RWM Casters Company, located in Gastonia, North Carolina, can trace it roots back to 1935. It enjoys a long history and excellent reputation for providing quality products in response to a large and diverse customer base. Staunton Capital located in Greensboro, North Carolina acquired RWM Casters Company in 1992. Jim Hooper, CEO of Staunton Capital, recognized in RWM the ability to provide custom engineered products to customers in need of specific solutions to their individual requirements and applications. In support of his vision RWM Casters has spent considerable capital investing in technology that has significantly improved the company and allowed it to expand into several new and exciting markets.

Staunton Capital has provided RWM Casters the support, assistance, and guidance, that has enabled it to significantly modify it’s behavior and become the recognized market leader in the industrial caster and wheel industry.

New technology has enabled significant improvement in both cost reduction initiatives and process improvement projects. New CNC Turning Centers have improved our ability to produce wheel and rig components used in a wide variety of products. These new precision machines have lowered cost, increased output and provided internal capabilities not previously available in house.

New automatic welding machines specifically designed to meet our unique product design requirements have greatly reduced set up times and improved product quality. Our new welding machines provide superior welds and unheard of flexibility. We can make size and height changes without changing the set up. This flexibility has really improved the output in the welding department.

New polyurethane processing equipment has provided the ability to reduce cost and improve manufacturing output enabling RWM Casters to produce all of it’s polyurethane products in house. The process now includes the ability to pour several different polyurethane materials at the same time. This capability greatly reduces lead times and enables RWM Casters to provide custom urethane products in response to unique customer requirements. Working in a partnering relationship with our exclusive material vendor, utilizing their world-class design and development capabilities, allows RWM to recommend and produce a product that will surpass our customer expectations.

We complement our in-house manufacturing capabilities with strategic global purchasing initiatives that utilize the latest communication technology reducing response time, providing accurate and specific information to a network of dedicated exclusive vendors located both domestically and abroad. All purchased products are designed and controlled by RWM specifications developed by our in house staff of experienced engineers. This dedicated group of reliable sources are committed to providing high quality products at the lowest possible cost. They, in turn, utilize some of the newest technology available when producing our products. None rely on low cost labor and obsolete equipment as their principal source of production. All recognize the need to exceed their customer’s expectations and the need to invest in the best possible equipment for the specific job at hand.

We completely realigned our manufacturing flow, significantly reducing the amount of travel that component parts see in the factory. Implementing dedicated product assembly cells significantly reduced assembly time and simplified the processes. Specialized assembly equipment customized to meet the specific requirements of the product it produces in each dedicated cell has significantly improved both quality and output.

One of the most exciting changes that we have implemented over the past couple years is our new RWM Rapidstock distribution unit. This new facility is dedicated to meeting our customer lead-time requirements. Over 90% of our orders ship in less than 5 working days from receipt of order from our customers. Well over 75% of our Rapidstock orders ship within 48 hours of receipt of the purchase order. The RWM Rapidstock unit utilizes one of the best technology platforms available today dedicated specifically to distribution. Our new distribution software allows us to provide to our customers, principally our network of dedicated distributors, a level of support and responsiveness unmatched in our industry by other manufacturers. Today over 60 % of our total sales are coordinated through this new facility. By year-end all products will be managed through our RWM Rapidstock unit.

Our new software will allow us to better utilize the data collected from our customers and prospects and provide a level of customized service unmatched in the industry. We will be able to provide to our customers a level of support and responsiveness tailored to their individual requirements.

All of the changes implemented to date have permitted RWM Casters to expand it’s product line to provide the widest range of caster and wheel products available in the industry. Many of the products have become the most emulated products in the caster and wheel industry.

Our Kingpinless caster design is the recognized best solution for demanding and challenging caster applications. All of our competitors have recognized the benefits and superior performance that our unique design provides, and are now introducing their version of the RWM Kingpinless design. This situation would normally incur some negative repercussions, however, our commitment to cost reductions and process improvements has afforded us the ability to compete favorably with all newcomers. We have achieved this through our dedication to utilizing the best possible technology available to do the job. In fact, the market recognition factor that their new products have provided, through their efforts to convince customers to use Kingpinless products, have only solidified RWM’s position as the recognized market leader.

