Fighting the OEM Juggernaut By Ken Peck Wake up America! I know you’ re thinking “here comes another ar- ticle about protect- ing ourselves against the influx of foreign products.” As a matter of fact, I would like to see that factor diminished some, but know that it will always be there. Actually I want to talk about some- thing that is tearing down the small rebuilder even more…the OEM jug- gernaut. As I travel around the Southeast- ern states the same words are echoed over and over again from rebuilders who are good, solid people, many with businesses that have been around a long time. These people speak of an out-of-control steamroller that is trying to bust up everything in its path. The worst part is that it is an enemy from within that these small rebuilders supported over the years and helped it to become what itis. In years past, we all supported and bought from Delco. To be ajobber you had to buy their catalogs and update bulletins. To be a warehouse, it was required of you to put in $50,000 worth of inventory and at times you had to beg to be allowed into this level. As an industry we all supported the structure created by Delco and the other OEM suppliers. Now the OEMs, led by Delco, are walking right past us to the end user, allowing them to buy at jobber or less. The whole time Delco is saying what bums we are and that they are the only ones who can do the job right because they are so knowledgeable. They are also saying that there is no reason for the rebuilding industry to exist and are trying to stomp out the small rebuilder. This is the same Delco who came out with the 28MT, with all of their engineering expertise, and it was an absolute failure! The aftermarket was first to move forward and make im- provements (but we don’t know what we are doing). Delco also came out with the highly acclaimed 42MT, which has caused more headaches than Bayer could ever relieve. Oh, Delco will give you a mountain of data to show that the 42MT is better than the 4OMT, but those of us out in the trenches know that this is a bunch of garbage. I have seen numerous times where trucks or pieces of equipment with chronic problems have had those problems solved by replacing a 42MT with a 40MT. Although they won’t admit it, Delco was loosing a lot of the market share to the aftermarket and these changes were made to try and force people back to them. Delco reps from day one were saying that the 42MT would be superceded in five to six years, but it is obvious that all of their problems kept this from happening. Instead, other manufacturers have beat up on Delco by having a better prod- uct. Face the facts, Delco tried to change their product to gain more con- trol of the market, without even trying to better their product. They just flat screwed up! Delco now sells directly to the end user and I’m sure they would brag about how well they are doing. They are dumping their product out there at low prices trying to smother the re- building industry. If Delco is half as DECEMBER, 1999 good as they say they are, why are they having to resort to such cheap prices and flooding the market? One of the things that amazes me in the whole scenario is the number of rebuilders who continue to buy from Delco and the other OEMs and fuel this machine that wants to kill their own livelihood. I see rebuilders buying Delco units and parts because it is the easy way out. A good example is the CS130 rectifier. The fact is that there are several aftermarket brands that are better than Delco, so why support these guys who don’t give a flying rip if your business survives. They take your money today, then your custom- ers tomorrow. Don’t hang your head small rebuilder, you have more knowledge and background in the trenches than this bunch of overrated college grads ever will. You need to approach your customers with a positive attitude and pride in who you are and the knowl- edge you have worked so long and hard to obtain. As the big guys try to take over everything, often with unfair tactics, they need to be reminded that each of our voices may be small but collectively we will make a loud noise with large implications. They have infi- nitely more money and at times have tax advantages that are ridiculous, but while they ignore us as being of no consequence we will have a measured and definitive impact. I believe that Delco has underes- timated their competition. Yes, the in- roads they have made have been strong, but I see small rebuilders fight- ing and at times getting back some of the lost business. There are still people out there who would rather deal with the small independent shop who has the knowledge and caring to deal with the day to day problems that arise. We Page 1 of 2