Thumper Fab Customer Spotlight
Aaron Anderson, Reliant’s customer service manager, recently got a chance to take a break from the summer heat and talk with J. C. Kester from Thumper Fabrication in Marshall, Texas. In a few short years, Thumper Fab has become an industry leader when it comes to durable, well-made UTV accessories.
Let me start by saying that some of my coworkers who enjoy outdoor activities have encountered the Thumper Fab brand. They want to know more about how your company is growing with the help of powder coating equipment we built. How did you get started?
Well, we started out of necessity. We began creating a few of our own designs for accessories for side-by-sides like Polaris and Can-Am. At first, we had a sister company that was a dealership for UTVs. We were having a hard time finding high-quality accessories for the vehicles we sold, so we started designing them and having third-party manufacturers make them for us.
We got some recognition for our designs and the popularity of our products spread by word-of-mouth. Long story short, we sold a lot of accessories through the dealership. We decided we needed to start our own brand for the products we were designing, and we launched Thumper Fab in 2019 to do just that. We spun the business off and began making the products ourselves.
What do you manufacture?
We make pretty much anything that goes on a side-by-side. Suspension parts, bumpers, roofs, roll cages, doors, bed racks, roof racks, nerf rails, you name it. We produce both steel and aluminum products and we do absolutely everything in house.
How has equipment from Reliant Finishing Systems helped your business to thrive?
Powder coating is critical for the longevity and overall look of our products, so it’s very important. The first thing every customer sees when they pull something out of the box is the finish on it, so we need to get consistently good results from our coating equipment.
Our process starts with metal coming in, then it gets cut and bent and welded out, and then it gets coated. Getting the Reliant equipment installed was one of the key steps that allowed us to bring production in-house and get control over it from start to finish. We needed to hit the ground running with a reliable system. We also wanted to be able to ramp up to meet growing production demands.
What was your main reason for bringing powder coating in-house?
Mostly, it’s about having complete control from a quality standpoint. It also makes the production process easier to manage because we can do everything in-house and don’t have to outsource the work. It’s a time and cost savings, especially with regards to logistics. We don’t have to ship parts to a coating shop, wait for them to do the work, then have them shipped back to us.
What are some obstacles you faced early on?
Growth–rapid growth. We had to work hard just to keep up with the demand for our products. That kind of growth really throws a bunch of complications at you. It’s super easy to make one bumper and make it look fantastic. It’s a lot harder when you start making hundreds or thousands of them because you want to make sure you get that same level of care and quality on the 999th one that you put into the very first one that you made.
What did you do to overcome those early challenges?
When we got rolling in 2019, we started out with a blank space for our building, which allowed us to spec the latest and greatest machinery and develop a smart layout for what we wanted to do. We looked for the best equipment out there for building our products. We also worked on developing a strong team of people. We paid attention to everything that’s needed for a successful business, including reliable production equipment, modern software, inventory management, quality employees, and everything else that goes into building a successful start-up company. The challenges seemed even greater because we were jumping into manufacturing. We not only had to sell the products, we had to make them. There are tons of obstacles and opportunities for failure in a manufacturing business on a good day, and there are even more when you’re managing a start-up. We had to pay close attention to every aspect of the business and stay focused on quality.
Tell us about your experience with the service provided by Reliant since you bought your equipment. Has it been a good fit for your company?
The support has been top notch. You folks have always been there to help us out. If we ever have an issue, you make sure we have what we need to get back up and running…and running strong.
What are your future business plans?
Well, we’re continuing to expand our product offerings, grow our business footprint, and improve overall. In order to do this, we keep increasing our capabilities. We’ve already added on to our original facility a number of times. Fortunately, we’ve got 40 acres around us to expand even further.
J.C., thank you again for choosing Reliant for your business. We’re glad to hear about your success and we’re excited that you’re still getting great results from your Reliant powder coating equipment!
You can visit Thumper Fab to contact them online about their products or check out their Facebook page for their latest news and photos of their most recent projects.