Posi Lock Puller, Inc.: Meeting Global Demand

Driving through Cooperstown, North Dakota, about 90 miles northwest of Fargo, it is hard to miss the expansive site of Posi Lock® Puller. “805 Sunflower Avenue: Where great things are happening,” is their latest mantra. And it is true, indeed.

Their History

In 1974, Dean Somerville was operating a machinery repair shop and a farming operation in the small North Dakota town of McHenry. With his inventive spirit and mechanical background, Dean saw the need for a self-aligning, universal puller that would remove gears and bearings safely and quickly.

His new design included a safety Cage® that controls the opening and closing of the pulling jaws as well as provides the tool with clamping pressure. Patented in 1978 and given the name Posi Lock® Puller, the innovative product spread like wild fire and Dean converted his repair shop into an assembly and distribution facility to answer sales calls. His wife, Peggy, also got involved in the business assisting with accounting and the assembly line.

Tamara Somerville, President of Global Initiatives & Strategic Alliances and Corporate Vice President, is the daughter of the company’s founders and is 14 years into her tenure with the company. Previously working as a stock broker in Florida, she realized one day that “it was time to go home,” and has been working for Posi Lock® since.

Her role today focuses on international sales and national accounts. Having an international presence since 1990, the last four years have seen a greater emphasis on their international distribution and she has dedicated her role to this important aspect of the business.

Today’s Posi Lock®

The company today employs 45 and has a facility made of two warehouses and an office area. Selling to every country in the world, from South American countries to Russia and Asian countries, Posi Lock® leaves no area of the world neglected and serves mainly the industrial, construction, and mining industries, as well as automotive and agricultural.

They remain the only manufacturer to offer the safety cage® design on their pullers; they are also the only company in the world to make the three jaw 100 ton hydraulic puller and the only 2/3 jaw combination 100 ton hydraulic puller. They have even bigger plans for 2009 when they will introduce a three jaw 200 ton puller, a design that took 18 months to develop.

How They Run

An ISO registered 9001 member, Posi Lock® also works with the Manufacturers Extension Partnership (MEP) and involvement with both organizations has saved the company time and money.

In the vast landscape of North Dakota, beautiful and serene though it may be, recruiting new employees proves a challenge, especially with Cooperstown’s population of 1,200. Posi Lock® uses a North Dakota apprenticeship program to draw on the younger generation in the work force and farmers who are no longer farming. One of the greatest challenges is recruitment of financial and sales people. Thanks to their quality in house training program, they are able to place each employee in the position they are best qualified for.

Having the only formal apprenticeship program in the state, new hires spend their first two days on the assembly line so they know, quite literally, every step of the process. They then spend a day with Tamara herself, learning more information about how the company is run. Though some of their employees were once farmers and have some background knowledge about the equipment, they have also trained young men and women just out of high school. “We are a very diverse, close-knit team with the common goal of producing a superior product,” said Tamara.

Production and Distribution

Posi Lock® relies on a third party for forging and casting; they then complete machining and fine tuning in house and send the product out for heat treating and plating or painting. It is then sent back to Posi Lock® and they complete the assembly. Because of this process, managing their supply chain is an intrinsic part of how the company is run.

When their products are ready for distribution, the company relies on distributors to sell their tools, though they did, in the company’s early days, sell directly to users. Given their remote location, they acknowledge that they cannot “canvass the whole world,” so their distribution partners do this for them.

“People Sell to People”

Posi Lock® places special emphasis on customer service and goes the extra mile to make sure their clients have what they need. A few years ago, in the depths of winter on a Friday, they got a call from a nuclear plant that needed a specific product made that night. The company not only made the product but also used their company plane to fly it to the plant two states away. “If we had not, 1.2 million people would have been without electricity,” explained Tamara.

This is just one example. Posi Lock® is able to cater to every company’s unique requests; from manufacturing one-of-a-kind bolts to any size puller for customers that need them. Even stopping all other production if need be.

Their customer service doesn’t stop here. Though they receive between 300 and 400 calls each day, the receptionist—yes, a live person answers their phones—knows their distributors by voice. “Naomi Trostad has been answering our phones for nearly ten years and knows our distributors as well as our sales team,” said Tamara.

Quality and Timeliness in Today’s Market

“We are known as the Cadillac of pullers. Our products are top of the line and we can ship the same day or the next day,” said Tamara. For Posi Lock®, these are the two most important indicators for how the company is performing. Moving forward, Posi Lock® continues its aggressive research and development of new products needed to significantly grow their exports.

In today’s tough marketplace, Posi Lock® remains focused on increasing this inventory. “The economy not only increased material cost but timelines as well. We are watching the forecasts and trying to find a happy medium,” said Tamara.

Rising to the challenge today’s economy is posing, Posi Lock® is guaranteed to “meet the challenge,” setting this as one of their top priorities. One thing is for certain, their service to every country in the world from America’s heartland doesn’t look like it will slow down anytime soon.