At Richard Childress Racing (RCR), the competitive nature of motorsports has a direct impact on their work week.
A crew chief might request a part from Rocky Helms, RCR's Manufacturing Manager, on Wednesday. Then he and his team have to deliver it before the race on Sunday. That's not a lot of time for part concepting, design, cutting, and testing.
RCR has 18 Okumas and counting, mostly because Okuma machines provide the speed and accuracy that's necessary for Rocky and his team to meet their demanding deadlines. Case in point: for a recent race in Atlanta, they turned around a part in three days. The timeframe one of their competitors quoted for the same part? Three weeks.
"If we outsource, then we might as well concede. It's too personal." -ROCKY HELMS
RCR is also reliant on its responsive distribution network. While a hiccup in their tight production schedule is bound to happen every now and then, mitigating any downtime is crucial. That's where Okuma's responsive distribution network comes in. We like to think their rapid response, combined with the reliability of our machines, gives RCR a competitive advantage on the shop floor—and on the race track, too.
"Our deadlines don't usually get the option of moving, so when you do have something happen, it's nice to call Okuma and not end up in a three-week wait to get somebody to come fix it." -Rocky Helms
Need fast, reliable machining and customer support like Rocky does?
