By Lee Roberts
TIAA Executive Director
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| Bob LaMarche (Left), Jasper Engines & Transmissions, guides eight members of the Texas Independent Automotive Association through the company's production facility in Jasper, Ind., March 23, 2009. Photos by Lee Roberts |
Automotive repair shop owners often say that it’s a “hard sell” when trying to convince consumers that they should buy a top of the line engine, transmission or differential. For eight members of the Texas Independent Automotive Association who toured the Jasper Engines & Transmissions repair and production facilities in Jasper and Crawford Ind., March 23, 2009, that perception was repeatedly contested.
Jasper, the nation’s largest remanufacturer of gas and diesel engines, transmissions, differentials, rear axle assemblies, marine engines, stern drives, performance engines and electric motors, welcomed the Texan auto repair shop owners and spent the day showcasing the inner workings of their new and remanufacturing operations.
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| LaMarche (Center) explains the plant's operations during the tour. |
The thrust of the message given the group is that cheap parts are usually associated with cheap quality. But with any Jasper product, repair facilities and consumers can expect only the highest quality value-oriented products that are second to none.
David Sladek of Kayser’s Automotive, Louie Sirianni Jr. of Sirianni Automotive, Mike Van Den Berghe and Wayne Van Den Berghe of Thrash Automotive, Mike Koebke of Gus Mann Automotive, Chris Garcia of Car Pro of San Antonio, Gabriel Mendez of G.M. Automotive Repair, and Ed Goldstein of Belden’s Automotive learned while some rebuilt engines and transmissions can cost less, the quality oftentimes is inconsistent and may come with little or no warranty.
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| An engine is bored at the Jasper, Ind., plant. |
That’s not the case with Jasper Engines and Transmissions because there is so much value added when someone buys an aftermarket Jasper product, explained Bob LaMarche, who led the factory tour. “Our engines come with a three year, 100,000 mile transferable, nationwide parts and labor warranty,” he said. “A premium plan that includes towing and rental coverage is also available.”
The TIAA group spent several hours in the facility located in Jasper, Ind., where corporate and remanufacturing operations are housed in a 367,000 square foot facility. They also toured the 267,000 square foot core processing facility in Crawford County, approximately 40 miles from Jasper. This additional facility is designed to process engine, transmission and differential cores — the raw material of the business. Transmission production lines have also been added there in order to improve production capacity for that product line. The Crawford facility is also home to an additional 100,000 square foot distribution center.
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| Factory technicians work in the background of a test station for transmissions. |
During the tour at both facilities, LaMarche explained that Jasper products are the right solution because all meet and exceed original specifications. In addition, the company corrects design flaws, and it improves performance in all products sold. All remanufactured parts are inspected, meticulously cleaned, and bored, honed and resurfaced. They are then live-run tested for quality assurance before being shipped out to customers, he said.
During the tour, TIAA members could see signs and posters boasting satisfaction, safety, quality, productivity, elimination of waste, timely and courteous customer service, among others that indicated a professional workplace and climate for the employees.
“I’m impressed with the culture throughout the factory,” said Koebke during a break in the tour. “Everyone is just focused and working hard.”
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| "Uncle" Sam Schwenk tests a transmission. |
Sam Schwenk, who works on heavy duty transmissions at the Jasper, Ind., plant, spoke with several of the TIAA members on the tour and he stressed that a quality culture is really job number one for everyone.
Schwenk, who everyone calls Uncle Sam, has been a mainstay at the factory since 1971. He said he believes Jasper thrives now more than ever because of how management promotes quality, safety, training and even having fun to ensure that all technicians perform and produce at the highest levels, which customers have grown to expect.
Officials at Jasper Engines & Transmissions indicated that this quality culture is a big reason why the company sustains such a high reputation. That’s also why their products are also sought after and highly regarded in racing circles.
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| A Jasper technician inspects a part for quality. |
The TIAA members, many of them huge NASCAR fans, visited the NASCAR Performance Division where Terry DeKemper explained how the company applies technology advances from motorsports to all of the company’s other product lines.
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| Amy Blackgrove rebuilds oil pumps. |
When NASCAR teams that use Jasper’s line of engines, transmissions and other parts get the checkered flag when they cross the finish line during races, you can be sure everyone who buys from Jasper is benefiting from their success on the track, DeKemper said.
As the tour came to an end, the TIAA members were more able to conclude that sharing Jasper’s quality products and warranty coverage to customers is an easier sell than previously thought.
Sladek said he enjoyed the tour and left the factory impressed with the quality and workmanship in every engine and transmission being turned out.
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| A Jasper technician heats up an axle for TIAA members during the tour. |
“It really helped to see how they built the engines,” Sladek said. “It was very surprising to me how big the plant was and the large scale of the machines. The employees were professional and I was surprised to see how many ASE certifications they had on their shirts. They treated us real nice and we had a great time.”
Sirianni said the facilities were amazing and that the group could all take something home to benefit their businesses. “Even though that is a manufacturing facility, I think there are a lot of things I’d like to do at my shop that would standardize my processes,” he said. “And there won’t be any hesitation as to why I would sell Jasper products, whereas before I thought they were too expensive.”
Mendez was equally impressed. He sold a Jasper engine the very next day.