SME success stories: Radical torque tools

Pulling up to New World Technologies in a quiet subdivision of Abbotsford, B.C., one gets the impression that this is a well-run business.

The gleaming reflective glass on the main building’s exterior is more reminiscent of a software company than a machine shop, but huge loading bays in an adjacent building put those thoughts to rest.

Inside, the wood-lined walls of the lobby have a distinctly west coast feel to them, and local business awards stand along the top of the receptionist’s desk.

But the good looks and the slick first impressions aren’t just a façade. Once you get into the guts of the machine shop things are just as impressive, and the staff who work there ooze a passion for what they do.

But what exactly are these guys making? To hear machinist/programmer Jason Adams describe it, they’re ‘torque systems’, or tools for ‘controlled bolting’. Basically, torque wrenches using planetary gears to deliver the exact amount of torque – within 3-5 per cent according to their website. And to be clear, while the company goes by New World Technologies, their actual brand is Rad Torque.

When asked to describe how the systems work, Adams sums it up: “Basically, we’ve strain-gauged the end of the annulus and put this data recorder on the end of it so that it can give (users) a red light or a green light.”

And if that didn’t make it user-friendly enough, the torque systems are also Bluetooth-capable, so they can be hooked up to a smartphone, and can show you spikes in torque in real time.

Some of the most common applications for the torque systems are the energy sector – particularly wind power – and industries like bridge-building, heavy equipment, and aerospace. But there’s one other area that Adams and machine shop supervisor Greg Doughty are also quick to point out.

“We offer a lot of customizing – we’ll fit a reaction arm to your application,” says Doughty.

The company seems to have very few projects they won’t tackle, and even supply special tools for the production of the new Boeing 787, where ultrasonics actually shut the tool off.

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IN THE BEGINNING

The story of how the company actually got founded is a pretty classic example of a Canadian success story - both for its humble beginnings and its desire to remain that way.

“The owner [Dan Provost] is pretty humble. He could have been out (on the shop floor) and you wouldn’t have even noticed,” says Pat McFadden, Rad Torque’s operations manager.

To hear McFadden tell it, Rad Torque’s origins rival that of the Magnas and the Linamars of the world.

Provost originally worked in the industry in sales. In the early ‘90s he started making reaction arms because the products his company sold needed them, and there was a large market for custom reaction arms. At the same time he would also fix gearboxes on the side. After his suggestions on how to improve the gearboxes fell on deaf ears, Provost decided to fashion the parts himself out of his garage in his spare time.

“He paid the price. He had to take grocery money to buy parts, then assemble gearboxes and travel up to northern B.C. to try and sell them,” McFadden says.

The rest of the story is history. The company grew little by little, expanded, and now owns six buildings and about 30,000 square feet of shop space in the western suburbs of Abbotsford.

They have over 75 employees – and are looking for more – and have about 20 machine tools spread across their shops, and the odd piece of fab equipment.

They make anywhere between 60,000 and 80,000 planetary gear systems a year, and that number could be higher in the coming years. They also manufacture almost everything in-house, save for the circuit boards and displays. They even roll their own bearings.

In the middle of explaining everything they do though, McFadden stops himself, realizing the company is bigger than he led on.

“There’s actually seven buildings because we have one in Holland,” he realizes. That facility primarily does sales and repair, but Europe, with its wind power industry, is one of their key markets.

A PRODUCTIVE SHOP FLOOR

After a few minutes of talking to Doughty, it’s quite apparent that his knowledge and passion for the job are the big drivers behind his number one priority for the shop — production.

As Doughty and Adams tour us around the spotless shop they detail the efforts made to keep the place looking clean for whenever high-profile clients like Boeing might make a quick drop-in visit.

“We mop every Wednesday and Friday, and the guys are responsible every evening to make sure this place is swept and the benches are clean. There’s no excuses,” Doughty says.

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Adams even somewhat apologizes and mentions that we caught them at a high production time, so the shop was a bit dirty — but there appeared to be nothing more than a few chips scattered here and there across the floor. This was about as clean as it gets. But a clean shop isn’t the reason for Rad Torque’s success. Obviously there has got to be more than tidy benches and clean floors driving their success.

“I can’t stress enough how what’s got the company to this point here is the willingness to try new tooling and constant cycle time improvement from Jason,” Doughty says.

Doughty and Adams make it very clear that they take great care to focus on getting the most out of their tooling and the types of programs they run.

“I can’t say enough how good of a program I have,” Doughty says. “I’m an old guy, but you’re only as good as your tools. We use all the practices for high-feed machines. Sandvik, OSG, they come in and we let them test on the floor. We don’t test blind.

“We have a drill test where we take a three inch bar, mill a flat on it and just start pounding holes,” Adams says. “See who does the best.”

The pair are also quick to point out the new pride and joy of their shop, an Okuma MB 4000H lathe they recently purchased from distributor Thomas Skinner. Doughty notes that the shop primarily machines very hard materials, notably heat-treated and annealed steels, making a machine’s rigidity of paramount importance.

“We use E52100 too, that’s like murder,” he says.

But so far, the new equipment has seemed to garner lots of praise from the pair, and most importantly, been a boon to the company.

“We’ve set (the horizontal) up where we’ve had a lot of good running jobs. We had 97 per cent production for a week,” says Adams. “With the Okuma it has more canned cycles, more options, more abilities to do exactly what we want to do.”

They also now have the ability to add a pallet system to the horizontal lathe, and because of their high production, are making efforts to get more automated.

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A LOOK AT THE FUTURE

Like any company, they eye growth and expansion, but have to deal with some of the same challenges across the country – notably skilled workers.

When asked about the way they address staffing, and skilled trades they take a positive and practical approach.

“You’re better off building them… Their heads are empty,” Doughty jokes. “They’re straight out of school so they’re still in that learning mode.”

“We find we get a lot better retention when you take a landscaper, who has a mechanical aptitude, and you tell them, ‘okay here’s an opportunity.’ Some of our best guys come from that,” McFadden says. “We apprentice a lot; we have two apprentices right now.

“It’s hard for a guy off the street to compete. Even though they’ve only been taught on the floor, they’ve been taught everything about our floor, so they just eat people up,” Adams.

“These guys have got a lot of knowledge here, and our parts don’t run unless they’re concentric. So these guys are learning stuff they need to learn in school. There’s no button pushers here,” Doughty notes.

While the company has its heart set on automating the process a little more, they also won’t rule out the idea of adding some five-axis machines down the line. But for now, the addition of a horizontal machine is enough of a boost to production.

“That five-axis probably is in the future, but like I say, the focus is on the horizontal, and getting that pallet system on the floor and getting to semi-lights out,” Doughty says.

One other thing stands out about the operations at Rad Torque. The employees seem to have a strong sense of community and a tight-knit team atmosphere. The shop has a hockey team, and the owner, as well as some of the other employees, are involved in the local drag racing circuit.

“We all make parts for the same company,” Doughty says.

“If you look at (the business) as just bricks, mortar and machines, they aren’t going to run as well as if you look at the people who are running them, treat them fairly. And that’s what we try to do,” McFadden says.

“We all know the owner personally, and he’s still so driven and passionate about the business that how can the people below him, not be?” Doughty asks.

And if there’s one thing that passion is likely to bring, it’s more business.

“We’re always moving forward in some way or another,” McFadden says.

So, luckily the company has left itself room to expand. They own more than 10 acres of the lush, green farmland around their shop - something they might just need to tap in to the way things are going.