Muncie Power Quarterly

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MUNCIE POWER QUARTERLY

MOTORS BOOST PRODUCT LINE

BRANDON ROBERTS INTRODUCES MUNCIE POWER PRODUCTS’ NEW LOW SPEED HIGH TORQUE MOTORS

ALSO INSIDE: CEO’S CORNER:

FACING GLOBAL CHANGE IN OUR OWN BACKYARD

BEST PRACTICE: FOCUSING ON THE USER EXPERIENCE

TECH REVIEW:

PREVENT THE MOST COMMON DUMP PUMP FAILURE

GET TO KNOW US:

EMBRACING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

2015 - ISSUE FOUR

CEO’S CORNER

RAY L. CHAMBERS Chairman, CEO & President Ray L. Chambers joined Muncie Power Products as Vice President of the Tulsa (Oklahoma) Division in 2004, became President of the company in 2009 and was named to his current position in January 2012. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma Wesleyan University and a master’s degree from Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma. He is a thought leader and visionary within the industry.

FACING GLOBAL CHANGE IN OUR OWN BACKYARD China devalues the yuan. Greece agrees to a third financial bailout. A barrel of oil drops below $40. What do these places and events have to do with Muncie Power Products or how to operate a company?

Simply put, what goes on around the globe affects us at home. It’s a reality too many leaders don’t fully embrace.

China’s move to devalue its currency signals there may be trouble for the global economy. The move could mean less expensive imports in time for Christmas, a slow interest rate hike in this country and an affect on our decisions to borrow for capital improvements.

Why should we care what happens to the economy in Greece?

A destabilized Eurozone would weaken the world economy, as it is a key trading partner for the U.S. and Asia and at the heart of the global financial system.

These are factors that should weigh on our decisions to move forward.

Is this the right time to grow our inventory or pull back? Should we brace for a slowdown or make new hires anticipating an opening between competitors? We cannot make critical, strategic decisions in a vacuum.

Here are some things we try to keep in mind at Muncie Power Products.

The world is bigger than what we think it is: As Americans, too often we don’t look internationally for economic trends that might one day affect our own industries.

Global economics has everything to do with America’s economy. Yet, we often lose sight of that or don’t consider watching what is happening abroad as a tool to anticipate what might happen here. We witnessed the reaction of the American stock market in late August to the series of events that first occurred around the

CEO’S CORNER

globe. Whether a panicked sell-off or needed market correction, if you’re on your game as a chief executive you may have seen this coming. How do you anticipate a global crisis?

Like we would any crisis, you keep your eye on the target. A resource you might appreciate is Dr. Alan Beaulieu, Institute of Trend Research.

Discover our own network: We cannot sit on the sidelines and expect to have a voice in our industry. We must be engaged in the global conversation. That means we should leave the office, align with organizations with similar values and give willingly of our time and expertise to these forums.

To make this happen at Muncie Power Products, we turned to our calendars with a notion of being intentional about our efforts. Initially we wanted to be associated with the larger marketplace, resulting in the opportunity to network and better understand what was going on globally and how it would affect us.

Know what we’re looking for: There are a lot of associations we can join but to know what we’re mining for brings an intentional aspect to our participation. Being a member of a trade organization should be more than checking a box or simply being a participant. As we look for the right organization for our company, we ask ourselves this: “What do we want out of this? What information would help us grow our company or our expertise?”

Get educated ourselves in strategic forecasting: Strategic forecasting is a kind of intelligence that focuses on events that have

broad and fundamental effects on the international system, says geopolitical analyst George Friedman. What’s an international event? We’ve watched a wide range of events just this year in Cuba, China, Russia and the Ukraine.

According to Freidman, “Sometimes the center of gravity of this level of events is a single event that sets in motion other events. Sometimes it is broad processes. These are events that transform the way the world works, and puts nations at great advantage and disadvantage. They have lasting consequences on a broad range of issues.”

We don’t have to be in the same industry to learn from one another: Americans, in particular, tend to wait until an economic slowdown to reduce inventories or cut labor. It happens in the service sector, in retail, in manufacturing and production fields. Doing this hurts customer service, brand and longevity. Remember, it’s a balancing act. Don’t succumb to short-term fixes that become long-term problems.

As we are considering our network/ associations with which we will be affiliated, we remember what our parents always said, “Be careful who you associate with.” Look for those who will stretch your vision. If we associate with the eagles, we will see the world and our opportunities in a much different way. n

“Global economics has everything to do with America’s economy.”

