Intermountain Precision Machine, Inc.
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Intermountain Precision Machine (IPM) and Smith Machinery Co. have a long history together. For one, Klaus Lassig, Sales Engineer for Smith Machinery and Ralph Dlugas, founder and owner of IPM, worked together nearly 2 decades ago at a local machine shop in Salt Lake City. Clark Smith, president of Smith Machinery Co. called on Klaus and Ralph during these years. But even before this, Klaus and Ralph’s fathers, Gunter and Sigmund, worked together as machinists many years ago. Then, when Ralph opened IPM in 1996, Ralph says that Clark was the only machine tool dealer in the valley who took him seriously and supported him. “We didn’t have banks lined up to help us out. Clark and Mazak literally helped us to get the business launched with financing and machine tools. I’ve never forgotten that.” Ralph says that now all of the local dealers call on him regularly that he is an established, thriving business entity.
Ralph didn’t intend to become a machinist. Since his father was in the industry, he started working for machine shops in his early teens. Ralph wanted to be an electronic technician, and he went to school to study the trade. Ralph says, “When I learned that others in the program, some already experienced electricians, were making less than I was making as a relatively new machinist, I knew that machining was the career for me.”
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Ralph didn’t plan to open a business for himself, either. “But”, he says, “I didn’t want to look back in 30 years working for the same company making the same parts day in and day out. It was this desire that prompted me to start my own
business.” Ralph was a young 25 years old when he first went into business for himself. IPM opened for business nearly 2 decades ago, in 1996. “Fat pigs get slaughtered”, Ralph said. “IPM’s business model is based upon making the best parts for our customers, at the best price possible. We don’t spend costly resources on fancy websites, elaborate conference rooms, or all those extras. When machine shops do this, they are adding cost to their operation that has to be passed on to their customers. We just don’t do that.”
IPM’s customers hear some very unusual feedback from Ralph and the team. Ralph says, “When we price a part for a customer that is based upon very small quantities, and those quantities grow, we come back to them with a price reduction, sometimes even retroactively.” He continued, “Our customers tell us that this just doesn’t happen with most of their suppliers.”
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In Ralph’s words, “IPM was blessed to be awarded business from its customers.” Ralph says, “Early in business, we were awarded business from a company in the oil industry. We performed well, and we were placed on their preferred supplier list. Others in the oil and gas industry, both from different divisions within the company, as well as from some other companies in the industry, heard what we were doing, and our business in this industry grew exponentially. Today, we ship products to the oil and gas industry across the United States, largely into Texas, and our products ship regularly internationally, into Singapore and Dubai.” Ralph and the team at IPM may indeed be blessed, but they are also doing some great things to retain and grow their customer base. “Integrity” is key to their business model. “Do the right things for your customers, and always do it with rigorous honesty”, Ralph says. The company gets report cards, and they are an A+ supplier in quality.
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Ralph says, “I select suppliers whose philosophy mirrors mine. Smith Machinery Co. shares my values. Not only was Clark and the team the only machine tool dealer willing to support me early on, but over the past 18 years they have continued to provide superior customer support, always with integrity.” Ralph now owns 14 Mazak machines, and he admits that he doesn’t look at competitive machines when making new purchases.
In addition to the integrity Smith Machinery possesses, Ralph just plain likes the Mazak machines. He says, “I like Mazaks because they are simple to run. Mazak has kept their Mazatrol controls consistent over the years, and this ease of machining helps to keep our training costs down. This is just another example of doing the right things to help contain costs for our customers.”
Ralph prefers to hire younger people with less experience and train them, somewhat like the old apprentiship programs many companies implemented. Ralph sends each and every employee to Mazak’s training classes, and he mentors them personally. It appears to be a winning strategy, as IPM’s turnover is very low. Well trained, long term employees help to retain quality and keep training costs down for IPM.
IPM recently is participating in the design and manufacture of a variety of new environmental inventions. Ralph says that he is supporting a company called Greenstep. The company is developing products that will pull clean drinking water out of thin air with a Water Farm and facilitate growing food without sunlight with their Gyro Farm, just to name a few of their innovations. Ralph is passionate about helping children all over the world, and particularly, in developing countries, where clean drinking water are not readily available. You can learn more about Greenstep at greenstep.com.
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To learn more about IPM, a low cost, superior precision machine shop, one with integrity and passion for humanitarian causes, contact IPM at 801-562-5906. Article courtesy of A2Z Metalworker. |
41 West Guest Avenue
Salt Lake City, UT 84115
Phone: 801-263-6403
Fax: 801-263-6404
Email: smc@smithmachinetools.com
Salt Lake City, UT 84115
Phone: 801-263-6403
Fax: 801-263-6404
Email: smc@smithmachinetools.com