Royal Master Grinders

It has been to long since I have blogged. During this lapse a lot has happened here at Royal Master Grinders. Most recently we exhibited at the MDM West show where we introduced a new machine for grinding dental parts. Our Generation X3 machine used a fully motorized fourth axis that can rotate from zero to 90 degrees to crate helical geometries on parts. Already having orders for 3 units, we are excited about this introduction. It will open up a whole new field for us and give us added capabilities in the medical device market for even more complex profiles.

Going back to the end of the year, Royal Master had a great 2012, strong sales, good interest which has put us in a nice position for a successful 2013. We have had a great cross section of machine sales from many industries, medical being strong, as well as the machine tool field. This was reinforced by a successful IMTS. This September show was not only successful in bringing us immediate sales on the show floor, but the immediate follow-up with strong sales after the show was good to see. The fact that there was good traffic at the show, qualified buyers roaming the asiles and lots of good projects in our booth gives us great optimism for the next two years of business.
Last week was a milestone of sorts for my father and myself. My Oldest daughter who you have been introduced to before in this blog is 10 years old, and she had a week off of school. She had a cake baking camp in the mornings, but in the afternoons my wife and I took turns watching her and our youngest daughter. Wednesday afternoon they came back to RMG and with a lot of work to be done in our shipping department, our oldest was put to work. She did an admirable job, putting a smile on the faces of her grandfather, and her father both. I was then reminded by a few people, they remember me, at that age, mowing the lawn and counting inventory. This Friday the third Generation of Memmelaar’s will officially receive a paycheck from Royal Master.

That was a quick update For those who have followed me for a while on this blog, The Embassy Suites in Anaheim still has not made their coffee any better, and the United Airlines airplanes left over from 1985 with the telephones in the arm rests REALLY need to be retired a fresh coat of paint on the outside does not make them new. Those are two topics for another day.

Thanks for reading

John

Well, IMTS 2012 is finished and we got home last night from a wild show where we saw great business, sold a couple of machines from the floor, as well as had a great amount of potential business.

Outside of the normal day to day business we enjoyed eating in Chicago, lunches from many of the Deli’s Carbonara Mexican, Jimmy John’s, and Pot Belly Deli. It beats pizza and Hamburgers every day from Convention Center. For Dinner we enjoyed Heaven on Seven for Cajun Food, Wildfire for Steak Night, Chicago Culinary Institute, Texas De Brazil, and Giordano’s for Pizza Thanks to all of those who kept our tanks full.

This year we had two IMTS rookies at the show Ryan and Jesse. Over the years we had different variations of Initiation. Our last rookie was treated to a hot sauce taste test at Heaven on Seven, where he had to eventually sign a waiver, and was warned not to pick-up the bottle without a napkin. The result was a glass of milk to quench the fire, and a round of applause from all of us with a big congratulations

This year we had a newer style of initiation. A pink bike helmet and lab coat that Jesse and ryan had to wear from the parking garage to the booth. Both wore it well, were good sports, and have passed with flying colors.

Below are a few photos

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Todd and Bob as I had previously mentioned ride their bicycles in the morning, they decided that they would play a prank on me. I opened my door to my room in the morning on Monday and this is what I found.

The following photo is of us bring the bikes back to the hall to ship home. We got in trouble because we were bringing “FREIGHT” into the building and we should have used the loading docks

I would like to thank everyone who visited our booth, visited our virtual booth and have follow-ed us along on this journey. I hope that I have brought a little different view to the show, and what it takes to produce this event.

John

Well we set-up machines, but thats not the fun part. For those who know Todd M our Lead Engineer and Bob Hoffman every day they rie their Bike’s lunchtime. Usually they ride about 16 miles during the 45 minutes, then eat and back to work. This ritual has been going on for about 5 years now. Each IMTS they ship their Bikes out and ride up and down lake shore drive early in the morning. Today we took their bikes back to the hotel as they were taking up too much space in the closet. If you look real close you can see Rich in the back seat. The Hyundai is really not made for this kind of cargo.

John

Here are some Photos of Last Week’s Progress

Everything fit on the truck with a whole 2″ to spare. To my defense the driver had 20″ of toolboxes and bicycles in the front of the truck. About 5 minutes after we finished loading we had a horrible downpour of rain.

