Along with its larger, industrial pocket screw machines, Safety Speed Mfg. had planned to exhibit at IWF its newest screw pocket machine, the SPM101EZ, which creates a pocket with a 6-degree pilot hole in 1 or 2 seconds depending on the material being processed, said Brian Donahue, president.  The cancellation of the biennial show due to COVID-19 changed that.

Safety Speed, however, had a plan in place. “We service a handful of industries so when the pandemic first started we saw several events cancel dating back to March,” Donahue said. “Even though we felt cancellations would be short-lived at that time, we started putting a priority on internal marketing platforms to better service our customers.  Fortunately for us, these new CRM and Marketing platforms were implemented late last year at SSM. With less events and travel on everyone’s schedule, my sales and marketing teams devoted time to using these platforms to be able to better service, educate and promote our products and services to existing and potential customers. 

“In addition, like many others, we adopted Zoom teleconferencing for a more personal touch.  We also reignited our webinar programs, demonstrating our products to both distributors and end users of our machines.   Our webinars have been well attended this year and continue to be getting great feedback from those that attend,” he added. Also on the agenda is a small training/sales event in the late fall, if not earlier.

“We are currently running a 0% financing option for our larger American made vertical panel saws and routers, wide belt sanders, edgebanders, and screw pocket machines,” Donahue noted. “For our entry-to mid-level equipment we have been doing discounting up to 10% for purchases and we have a special in place if you buy four accessories with your machine you’ll get 20% off those accessories.”

He added, “We manufacture our products in Minnesota and made sure to invest in inventory when we saw possible issues with local supply chains or distributors, which allows us to service our customers day in and day out.   Our phone and online support, including training and service videos, help to educate new and long-time customers. Even without being able to visit customers in person, we can help our customers get the equipment or component they need to keep their business running smoothly and efficiently.”