PMV: What is your role at Bair Products?
Tonya Bair: I am the vice president of operations, so I oversee all day-to-day activities at the company. This is a broad scope; anything from sales, to customer calls, to ordering inventory. I have responsibility for operations across all departments.
PMV: How’s business?
TB: Business is very steady. Due to the adverse weather conditions in North America this winter, many construction professionals have been snowed in. Consequently, people have been fixing their fleets; attending to the undercarriages so that they are ready for action when conditions improve. Also, not everybody is in a position to buy new equipment at the moment. Instead, they are looking to keep their existing machines running for longer.
PMV: Why else might somebody decide to buy bespoke parts?
TB: I’ve heard people use the term ‘engineered failure’. In some instances, factory components are designed to last a certain number of hours – to fail after a specific period of time. At Bair, we take the opposite approach. We offer heavy-duty parts that are designed to last the maximum number of hours possible. This reduces downtime and saves the expense of conducting frequent repairs.
We are trying to bring back the faith; to help our customers trust their machines again. Bair is also benefitting original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). We are keeping machines – whether Caterpillar, Terex, ASV, or other brands – operational. This reflects well on OEMs. It keeps their products in the field, and encourages brand loyalty.
PMV: Is demand for third-party parts increasing?
TB: It is, and we are simultaneously working to educate the market. Bair doesn’t just sell parts; we show end users how to install components. We also teach people to identify potential problems. This helps users keep their undercarriages properly maintained, and minimises the risk of equipment failure. We also work closely with equipment dealers to help them provide parts to customers with multi-brand fleets. We show them how to work with different undercarriages so that they can continue to support their customer base. Bair is nobody’s competitor. Put simply, we exist to help end users get what they want; heavy-duty machines that are working and making money.
PMV: How would you assess the market in the Middle East?
TB: We are quite new to this region, but we’re getting the word out. There are so many options open to customers. We want to let them know that there are now alternative products that might not have been on the market before. It’s all about education.
PMV: What are Bair’s priorities for 2014?
TB: We have a number of new products on the horizon. For example, Bair’s track installation kit is a hydraulic device that pushes rubber tracks onto their frames. Aside from that, we’ll continue to provide products and support to our existing customer base.
