RKL Technologies continues to build on its reputation for quality and service in contract machining as it undergoes a generational change. Torry Lamp, the Director of Operations, and Kip Sullivan, the Director of Business Development, are taking over majority ownership of the company from Lamp’s father-in-law, one of the founders.
Lamp and Sullivan met during their service in the Army and went on to be college roommates as they both earned degrees in business. Sullivan then went into marketing and Lamp into mortgage banking for several years. About seven years ago, when the founders of RKL began to think about retirement, Lamp was offered the opportunity to join the company to learn the business and carry it forward. He contacted Sullivan and the two found the operation was a great fit for them. They then proceeded to begin putting their own stamp on the business.
We’re hands-on with all of our customers. We have frequent meetings, phone calls, and Zoom meetings to really dial in what they need.
Specializing Has Paid off
RKL runs everything from one-off prototypes to large, long-term production runs and although they work with a variety of industries, the medical field is their primary customer base and has been from the beginning. Aerospace and Department of Defense work also make up a substantial portion of their business. Intricate, tight-tolerance parts are a specialty of RKL, helping to provide them with a niche in the machining world. While the company does not design parts, they do assist customers with engineering manufacturability for their parts and reverse engineering.
The company began as a two-person shop with one mill in a garage-sized space, but now employs 24 people in the 17,000-square-foot facility it moved to in 1994. On RKL’s success and growth, Sullivan says, “It does sound pretty cliché, but honestly, our customer service and customer communication, we’ve found to be huge for us. We’re hands-on with all of our customers. We have frequent meetings, phone calls, and Zoom meetings to really dial in what they need.” Lamp and Sullivan feel that the friendly, warm demeanor with which they deal with their customers puts them a cut above competitors with less personal touches in their customer service. By asking questions and tailoring work to meet clients’ needs and budgets, they can provide a comfort level that brings repeat business and numerous referrals. Those sales avenues are strong enough that they do not need to maintain a sales force to bring in new customers.
As Lamp and Sullivan officially take over ownership of RKL, they are planning to get the word out that they are a disabled veteran-owned business to take advantage of specific set-asides in certain industries, such as the Department of Defense, and even the medical industry, for contractors in that category. They hope that will lead to substantial growth going forward.
New Types of Partnerships
Most work is completed entirely in-house, but some parts do require certain coatings, heat treating, and the like, so RKL has a trusted group of outside vendors that the company has worked with for decades. Raw materials for the company are generally in good supply, and ordering early, and in bulk, allows them to meet the needs of customers on time and at a fair price.
Employee retention also is not a problem for RKL, with most workers having more than ten to fifteen years on the job. Lamp says, “We like to keep the same group because it’s a strong group. We don’t want the randoms coming in and out because that doesn’t pay for anybody. When you’re doing production work, you need a good, steady crew.” Problems finding qualified new people in recent years led to an expansion in automation to improve productivity. “We’re able to do more work now than we were a handful of years ago, with the same amount, or less staff, so we’ve been able to keep our great team here and supplement all the additional work we’ve gotten in with automation,” says Sullivan. “We’ve found that Cobots have been a huge help for us,” adds Lamp. “We have skilled people that can now run six machines instead of one because the Cobots are doing all the work operating the machines.”
Focusing on Growth Ahead
Building upon the foundation of RKL, the changes that the new leaders have ushered in position the company well for future growth and expansion of the customer base. Lamp says, “Cleanliness and organization have been a big thing. Automation and technology are two things that we push a little bit harder than the previous generation had pushed. Obviously, they weren’t really open to Cobots and robots until we started pushing it, along with the culture of customer service. I feel like we added a little bit more of a friendly situation, for lack of a better term.” Fostering a culture of collaboration between the workers and the customers has led to better results in avoiding problems, improving quality, and achieving on-time delivery of products.
Lamp and Sullivan have already purchased twelve new machines during their time at RKL, while in the previous five years before they arrived, only one new machine had been added. They have big plans and are well on their way to implementing them. With their upcoming certification as a disabled veteran-owned business, their biggest concern will be purchasing enough equipment to meet the demands of the expected new work.
