One of my favorite suppliers to deal with when I was in Material Scheduling at FARMALL. I also had a few parts numbers I bought thru a minority owned company in Indianapolis, but it took me about a week to find out that I placed orders on HIM, then he placed orders on National, and if I positively absolutely HAD to know NOW what was happening on a part I had to check with my contact at National. She wasn't supposed to tell me what was happening but she would because I couldn't get hold of the minority supplier and She couldn't either to let him know.
I bought o-rings from National's Downey, CA plant. Not sure who bought grease seals at Farmall. But National was an Invisible Seamless source of supply, 100% perfect quality and on-time delivery, never heard of a parts shortage from National. I guess I got o-rings because they were like micro-miniature TIRES that was about 75% of the rest of my parts responsibility. The axle carriers on 1566, 1568, & 1586 was a 1/4 cross-section o-ring about 24 inches in diameter, every month just like clockwork I'd run out of them a week or 10 days from end of the month. National ALWAYS had them, and I'd have National ship via Federal Express Red Next Day. About 3 years after FARMALL CLOSED, the Stock Chaser's, guys who ordered parts to the assembly lines from the warehouse, their Supervisor confessed to me why I ALWAYS ran short of that O-ring, the maintenance guy would use 4-5 of that o-ring to hold 55 gallon trash bags in 55 gallon barrels to hold the liners up when he collected the trash. NEXT NIGHT he'd grab the edge of the trash bag and lift, o-ring would snap into the trash bag and disappear. 4-5 scrapped every night 5 days a week, and I only used and bought 22 a day, and they cost $22 Each, so round numbers, they scrapped $100 a NIGHT of that o-ring. I told the guy I could have cut up innertubes from tires that each tube cost $20 and would have made DOZENS of rubber bands! I don't think he thought I would get so mad about this so many years later. Was just like the time a buddy told me they dumped 8-10 Motor Wheel 15X34 steel disk wheels for 686 & H86's into a trash hopper because it had 2 valve stem holes, and the tires we used on that wheel was tubeless, the plug we used would not seal, the valve core would not seal, the tire room refused to let me get both 18.4x34 and 15.5x38's with inner tubes, So the flats continued. Good news was the 686 & H86 was discontinued within the next year, the 786 used cast wheels and double bevel rims with only one valve stem hole. Problem solved. 786 was TWICE the tractor a 686 was.
Was tough trying to work with assembly on problems. They had an unbelievable resistance to change, even if it made their job easier and completely eliminated rework. Had a General Foreman of Assembly that was responsible for the finish assembly line, 100% focused on pushing finished tractors out the door. And somebody mentioned they were low on 18x38 double bevel rims. None in the automated warehouse. He calls my Boss's Boss's Boss, He comes walking out, taps me on my shoulder, Come with me. We go to his office, and the Gen'l Forman is on the speaker phone, I'm out of 18x38's, my line's going down! I ask how many Run-Off tires he has He makes some demeaning comment, then I tell him to stand in his office doorway and look over his Right shoulder and tell us what he sees. There were 8 pics of 18x38 rims sitting there couple Hundreds of feet from where they should be. HE replied, I think we need a NEW tire/rim Scheduler! And he hung up. Our head of Material Procurement and Distribution whose office I was in said, I think our Tire Scheduler is doing a GREAT job and only way he's leaving is over MY dead body! He was promoted to a corporate office in Chicago a few months later, lot of people really sad to see him go.