- Ray Chambers

BEST PRACTICE

ANDREW DAWSON Assistant Manager – Marketing & Advertising Andrew Dawson joined Muncie Power Products two years ago and currently serves as the assistant manager – marketing & advertising. Dawson holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Ball State University and is a Muncie native.

He and his wife, Dawn, have a 2-year-old daughter and are expecting a second child in October. In his spare time, Dawson enjoys spending time with his family, watching sports and playing golf.

FOCUSING ON THE USER EXPERIENCE Assistant Manager – Marketing & Advertising Andrew Dawson guided the nearly two-year project to make munciepower.com into a more effective gateway to the company’s products and services.

“Our previous website did its job well, but it was time to review and reevaluate how the market had changed and how we had changed,” explained Dawson. “It’s important to regularly review the status of your website and the expectations of your users.”

As a result, Dawson worked with a team to plan and research a proposed transformation. The group spent a rigorous five months talking with customers and reviewing analytics that would later serve as the basis for the website redesign.

“The research and planning process is the most important, and most time consuming, part of redeveloping a website.”

- Andrew Dawson

“It was interesting to learn about the different audiences that come to our site and their unique expectations,” he said.

Understanding website visitors and their goals prior to planning the development of a new website is critical, as Dawson pointed out, with customer needs and expectations varying widely depending on audience diversity.

“The research and planning process is the most important, and most time consuming, part of redeveloping a website,” Dawson said.

Through their research the team found that some key areas of the website were hard to find, especially when using a mobile device.

With this in mind, the team developed a site focusing on user experience for several different visitor types that was compatible with various devices.

“Changing the navigation structure was important; it is the foundation to building a user friendly website,”

BEST PRACTICE

Dawson said. “We learned that some users found it challenging to find what they were looking for.”

Thus, Dawson and his team ensured the new design allowed highly sought after sections to be easily located.

“We reorganized the menu to allow users to get through the site easier to quickly find what they were looking for,” he said. “Another important change was adding more detailed information and product specifications.”

This change included making navigation to Muncie Power’s unique set of product tools, M-Power, on the homepage simple and direct.

“M-Power allows our customers to configure our products,” Dawson said.

“The software has been available for years, but it was recently updated and the scope broadened.”

The website, launched in April, has an updated look, but the revamped design is more about function.

they are comfortable using the site.”

To get customers on board Muncie Power offered training and webinars, highlighting key areas of change and kept the older site accessible for an extended period.

“We launched the site in beta mode a month in advance and gave the link to our customers. We continued to gather feedback, and offered training sessions to our customers,” explained Dawson. “There’s also a short video on the website, highlighting changes. These are simple things that can make the transition smoother.”

But the website isn’t done yet – it is and should be an evolving and changing tool. n

A CONTINUOUS IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS DISCOVERY

• Understand your visitors

• Review current analytics • Define the goals

“The website has a new look and allows for better mobile viewing, but the design focuses on the user experience,” he said.

Realizing that change is never easy, the company focused on getting its customers prepped for the transition.

“We focused on making the transition seamless. There are a lot of improvements, but it is still a change,” said Dawson. “It is always important to get customers on board early with changes, so you can address any concerns and ensure

DESIGN

• Focus on user experience

• Keep it simple

• Create a visual appeal

CUSTOMERS

DEVELOP • Easy to use

• Build for SEO

• Test for errors

EVALUATE

• Continue gathering feedback • Schedule review sessions

• Continuous improvement plan

COVER STORY

MOTORS BOOST PRODUCT LINE Soon after being hired as an assistant product manager, Brandon Roberts was given the task of developing a motor line to extend the company’s equipment portfolio.

BRANDON ROBERTS Assistant Product Manager

Brandon Roberts has been assistant product manager at Muncie Power Products since July 2014. Roberts, who has a mechanical engineering technology degree from Purdue University, worked mold and die design before joining Muncie Power’s team.

He and his wife, Nickie, have a 2-year-old son. His hobbies include playing basketball and softball and gardening in the summer.

Development of the new low speed high torque motors fit into the company’s product planning growth strategy, which involves expanding the product line to make Muncie a more complete resource for its loyal customer base.

“There are currently two tiers in the motor marketplace. There’s the high-end, high dollar motors, and then there is the lower import tier,” Roberts said. “Each brings an acceptance level with both OEMs and the aftermarket, depending on their needs.”

Muncie Power Products’ new addition to the market, which launched this fall, gives consumers more options with high quality products that fit between these tiers.

According to Roberts, the motors are a natural extension of the company’s existing product catalog.

“Consumers get more quality for their dollars and also have all the value added services provided with the

“The motors can be used for anything from agricultural equipment to construction and the vocational truck industry.”