Just about everything is packed and we are getting ready to ship on Monday. Yesterday we brought everything that was finished out in the parking lot and “test drove” the layout of our truck. For those who have been following me since last IMTS I have challenged to have enough room on the truck. As John Sr and I were once told, we are the master’s of space. It can also be called fitting ten pounds of stuff in a 5 pound bag. This year I had a treat, instead of a 48′ flatbed I have a 53′ trailer. It worked out well as I had an “unanticipated skid” and now I have actual space left over.

One of my favorite things is showing my girls what I do here. I am very fortunate to have a family that understands my commitment to Royal Master. My wife and two daughters brought me dinner last night as I was moving our machines around in the parking lot. I gave my daughters a driving lesson in the EMPTY lot.

Olivia 10, did really well, but I still told her not to go anywhere near Rich’s Harley.

Over the next few days I will be updating on the progress of our set-up and the actual show itself.

Where are we now?
One week to go before we ship and everything is finished with the exception of two machines. Each one of those is on the home stretch. On Saturday the truck comes to RMG and we load everything up for a quick two day trip to Chicago. Nate, Ryan and Myself fly out Tuesday morning, where we will lay the flooring and prepare for the unloading of the semi in Wednesday.

What my plan is we will we posting an everyday blog update from our arrival in Chicago to our departure so the progress of the booth construction can be followed.

For all of the details on the show itself goto IMTS.com and check out all the cool thangs that will be going on including AMT building a car at the show called the Rallye Fighter, Great seminars, and of course over 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space.

Looking at the IMTS.com website there is a countdown to when the show starts, T-31 days and 19 hours. The real date for us to put everything on a truck is 16 days. Saturday August 25th is when our truck shows up here and everything is on it ready or not. It is a date that we plan for look forward to in anticipation for months, but you blink and it is here. To see more of the machines that we are bringing see booth6646.com
Our preparations have been going well and we have two of the 6 machines almost finished. They should be done Friday. Two more next Friday and the last two the day prior to shipment. With something new on each machine it is a challenge to say the least. Our engineers have all been working overtime to get a lot of neat new features for you. Here is a quick run-down:

o “The Jobber” New Servo cycle control with New automatic grinding wheel dresser
o Thrufeed Microsize Machine: New Operator Control, with a pulse generator
o BEDROCK Series of Centerless Grinder with volumetric stock removal capability and New CNC Regulating wheel Dressing
o Hi-Accuracy system grinding transmission valves. Robotically unloading, cleaning, gauging and palletizing
o Generation X Guidewire grinding machine with New Laser Gauging System

One of the really cool things that we do in our booth is actually grind parts, get our hands wet with coolant and enjoy ourselves. Many people look at tradeshows as work, tedious experiences, boring, monotonous, “another part of their job” or an interruption to reading the USA Today while they sit at a conference room table. Not in our booth! We promise you the following:
A fully engaged Royal Master Grinders Employee who is knowledgeable in the products and is prepared to answer all of your questions on site. You will never leave our booth feeling like you needed more of an answer, or wondering if you will ever hear from us again.

This is your IMTS Team that will be available at Show Site:

John Memmelaar Sr President
John Memmelaar Jr Vice President
Rodney Allen Vice President Sales and Marketing
Bob Hoffman Customer Applications Engineer
Rich Fletcher Customer Applications Engineer
Todd M. Chief Engineer
Arnold B. Lead Programmer
Kevin J. Head of Research and Development
Rob R. Senior Electrical Engineer
Nate D Service Engineer
Jesse V Mechanical Engineer
Brian B Mechanical Engineer

