07/13/2018
THE SPE STORY
https://specializedpartsandequipment.com/
Back in Feb 2005, Rex Payne, the president of Specialized Parts and Equipment LLC. made his way down to Spartanburg SC with a suitcase and a cell phone, where in an empty building he set up shop.
From that humble beginning 13 years ago, Mr Payne and his team have transformed SPE into a leading wholesale selling company of aftermarket parts and components for Komatsu construction equipment in the US and other countries
Komatsu is the second largest manufacturer of heavy construction and mining equipment in the world. However, like their competitors, original equipment manufacturers (OEM) dealers that rely heavily on genuine parts find sourcing spares for the older models. problematic. This is due primarily to OEM distributors throttling back on model inventories, a process that generally starts around the sixth anniversary of the models release. By the ten year mark, parts for that model are completely discontinued making the prospect of being repaired with new genuine parts, highly unlikely.
Our success has largely been attributed to the early realization that the way forward in the parts business was not to rely on retired new surplus stock or used parts to service the aging population of Komatsu machines. No, what was needed was a reliable source of bulletproof non genuine product options that would satisfy dealers to on sell our products to their demanding customers waiting on back ordered OEM parts.
Initially we started importing non genuine Komatsu parts manufactured in Italy by our European Tractor Parts (ETP) partners. However as good as the quality was that the Italians are most famous for, there was a shortfall in the range of assembled components they had available. Hey, don’t get us wrong, ETP is still our premium partner and we sell the heck out of their stellar quality parts. Their pins, bushes, seals, hydraulic kits bearings, engine kits / parts, transmission parts, etc, etc, (their inventory is huge) are the best in the business. Take the liberty and check out their classy website https://www.etpbonomi.it/eng .
The business model we had planned was specifically focused on producing and selling niche market plug and play components shifting away from the remove-repair-reinstall scenario. By taking out the repair activity, the production downtime and labor costs are a saving that jack up owner operator profitability. We needed to broaden our search horizon for a suitable component source and then target the components we felt the market would respond favorably to.
In the end SPE had to take a leap of faith, take the bull by the horns and get directly involved in the aftermarket parts manufacturing industry. Hence the development and management of the Specialized Replacement Products (SRP) brand of “Built Tough To Last” quality aftermarket parts and components. Based in Beijing, China we / they source and stock a wide range of fast moving critical spares for Komatsu hydraulic excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders.
Our other daunting challenge seven years ago when we started the aftermarket component journey was to reverse the negative stigma that dogged early introduction of any products from China already in the market place. Back then the very thought by most, of using cheap Chinese knock offs was dismissed out of hand due to the unreliable quality and the old adage, if it is cheap “beware! you get what you pay for”. Today SRP manufacturers have had their factories and processes professionally inspected and certified to ensure you are buying the best quality aftermarket parts available. We have on the payroll our own fulltime quality control officer there, to ensure all the processes are consistent and the parts shipped are the quality we expect.
We have seen our growth surge since we fully embraced the aftermarket business opportunity and now find ourselves one of Komatsu’s preferred vendors of our SRP products both here in the US and Australia. Also interestingly, as anticipated, Komatsu owner operators were quick to view the economic benefits of economically priced “plug and play” options as opposed to repair.
Komatsu distributors also realize this and are more than willing to push the aftermarket option to their clients. It keeps everyone happy. It’s a no brainer!
Our head office and storage facility is still based in Spartanburg SC but barely resembles the shell it was back in 2005. The past 12 months has seen a massive renovation roll out to the warehouse facility including a restructuring of the layout and ergonomics to improve our sales and shipping performance. Our communication system both internal and external has been upgraded and integrated with IP technology greatly improving our team members availability to be contactable anywhere. We are slowly expanding our force and partners in Miami, Alabama, California (also carries stock) and since Feb 2018, stock in Australia for our growing client base there.
SPE prides itself for maintaining a +95% stock availability rate “on the shelf” in Spartanburg, for its + 6000 line items listed on the web. So remember us the next time you are in need of something critical to get your early model machine up and running again, and give us a call toll free on
(866) 754 3230. We just might be able to make it work again for you.
Talk to you again soon.