- Brandon Roberts

Muncie Power name and Muncie Power customer service behind it,” he said.

With its development, the new product line offers a variety of series to meet consumer application needs unlike before with shaft and mounting options to match the most common SAE standards.

“The development of the motors features six different series, but we have initially launched with two series. These series offer a variety of different shaft styles and a couple of different flange types in several displacement sizes,” Roberts said.

The LSHT line, which includes the MB Series and the MJ Series, is compatible with a wide-range of equipment.

“It’s a pretty broad market we can go after, even bigger than the industry we usually serve,” Roberts said. “The motors can be used for anything from agricultural equipment to construction and the vocational truck industry. I can see them being used for anything that needs rotary power – even augers and foodprocessing equipment.”

Roberts has enjoyed the challenges of being involved in the development from its beginning phases.

“I’ve basically worked on everything from writing spec sheets and designing the model numbers to creating the product literature.

The bulk of what we did involved

COVER STORY

As Roberts pointed out, the motors offer many different displacement sizes. Between the MB and MJ series (pictured above) alone, there are 23 different displacements.

getting sales information from the outside sales team. We funneled that data to determine the most common types to see what made the most sense to bring on board,” he said.

Before the launch, Roberts was heavily involved in educating Muncie Power’s team. As with any new product line, there is a learning process.

“There continues to be training throughout our organization,” Roberts explains.

The new motors are a natural extension of the company’s strengths as it grows its market share.

“It continues our strategy that Muncie Power Products has to

broaden its horizon beyond the vocational trucking industry,” he explained.

Roberts expects the series of motors will grow in popularity following the product’s recent launch in October. The company is excited to now offer customers an additional solution to meeting application needs.

“At launch, we were looking at more traditional products. We hope it continues to expand and grow from there,” said Roberts.

“We anticipate the demand to increase as people become more familiar with our latest product line. We have high hopes to convert many customers to our product.” n

TECH REVIEW

PREVENT THE MOST COMMON DUMP PUMP FAILURE

GEORGE HALLECK Vice President – International Marketing Manager

George Halleck is a Purdue University graduate and a former U.S. Army helicopter crew chief. He began his career at Muncie Power Products working in the shop at Pershing, progressing from PTOs to hydraulics as a hydraulic products manager.

Halleck has served as a part of the outside sales team, sales manager, director of product and marketing departments and his current role as vice president-international marketing manager. He has made many contributions to the corporation including the creation of the software application tool, M-Power.

A dump pump as used on a typical dump truck in N.A., is a combination of a hydraulic pump, a pressure relief valve and a directional control valve in one housing. The pump also has a pressure port that connects to the hydraulic cylinder and a larger port connected to the hydraulic reservoir.

This is the most common method of connecting the dump pump to the rest of the system, and is called a two line system as shown in figures 1 and 2.

to return from the cylinder, passing back to the inlet side of the pump and returning to the reservoir.

How does it operate? When the pump input shaft is rotated, the gears create a low pressure area that is filled with fluid from the reservoir. As the gears continue to rotate, they mesh at the pressure side. With the directional control in neutral, the oil circulates from the pressure side of the pump back to the inlet side, circulating within the pump chamber.

When the directional valve is shifted to the raise position, the passage to recirculate oil is blocked, forcing the fluid out the pressure port to extend the cylinder. If the pressure reaches the set point of the relief valve, it opens returning the oil to the inlet side of the pump.

As it does, it is heated by friction in the pump and hydraulic slippage.

Eventually the temperature gets high enough to damage the pump.

This condition is simple to diagnose because the pump housing looks burned, often blistering or discoloring the paint.

When the directional valve is moved to the lower position, the oil is allowed

“A three line system is an affordable option that could prevent most dump pump failures.�

- George Halleck

This system does function effectively as long as the pump is not operated too long with the oil circulating within the pump. If the PTO is left engaged for an extended period of time, such as driving away from the site, the pump gears continue circulating approximately a cupful of oil.

This is an example of the most common dump pump failure using a two line system.

There is a simple solution.

Dump pumps typically have a third port designed to redirect oil to the reservoir rather than circulating within the pump. Circulating the oil through the reservoir allows the oil in the pump to remain at acceptable temperatures, preventing the failure. This is called a

TECH REVIEW

three line system, see figures 3 and 4.

This is usually listed as an option on company price sheets or literature.

to the reservoir below the oil level, preferably with a diffuser.

