Pursuit of Parts Collector Spearheads New Enterprise

When Rick Stuczynski began to search for an automated, compact parts accumulator well suited for the Swiss-type lathes on his shop floor, he was not expecting the exercise to lead him to a new business venture for his small shop. This president and owner of Diamond Machining in Amherst Junction, Wisconsin, eventually stumbled upon the Super Ario while searching on Google. He realized during his hours of research, however, that the accumulator did not have a U.S. distributor.

Stuczynski knew shops like his with Swiss-type lathes could benefit from this small footprint parts accumulator that was difficult to find online. Therefore, he realized that offering similar shops easier access to the product through opening a U.S. distributorship, Diamond Machining Industrial (DMI), at his existing company could help other shops’ productivity and in return could be lucrative for his business.

A Diamond in the Rough

Researching for what he was looking for took Stuczynski hours in front of his computer in early 2022. But with a little perseverance and patience, he discovered the rare gem and then went all in.

During his deep dive, Stuczynski discovered the Super Ario small parts accumulator was imported from Japan through Tecnara Tooling Systems, which went out of business and then was bought out by Kitagawa NorthTech Inc. But Kitagawa did not take on the Super Ario line. However, he was able to produce contact information for Dynex Corp., which was Super Ario’s parent company. After typing an email to inquire about the product, he then needed to find an online translator to translate his email message to Japanese.

“I thought I’d never hear anything back from my email attempt,” Stuczynski says. “But within 24 hours I got a response from two different people.”

It was then he learned that since the COVID pandemic began, there hadn’t been any U.S. distribution of the parts accumulator. At that point, he volunteered to become a distributor because the product appeared to be a great fit for Swiss-type lathes, and he knew there would be a need for it at other shops like his.

Grateful for the opportunity to be the only U.S. distributor, Stuczynski says the Japanese company has been excellent to work with from the start. “Within a few weeks, I was set up as a distributor. A few interested customers emailed me directly soon after that.” He adds that working closely with the manufacturer has been no nonsense, and they have been completely loyal to his distributorship.  

The now one-year-old distributor, DMI, is operated out of the same facility as Diamond Machining — a 16-year-old, six-employee shop with a customer base that includes companies in the packaging, heavy equipment, recreational and gun industries. But DMI is technically part of Diamond Machining’s own snowmobile parts and UTV accessory business, Stuczynski explains, of which he works with a business partner.

The No-Bin Design

Because Stuczynski has implemented four of the Super Ario parts accumulators on his shop floor, he is his own best salesperson for the product. From personal experience, he can attest to the most appropriate applications for use and can explain the benefits and how it operates to potential customers.

The Super Ario unattended automatic workpiece accumulator, which is available in small footprints of 350-mm, 500-mm and 700-mm diameters, is unlike a bin design whereby parts fall into and on top of each other. This accumulator is designed to prevent dents and scratches on workpieces as they fall from a machine’s chute into a receptacle plastic tray. Because the tray rotates clockwise, it moves parts away from one another, providing clear space for the next workpiece to drop onto the tray without touching another part. The rotation speed can be easily increased or decreased to space parts properly.

Stuczynski describes the unit as a Lazy Susan on a motorized table on wheels. He says the unit is designed especially for Swiss-type lathes because of their small size and light weight. They are made for small parts that Swiss-types make.

“Anything that will fit in a Swiss will fit in a Super Ario,” he says. At Diamond Machining, the parts that fall into the accumulator are made of stainless, aluminum and mild steel and are about an inch to an inch and a quarter diameter. The longest part is about three inches long.

The portable accumulator, which is available with a 110- or 220-V plug that plugs into a wall outlet, has an on/off switch and requires little to no setup. With a simple modification, the chute fits underneath the coolant drip tray on a Swiss-type lathe. If the optional extended chute is ordered, the chute extends far enough that no modifications are needed to the coolant drip tray, according to Stuczynski.

Thinking Outside the Box

While the parts accumulator has the specific ability to separate parts falling from a machine tool, especially a Swiss-type, Stuczynski has discovered by experimentation that there are some creative ways to implement the unit on his shop floor. This has led to success in a couple important areas of the business that might benefit other shops as well.

For example, Diamond Machining uses the accumulator to pre-clean as well as catch parts coming off the machine, which eliminates a cleaning operation for the shop. Cleaning solution can sit in the aluminum tray, so as the parts fall in, they are being cleaned. The plastic tray contains vents that are intended to drain the solution.

“When paired with a MiJet unit, it’s convenient to blow off the parts right there at the machine, and then your next step is to box them up,” Stuczynski explains. He adds that his shop makes many parts complete on its Swiss-types.

Although Stuczynski has integrated the Super Ario on three of the shop’s six Swiss-type lathes — on a Swisstek, Hanwha and Citizen lathe — he also has set up a low-profile model on one of his Doosan subspindle machines. He explains, “On a conventional machine, the parts conveyor is below the door. So, I wanted to see how the low-profile model of the Super Ario would work because that could create a whole new source of opportunity for these units.”

And the unit can adapt to the conventional machine with a little modification, he says. Therefore, he is considering selling the modification as a kit to use for conventional machines.

Growth and Expansion

According to Stuczynski, the distributorship is intentionally starting out small, although he sees much potential for growth. “The challenge is trying to figure out what items to keep in stock or which ones are going to be our higher selling products,” Stuczynski explains.

As the details of running the distributorship are being ironed out, Stuczynski is excited about the business’ future and can envision how to expand the product line. For example, he is the process of creating a way to expand on the Super Ario product for the Swiss turning industry. However, he is not ready to disclose the details yet.

Overall, DMI is doing well, according to Stuczynski. He says he is enjoying the newfound opportunity and especially likes dealing directly with the Super Ario manufacturer, Dynex Corp., to help meet customers’ needs.

Distribution at Your Fingertips

Start small, do not be intimidated, ask for help: these were the three pieces of advice from Stuczynski when it comes to starting a distributorship.

“Don’t be scared,” he advises. “You will find out how nice people are. I’m dealing with Japan and people have been super helpful.”

For shop owners who are considering such a business venture, Stuczynski suggests talking to people who can help answer questions. For instance, Lee Knowlton at equipment dealer Midwest Machine in Minnesota, contacted him when he first began distributing the product to inquire about a purchase.

Their conversation led to Knowlton offering pricing structures that Tecnara had for the Super Ario when it previously distributed the product. Stuczynski says he used that information to help them price the product. And, because the product is not their main source of income, DMI kept the pricing Tecnara listed from 2019.