Dynamic International Inc.

employees and about 30 distributors across North America selling its products. “The machines are high tech,” says Layo, “so to be a distributor for us, they need to have technicians that know how to install the machine; technicians that can teach the end-user customer who bought it how to operate it. Our machines for manufacturing use a very similar computer to many of our competitors, but going through these multiple distributors is how we get our products to the end users. We have about $6.5 million of imported parts inventoried in our Wisconsin facility; we sell those parts to the distributor as well, and they manage the customer, completely.” At the recent ALUMINUM USA show in Nashville, Tennessee, Dynamic International promoted a new machine with advanced technology for manufacturing aluminum because many manufacturers in North America – automotive, consumer construction, and renovation sectors – have gone to more aluminum components to make their products lighter. Presented in collaboration with The Aluminum Association (of which Dynamic International is a proud member), ALUMINUM USA is a weeklong leading industry event covering the entire value chain from upstream (mining, smelting) via midstream (casting, rolling, extrusions) to downstream (finishing, fabrication). Every two years, ALUMINUM USA Week offers a forum where leading suppliers and industry professionals come together for face-to-face meetings, exhibition, cutting-edge conference and educational programming, and technology-based networking opportunities. Speaking to Dynamic’s competitive edge, Layo notes, “In the North American market, there are about 30 to 40 competitors throughout the countries I mentioned. And the biggest difference we’ve built over the years is having the high volume of inventory, guaranteeing customers 24-hour shipment on their parts. So, even when we start with a new line, most of our distributors and their customers have a comfort zone when doing business with Dynamic, because that’s the reputation we’ve built. If we’re bringing it in, they know we’re backing it up with parts and support. A lot of the other machine tool importers bring a product in and see how they do for a year before they put any parts in inventory. That, potentially, ends up hurting the new customers that invested in their machine.” Also, because Layo has been in the business for 35 years, he recognizes the value of staying current. He travels to trade shows and industry events across Europe, and Asia, and North America, always on the lookout for more productive equipment to help manufacturing in North America. He reports, “If I see any machines that I know will add to manufacturing and increase our customers’ profits by investing in that piece, that gives us another advantage. A lot of our competitors are dealing with one manufacturer. They’re importing from Taiwan; so if that manufacturer doesn’t build it, they don’t have it. We import from four different manufacturers in Taiwan, two in Japan, two from China, so we have a good cross-section of different areas to bring in equipment from; and a very diverse product line, overall.” In 2009, Dynamic International built an importing