Quality Machine Products (QMP), located in Rock Valley, Iowa, has been approached by Shinn Fu of America to manufacture and assemble jacks for automobiles and trucks. Shinn Fu of America’s decision to choose a company in the country’s heartland was based on solid reasons, such as proven track record for producing a quality product.
Shinn Fu of America is the largest supplier of jacks for cars and trucks in the world. They supply the product in a range of sizes and prices, with a customer base ranging from small mechanic shops to Wal-Mart to the US Military.
Shinn Fu’s American headquarters are in Kansas City and their home base is in Taiwan. The jacks were originally manufactured about 60 years ago by Walker [Manufacturing] out of Racine, Wisconsin. The company was then purchased by Lincoln Automotive and production was then moved to Arkansas. Rock Valley’s Kooima Machine Works manufactured parts for these jacks about forty years ago. Lincoln Automotive began seven years ago having parts made in Mexico and carried the label "made in North America." Many of Lincoln’s customers wanted to buy an American-made product. The company also began to lose customer base due to poor quality of construction. Lincoln Automotive eventually sold out to Shinn Fu of America.
Wanting to retrieve the original customer base, Shinn Fu of America decided to put together an all-American made product that could bear the label "made in the USA." That is where QMP came into the picture. "We always had a connection with [Shinn Fu] and they talked to us about if we would be interested in doing it for them. Currently we are doing the hydraulic units for the two- and three-ton units," explained Terry Van Zanten, General Manager of Quality Machine Products.
For several of the jacks, QMP not only builds the parts, but they assemble, paint and package them as well. There are more plans to expand, too. QMP can be competitive because they have the machine shop where they can build most of the product in-house. Van Zanten estimated they build 90% of the components they need to for these jacks. There are currently about 20 people involved in the project, but the potential for adding 10 to 15 more employees. QMP is hoping they can give jobs to people on the building of these components as well as the machining, fabricating, welding and in the assembly process.
