January 27, 2010 by NADCA in Industry News
St. Louis – When a three-alarm blaze destroyed Carr Lane Drill Bushing Company's plant in Austin, TX, last year, Sunnen Products demonstrated that “above and beyond honing” is more than a tagline — it’s a business practice. The fire struck overnight, and when the smoke had cleared, only the outer walls of the plant remained. Carr Lane had lost 33 Sunnen honing machines in the disaster — machines critical to producing the precise bore size, surface finish and geometry required for the company's extensive line of drill bushings.
“When we found out what happened in Austin I immediately called (Carr Lane president) Earl Walker in St. Louis,” said Sunnen international sales director Tom Dustman. “I told him to let us know what we could do to help, as any good neighbor would.”
Sunnen and Carr Lane are both based in St. Louis, with their headquarters only a couple of miles apart.
Carr Lane's immediate need was to fulfill existing orders for customers like Boeing, Remington and NASA. So, Sunnen offered use of the machines in its tech center, along with operators to hone the parts. Raw parts were delivered to the Sunnen tech center and finished in a day, allowing Carr Lane to meet on-time deliveries.
Submitted by Kemble & Rude Dec. 17, 2009