TOMCAT USA, a company that provides
concert stages for rock ‘n’ roll’s A-list, used MfgQuote.com to absorb
explosive demand during the busy summer concert season. MfgQuote.com is the
world’s largest marketplace for sourcing and selling manufacturing goods and
services.
TOMCAT’s eight-person machine shop in Midland, Texas, was maxed out this
summer producing stages, trusses, lifts and cosmetic components when the order
for the Rolling Stones’ “A Bigger Bang” tour came in. To fill it, TOMCAT
needed several hundred custom truss connectors — pieces that connect the
ladder-like superstructure that forms the skeleton of the super group’s
portable stage.
“We had the expertise to do the work ourselves, but we didn’t have the
time,” said Global Materials Manager Mike Steadman. “We were simultaneously
working on the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney and moving other, smaller
orders as well. We posted an RFQ on MfgQuote.com, 12 suppliers bid for the
work, and the supplier we selected gave us a very quick two-week turnaround at
a very competitive price.
We’ve had many similar successes because
MfgQuote.com gives us the unique ability to cultivate an alternate supply
network to deal with spikes in demand. We’re also saving valuable time by
posting RFQs electronically instead of dealing with postage, printing and
faxing.”
TOMCAT has been using MfgQuote.com for a year and a half and has awarded
multiple RFQs over the site. This does not count jobs that went directly to
suppliers who TOMCAT discovered on MfgQuote.com and built trusting long-term
relationships with. In addition to the Rolling Stones, TOMCAT’s lavish set
pieces serve customers like Janet Jackson, Pink Floyd, and U2, and Broadway
shows like “Aida,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King” and “Mamma Mia!”
“I’d like us to expand our use of online sourcing in the future, which is
quite likely in this very unpredictable market,” Steadman said.
More than 43,000 buyers across the industrial spectrum (aerospace,
transportation, consumer products, electronics and more) use MfgQuote.com to
source, collaborate, and receive quotes online for more than 200 manufacturing
processes such as CNC machining, metal stamping, forging, plastic molding,
metal fabrication and metal casting.
“World tours and professional theater shows are colossal undertakings, and
we’re pleased that TOMCAT has found trustworthy suppliers with the expertise,
credentials and capacity that helped TOMCAT meet their customer demands,” said
Mitch Free, president and CEO of MfgQuote.com.
“We will continue to save
companies like TOMCAT substantial amounts of time and money by automatically
matching them with reliable, responsive and competitive suppliers who help
speed high-quality products to market, beat deadlines, generate additional
sales, and satisfy important customers every day.”
