot water generation and back up generators. Our contract with them is a keep full contract with a price set by the "Warren posting" which is a wholesale price index. We have a set price point above the Warren posting and this is what we pay for propane. The company has a weather algorithm which calculates propane use based upon posted weather reports. It is pretty good at predicting propane use. The correlation between propane use and the algorithm triggers the automatic delivery. Unfortunately, this doesn't work that well. See next slide.

Needs to improve: The Warren posting fluctuates yearly, with low prices in the summer and higher prices in the winter. While it would make sense, to fill you tank in the summer, so you can carry the price savings into the colder climates, Amerigas usually will not do this. They wait until the winter rise in prices kicks in before they fill your tank. Therefore, you pay a higher total cost. Once winter comes around and your heating needs increase, the tank fill calculator often is 15-20% off and this leads to our office running out of propane if we don't stay on top of capacity in the tank. If the tank runs out, you have to request an emergency refill which cost's additional money, so in the end you are not really saving anything based upon the contract. Additionally, their customer service is quite poor, you can never get ahold of a rep in an emergency and often when you do, they do not relay your request to the driver to deliver, so it has been days when we had empty tanks.

Great service, delivery and quality products.

Strengths: Airgas is a wholesale compressed gas company we used to supply our inert welding gasses and oxy/acetylene torch mixes. They have a wide range of cylinder sizes to suit your company's gas needs. We use C25 and straight argon for ferrous and aluminum welding. They are a great company to deal with, have a huge network of distribution points and milk run delivery. Their cylinders are always in good condition and up to date on hydro tests. If you don't like the cylinder delivered, the driver will swap it out. Valves seem to be in good shape as well. They have a wide range of other gasses as well, including medical grade oxygen and liquid oxygen carboys, but we have no need for them.

Needs to improve: Company owned cylinders cannot be swapped out unless you are with airgas.

Great service, parts availability, sales support and technical support.

Strengths: Teledyne Continental Motors is the other major supplier of General Aviation engines. We use their TSIO 550 turbo normalized engines when construction of customer's airplanes. These are super high performance engines which power some customer's products over 300 mph. They are very reliable and have years or R&D testing behind them. Continental Motors goes back many years and has been the supplier of general aviation engines for nearly 100 years. Their turbo piston engines deliver great performance and fuel economy allowing for travel at high altitudes and above most weather. Great sercie and supply.

Needs to improve: With a list price of over $100,000 dollars for a new motor, this is a very high value engine. Granted alot of R&D goes into this product to ensure absolute bullet proof reliability, but that is the price of a home in some states.

Great to get parts from.

Strengths: Cardone Industries supplies re-manufactured replacement parts for the automotive repair industry. They have a great selection of many of the needed repair parts available, such as fully loaded brake calipers, replacement cv axels, brake drums and disc, etc They are very economical, have a great return policy and have an excellent reference site online to locate the right part. Many times, a re-manufactured part performs as well as new for a fraction of the cost. Cardone seems to have a great portion of this segment of the industry. What is great to know is they use factory OE cores for the basis of their products. This way, the product performs as expected.

Needs to improve: For exotic, high performance and low production vehicles, Cardone does not have a business presence.

Great sales, service and quality parts. They know their product and make sure you get the right part.

Strengths: Cummins west is the replacement parts supplier for Cummins Diesel engines. They have a comprehensive sales and service department and can handle any type of Cummins Diesel engine. They have a will call procedure which can allow for rapid acquisition of replacement parts. Their sales staff is very helpful and knows the engine systems well. They can talk you through a part to make sure you are ordering the right part. Their prices are competitive or even cheaper then aftermarket suppliers. They have distributions centers throughout the nation.

Needs to improve: If you need emergency spares, they do not have 24/7 access.

Great service and support. We are updated with their service bulletins and notams

Strengths: Textron Lycoming is one of two certified engine suppliers for the general aviation industry. We use Lycoming engines and replacement components, such as cylinders, valves, crank shafts etc. for aircraft repair. Aircraft engines are rated for a specific time before an overhaul is needed. When that time occurs, an aircraft owner needs to either replace the engine or have it rebuilt by either the factory or an authorized engine rebuilder. We use Lycoming OE parts for the repair of Lycoming engines. They have been reliability tested and approved for certified use. They are regarded as some of the best general aviation engines in the world and have a great dealer support network. They have options for both fixed and constant speed propellers. It's a great company to deal with.

Needs to improve: Pricey. Certified engines can run in the thousands of dollars. A mid range lycoming engine can be $20,000 for a 160 hp model. As you can imagine, there is competition in the experimental engine world because these engines are so expensive.

Great sales and service.

Strengths: Brembo is an international company which manufactures both OE and aftermarket brake components and supplies. We use Brembo Brakes as components for customers who wish to upgrade their vehicle's braking performance. They make monoblock 4 and 6 piston caipers and corresponding rotors which are a bolt on solution. Braking performance is an immediate improvement over stock brakes. Their monoblock brakes are super durable, have a great finish and look to them and provide amazing performance. Brembo as a company is great to deal with and has worldwide presence. They started in Italy, but have a huge North American distribution center. You can always get what you need in a relatively fast turn around.

Needs to improve: Their after market kits can be pricey.

Usually a great company to deal with. Returns can be a bit tedious.

Strengths: We use Shimano American components for our mid range custom bicycle line. They have the ability to supply a high quality product without breaking the bank. We spec the Shimano 105 line of bicycle gruppos for the mid level bicycle line. They have a lot of innovative features and performance of the higher Dura Ace model line, but achieve their price point with a lower quality finish. Shimano usually maintains a good supply of replacement parts, but the supply can be difficult to find with older model gruppos. This company has the typical high precision Japanese business model.

Needs to improve: Older parts are difficult to find. Shimano changes their product line constantly, so it can be hard to keep up with them.