New materials and process technology have provided the ability to design many of the newest wheel products available in the industry today. Our solid elastomer GT wheels continue to win praise wherever they are tested. This unique wheel continues to win every rollibility test. Ergonomic experts at many of the largest companies in the country confirm that the RWM GT wheel is by far the best wheel they have ever tested for ease of movement. This feature will improve their processes, and reduce chance for injuries due to handling heavy loads and positioning cumbersome pieces of equipment. The RWM product is designed to minimize break-away force and the force required to move the customer’s apparatus. In addition to being the best solution for rollibility, the wheel is designed to handle high load capacities and provide long service life.

Our new EHT (Elastomeric High Tensile) wheels incorporate new rubber technology that provides increased capacity, significantly longer service life, and unsurpassed noise reduction. These new wheels will not mark the floor, and are excellent in towline applications. The EHT wheel again pushes the envelope of performance. The benefits of rubber wheels have long been recognized. However most of the industry has over the past several years undermined the benefits of a rubber compound by ever decreasing the quality of the rubber tread that they provide. These penny-pinching solutions significantly undermined the market perception for the product. We selected a different path. By developing a high quality non-marking premium rubber compound tread, and providing it on light weight aluminum cores, or heavy duty cast iron cores for more demanding requirements, we can provide all of the benefits of a softer, quieter, more resilient, non-marking material that will out perform all other soft tread products on the market today.

Our latest caster product, like the Kingpinless caster, will again revolutionize the caster industry. Our new patent pending Freedom 48 series is the next generation caster. It includes a sealed precision ball bearing that never requires maintenance. The Freedom series is rated at 1,500 Lbs., and is available in multiple load heights and optional top plate sizes, is silent and smooth when swiveled, and will provide significantly longer service life when compared to any other caster product rated for the same capacities. The Freedom series, introduced less than a year ago, has already been specified by several of the largest companies in the country as their only approved caster for their new cart and dolly applications. The Freedom series is already recognized by maintenance managers has one of the best new products that they have seen in a long time. They love the idea that no regular maintenance is required to keep their casters in service. No longer will there be globs of grease on the floor causing safety concerns or all over their carts due to excess lubrication damaging or soiling their production parts. Cleaning is now a breeze. They no longer have to worry about removing all of the grease required for proper caster swiveling action when washing down their carts. The reported benefits incurred by our customers keep coming in.

In addition to our extensive line of caster and wheel products, our utilization of new distribution specific software in our RWM Rapidstock unit allows us to expand our product offering into exciting new product opportunities. RWM Casters now provides non-powered material handling products. These new products now include our own line of lightweight platform trucks and heavy duty pallet jacks. Our platform trucks are designed to handle your office and light duty industrial requirements. Our pallet jack is a heavy duty 5,500 Lbs. capacity truck that provides excellent value for the money.

Our most recent success includes a complete line of aluminum hand trucks. We now offer a complete product line including both fixed and convertible trucks. Both styles include many of the most popular options required to customize the hand truck to meet our customer’s specific application requirements. The RWM aluminum hand truck has already gathered many endorsements from some of the largest hand truck users in the country. We made a serious commitment to this product line from the very start. We made sure that our design was equal or better than the best product available in the industry. We took great care to get all of the small details right. In fact we have used the services of independent outside testing facilities to confirm our internal results. We continue to modify the product line in response to market feedback. Our goal is to provide the best possible product at the lowest possible cost. Again focusing on providing the most value for the money. This new product was made possible utilizing the combination of the many new technologies that we have successfully implemented over the past ten years.

We are pleased with the results achieved to date, but understand the importance of continuing our pursuit of new technologies is essential to improve our processes throughout the company, in the design of our new products, and in the day to day management of the company. Our customers keep us focused on new product development, and our competitors by their emulation of our achievements. Our customers expect the best from RWM.

The combination of the shared vision between Jim Hooper, CEO of Stanton Capital, and the RWM Casters staff has made this story possible. Teamwork and pride in accomplishing significant results during difficult economic times keeps the company moving forward, utilizing new technologies as the platform for continued improvement.