Circulating the oil through the third port to the reservoir allows the oil in the pump to remain at acceptable temperatures, preventing the failure. This is called a three line system and is an affordable option that could prevent most dump pump failures. n

Using the third line, or separate return line to the reservoir, requires two steps. First remove the inlet or suction hose connection from the pump and insert the conversion sleeve as shown in figures 3 and 4. Second, remove the plug from the third port and install a separate return line connecting

TWO LINE INSTALLATION INLET

TWO LINE SYSTEM INTERNAL FLOW PATHS

PRESSURE RETURN

Fig. 1

INLET TO PUMP TO/FROM TANK

PLUGGED PORT

Fig. 2

DIFFUSER

TO/FROM CYLINDER QUICK DISCONNECT

Spool in Neutral:

Body Lowering:

within pump

relief valve and returns

Oil recirculating

Return oil flows around via inlet (tank) port

(USED WITH DUMP TRAILERS)

THREE LINE INSTALLATION THREE LINE SYSTEM INTERNAL FLOW PATHS Fig. 3

INLET PORT WITH SLEEVE INSTALLED

Fig. 4

DIFFUSER

FROM TANK RETURN TO TANK

CONVERSION SLEEVE

TO/FROM CYLINDER QUICK DISCONNECT

(USED WITH DUMP TRAILERS)

IF OIL SPRAY FORMS AROUND THE BREATHER CAP ON A THREE LINE SYSTEM, THE TANK LINES MAY BE REVERSED.

Spool in Neutral:

Body Lowering:

pump and returns

through third

Oil circulates through through third port in pump

Return oil flows (return) port

GET TO KNOW US

EMBRACING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES As Muncie Power Products continues to expand into international markets, International Customer Service Manager Sandra Thompson is happy to be the voice of the company for many of its Spanish-speaking customers.

SANDRA THOMPSON International Customer Service Manager

Sandra Thompson, who grew up in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is the international customer service manager for Muncie Power Products. She majored in Spanish and secondary education and has a degree in biblical studies from Northwestern University – St. Paul in Roseville, Minnesota.

Thompson started working for Muncie Power in 2014 as the international sales operations assistant, which evolved into her current job in August. She has been married for 18 years and has two, teenage children.

“I have calls that come through from Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Guatemala and other places in Central America.

I also take calls from Texas and other places in the United States,” Thompson said.

Thompson, who was born in El Salvador, was adopted by a Guatemalan mother and American father and spoke Spanish as her primary language for the first years of her life.

“It’s a big advantage from my standpoint. I’m able to speak the language and bring comfort and familiarity to the customers on the Spanish side,” she said. “It helps with them feeling at ease with somebody who didn’t just learn the language. I can tell them I was born in El Salvador.”

Thompson grew up in Wisconsin, but she has traveled to Spanish-speaking countries, including Mexico and Costa Rico.

“Training is a very big part of what we do.

We get out and support customers and distributors. We have a nice, personalized pace, in our training.”

- Sandra Thompson

“Cultural differences are always fun to embrace and celebrate,” she said.

But speaking Spanish is only part of her job. She also had to learn the technical side of the industry and the specifications for the diverse line of Muncie Power’s products.

“My favorite subject in school was chemistry and I love math; although, not the calculus side of things. I like the versatility and complexity of the job. I see it as a great challenge,” she said.

The company’s commitment to training its employees has been a valuable resource as she has grown into her role as international customer service manager, and Thompson appreciates that Muncie Power Products works to pass along the same information about its products to customers.

“Training is a very big part of what we do. We get out and support customers and distributors. We have a nice, personalized pace, in our training,” she said.

In addition to answering customer service calls from Spanish-speaking customers, Thompson does a lot of support work for the international sales team, including data entry, clerical duties and translating correspondence into Spanish.

“To be a team player here has been my goal. At first, when hired by Muncie Power Products, my work load consisted of clerical aspects, which in turn allowed members of the

GET TO KNOW US

team more room for travel and focus less on paperwork, entering orders etc.,” she said.

In addition to enjoying her role as part of the international sales team, Thompson also is proud to be a Muncie Power Products employee.

“The unity is one of the many things I have enjoyed about Muncie Power Products. It really is family focused,” she said.

Although the company continues to grow, Thompson believes it has kept

its small-business attitude toward its customers and staff.

“On a personal note, my mother passed in December. The company as a whole expressed in different ways how much they cared. The company sent flowers, while my supervisor, co-workers, extended their sympathy verbally, through cards and emails - it was all greatly appreciated,” she said. “That’s a big deal in today’s business world.

You often lose the personalization and care. As companies grow bigger, they tend to be indifferent to employees. I don’t see that here.” n

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BEST PRACTICE:

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2015 Issue 2

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These and other issues are available at www.munciepower.com/mpq.

Member of the Interpump Group Š Muncie Power Products 2015 Issue 4