Today in our AMN Executive Interview series, we feature Gil Benjamin, president and CEO of US Motor Works. In the interview, Benjamin talks a bit about the history of the business, its manufacturing and distribution footprint and the advantages of being a supplier to both the OES and aftermarket channels, as well as its international presence in the marketplace.

Please give us a brief history of US Motor Works and the products it offers.

The history of US Motor Works is one of my favorite subjects. It starts in 1995, when my partner Doron Goren and I made the decision to establish US Motor Works LLC. US Motor Works commenced operation as an automotive water pump assembly plant based in a 5,000-square-foot facility in Commerce, Calif. During these humble beginnings, the operating staff consisted of only the managing partners, one secretary and two part-time employees. I can recall the busy times when my partner and I were involved in the production, receiving, driving forklifts or even hand-stacking outbound ocean containers to maximize capacity. It was dirty, hard and tiring work back then, but our commitment to the growth and success of US Motor Works drove us to do the job, and to do it right.

1999 was a big milestone year for our company when we purchased the assets of the Derale Fan Clutch manufacturing plant from Derale Cooling Products, and we were then able to supply a second product line to our customers. We also moved to a larger facility in Cerritos, Calif., that grew to over 60,000 square feet by 2010 and 60 employees. By comparison, US Motor Works is now headquartered in a 100,000-square-foot, ISO 9001 Certified facility in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., with 130 employees. We control everything from this location: engineering, product development, manufacturing, quality control and assurance, supply chain, customer service and logistics.

Though the first two part-time workers eventually moved on, that secretary, who now leads our office and human resources department, is still with us after so many years, as are most of our earliest employees. Sadly, I no longer drive a forklift but I do still work just as hard. The “history” of US Motor Works stays with us and is woven into the fiber of our organization.

The business has grown from a domestic supplier to an international exporter as well. What are the keys to being successful in the global auto parts market today?

On the contrary, US Motor Works began supplying the global automotive markets well before we began supplying domestic customers. In our infancy, our largest markets were Mexico, Venezuela and the Middle East, to name a few. With our low operating costs, we were able to establish a very competitive price. With a quality product and good relationships with our customers, we were able to gain some market share in price-sensitive areas of the aftermarket. Though price is a key factor with many customers, even today, our added value such as inventory availability, private labeling, domestic quality control, quality assurance, cataloging capabilities, program management, and so many others, allowed US Motor Works to enter more areas of the global aftermarket. In addition, our first-to-market strategy has allowed us to become the “manufacturer’s manufacturer” and has been the one key aspect contributing to our growth as a domestic supplier.

What would you say sets US Motor Works apart from the competition?

Competition is fierce in this market. Not just in our products, but the global aftermarket in general. Because of this competitive nature, with the vast amount of choices and factories worldwide, it’s not so much about setting ourselves apart, but staying focused on what we do and bringing expertise and innovation to the products we sell.

Though not alone in this endeavor, our development of sales tools and educational materials on our products such as “Why Water Pumps Fail,” “What to Look for If Your Customer Returns a Fuel Pump,” reminders of related products to be replaced with a water pump, and others, all work toward our customer’s customer finding complete satisfaction in their purchase of genuine US Motor Works product. To put it succinctly, our customer is the person installing a US Motor Works product and they are our main concern. By my experience, although this attitude is promoted by others in our market, it is not employed or well understood by all … or even a majority of suppliers.

What are the advantages you see in being a supplier to both OES and the aftermarket?

There are, of course, big advantages to supplying OES customers; particularly the audits OES customers conduct and the technical requirements needed to support them. While some might see these two subjects as burdens on the overall business, we embrace them. Any input, good or bad, that can drive positive change makes us a better company and overall supplier. Ultimately, these audits and requirements enhance our system and value chain with the end result of producing better products. This spotlight directly benefits all our customers, not just us.

Supplying the aftermarket is as important as any market segment. The aftermarket is a dynamic marketplace and is unforgiving. While it is very competitive in all aspects; from being first-to-market, to cataloging, to having a product that is as good or better as the OEM at a competitive price, there is no room for error. US Motor Works is 18 years old and going strong. If we didn’t have all these important features, we would have disappeared a long time ago.

Tell us a little about the company’s manufacturing and distribution footprint.

Our facility is 100,000 square feet and fully dedicated to the products we sell. Water pump manufacturing is one piece, or cell manufacturing. The operator both builds the pump and checks critical quality points. The fan clutch manufacturing area has recently witnessed shortened cycle time and increased capacity. Items are sent to inventory only after rigorous inspections and checkpoints. For the items we do not manufacture in Santa

Fe Springs, we have established a different mindset throughout our system and supply chain. We do not source parts; we source suppliers who are able to deliver the manufacturing processes and final products required by our company, customers and overall industry. It is all controlled and monitored in this facility.

This is our world headquarters, global distribution point and home away from home. We are very proud of this facility.

What’s next for the company? Can we expect any new product introductions or other announcements in the near future?

For now, we remain committed to the product lines currently offered. Our newest product line is timing kits with water pumps. This is a perfect example of our “doing the job right” mentality that started so many years ago. These kits allow the installer to have the water pump and the related tensioners and timing belt(s) that should be changed at the same time. It also allows our customers to consolidate SKUs into one kit rather than four or 10, which helps to reduce warranty claims. In addition, our goal is to make our product lines as complete as possible. Each week or so, new product bulletins are sent to our customers via email. These inform our customers of new items available from stock. We have sent out approximately 25 new product bulletins in the last few months and our marketing team is tirelessly researching for the next part to be introduced.

One last point I would like to mention is that your readers should keep an eye out for our continuing advertisement campaign, both in electronic and print forms. We have embarked on a multi-year advertising campaign to bring further attention to our company and the products we supply and we hope to make our brand name better known in the domestic market. US Motor Works has been in business for more than 18 years and going strong. Stay tuned for more…