“Swim 2.4 miles, Bike 112 miles, Run 26.2 miles, brag for the rest of your life!”
I once heard someone say “if you want to see what you’re made of, come try an Ironman.” That was the first step I took on my journey to finish sports most grueling one day event. Sitting in front of my computer, I watched a video on Hulu of the Ford Ironman World Championships of 2008 and was instantly fascinated at the determination and joy on the triathlete’s faces as they crossed that finish line. I would do this race and finish!
It’s July 22nd at Four AM and the buzzer goes off. With not much sleep that night, I slide out of bed. I had prepped my gear the evening before so after a quick breakfast I grab my bags and the family heads to the car. We’re staying at a lodge about 12 miles outside Lake Placid (ironically it’s the last 12 miles of the bike route which is all up hill). As we near the town I realize I had forgotten my timing chip back at the room. Not wanting to wake our youngest who was staying with my parents I had opted not to turn on the lights and missed the chip. My already nervous wife graciously drops me off at transition and runs back to pick up the timing chip. You can cut the tension in the air with a knife as we prepare the rest of our gear for the day’s event. Body glide, water bottles, gels, tires…all check out. I get marked by one of the volunteers with my race numbers and finally slip into my wetsuit. My wife shows up with the timing chip about 15 minutes before the professionals start. With my chip strapped on, I make my way out to the lake and with 2,900+ people wait for the cannon to signal the start of our day. As we tread water the announcer amps up the crowd and the cannon fires exactly at 7 AM!
The swim of the Ironman in Lake Placid is a two loop course that totals 2.4 miles. What you don’t realize is that as all 2900+ people start, you end up swimming to stay afloat! It’s a contact sport at this point as arms and legs flail around and you jockey for position and try to avoid getting hit or pushed under. After the first lap, all the athletes step out of the water and return to the start for a second loop, a short reprieve from the struggles of the first lap. The second lap stretches out the swimmers and I’m able to find my nitch and get into my rhythm. As I exit the water for the last time, the crowd is in a frenzy cheering on athletes and loved ones. I look at my time and I’m happy to finish an hour before the 2hr 20min cutoff. A volunteer helps to rip off my wetsuit and I’m off down the street back to transition for my clothes and bike.

The bike consists of two 56 mile loops totaling 112 miles that you need to complete before the 10 hour mark or your day is done. Volunteers are rushing around helping to retrieve bikes for the coming athletes. A girl comes running over with my bike and wishes me luck, I give her a big smile and thank you and it’s off to the races. Lake Placid sits a little over 1800 ft above sea level and if you travel away from town you are almost guaranteed to go downhill. The first 30 miles of the bike ride takes you on a scenic view of the Adirondack Mountains. Rushing rivers, green foliage; it’s the typical scene you’d see on an advertisement. But that scene fades quickly as you make your way back to town and realize you have to climb the same elevation you enjoyed on the way out. Twelve miles to go and I find my family cheering on the side of the road just outside of the lodge we’re staying at! The encouragement comes at a great time as the adrenaline rush helps propel me up the hill back to town. The last climb to the town is called Papa Bear. It’s not an overly difficult climb but with 55 miles on your legs already, it becomes harder than it looks. The road is lined with people cheering and encouraging the cyclists up the hill. We turn to what I think is the last bend and realize Papa Bear isn’t finished with us yet! Ugh! The approach to transition is electric, it’s just before midday and the town is in a frenzy as we come in and complete our first loop. What seems like seconds go by and we’re off again for the second loop of the bike course.

The end of the bike for me comes around 4:20 in the late afternoon. Grateful for the volunteer who takes my bike back to the bike rack, I change into my run clothes and start the hardest part of my day, the marathon. Running has never come easy for me; I’m more of a short distance sprinter. The run course follows the first 3 miles of the bike course and as I head out I know the same hills leading out of town is something I’ll have to contend with yet again. For the first 8 to 10 miles things go well for me. The same people who passed me on the bike I’m now seeing again on the run but our roles are reversed, what a great feeling! But then things turn for the worse and I’m having trouble keeping things down. Later I’ll find out that sports drinks and gels coat the stomach with sugar and if you don’t drink enough water, your digestive system can’t process the incoming nutrition as well. I’m able to gut my way through to mile 15 by mostly jogging with some walking, but after that it turns into more walking than jogging. It’s about 8 pm and relief comes ironically in the form of a sunset. The air starts to cool and the constant bombardment of the sun starts to subside. Without much nutritional intake, my body just doesn’t have the calories it needs to sustain a continuous jog and I start to ask for the time to see how long I have till the midnight cutoff. At the pace I’m going, it’s close in my mind. Mile 23 comes along and I’m pumping my arms to keep my walk pace up. I get back to the town and the crowds are now cheering me on. I can hear the party that’s happening at the finish in the Olympic Oval and I know I want in! With about 1.5 miles left in the race, I dig deep, think about my family waiting for me at the finish, and say a quick prayer. The cheers of the crowd start to grow and my body gives me one last boost as I come into the Olympic Oval and into the roar of all the spectators and athletes who have finished ahead of me. It’s been 15 hours, 28 minutes and 9 seconds since my day started to be part of an exclusive club. They welcome me with those famous words…“Arnold, You Are an Ironman!”