Experience

20 plus years leading operating companies as a GM, President and Group President, building and selling mobile equipment and components. 10 of those years in a Berkshire-Hathaway company.

Many years of experience in fluid power design, technical support, troubleshooting, training, warranty, legal and intellectual property support, manufacturing, and aftermarket sales.

Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees in Engineering from Auburn University.

Registered Professional Engineer, certified by the International Fluid Power Society as a Fluid Power Engineer, Pneumatic Specialist and Hydraulic Specialist.

Available for fluid power system optimization, vendor recovery and warranty assistance, technical support, legal, expert witness and intellectual property support, cost savings recommendations and 80/20 business system application to maximize company profit.

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System Optimization

Hydraulic systems in use over time may need to be optimized to reduce heat, improve speed/performance, save fuel, improve component life and a multitude of other options.

Vendor Recovery and Warranty Assistance

Warranty recovery can be difficult to agree upon with the supplier of the component. Sometimes an unbiased third party is needed to help determine if a component or system needs to be covered under warranty either fully or partially. Should labor, material, freight, supplies and other be covered or components/parts only? Help can be provided to make this determination. Additionally, are your vendors doing their part and are your agreements structured in such a way that there is a fair recovery process. Are you tired of chasing down returned components only to have the supplier find some reason to deny the warranty? There is an opportunity for substantial cost savings in this area.

Technical Support

Sometimes supplemental Technical Support is needed either in the field or in the office. Recurring and difficult problems are sometimes difficult to solve for mobile equipment OEM's, industrial sites, end users, component suppliers, distributors, component manufacturers and any number of other parties using fluid power systems.

Legal, Expert Witness and Intellectural Property Support

Legal teams may need an Expert Witness or other help researching and preparing information regarding components or systems. Also, patent support is sometimes needed to properly understand and document how systems and components work in order to develop new patents and investigate infringement of existing patents.

Cost Savings

Mobile equipment OEM's and particularly Truck Equipment suppliers frequently look at their product's hydraulic systems for cost savings opportunities. Current employees usually have looked at their products and processes so many times for savings that they overlook things that present nice cost savings opportunities. It usually takes about a week but normally cost savings opportunities are identified that can add profit to the bottom line that far exceeds the expense of the exercise.

80/20 Business Process

80/20 is one of the most powerful business systems employed today by highly successful companies like Berkshire-Hathaway’s Marmon Group and ITW. As a President, GM and Group President in Berkshire-Hathaway’s Marmon Group for many years, I have experienced the power of the 80/20 business system.

I would be happy to help you get started down the 80/20 road. Starting with a simple presentation and a strong commitment from the leadership of your company, you potentially can transform your profitability. The goal is to simplify and standardize your product offering which will streamline sales, engineering, purchasing, technical support, warranty, manufacturing and overall performance. We will evaluate your customers and determine which customers are profitable and which customers create more “noise” than actual profit.

Mark A. Keller