By MERLE ROSS
| BENICIA
- Seventeen years ago, Steve Tomkovicz had a plan to
save large corporations money. With that idea in mind, he incorporated
S&S Tool in Santa Clara to distribute tools and supplies and provide
outsourced asset management. Today, his company has fulfilled that
plan, working with such major corporations as United Air Lines; PG&E;
NUMMI, the auto plant in Fremont; and RayChem in Menlo Park. In addition,
S&S Tool has contracts with 14 of the 16 or so oil refineries on the
west coast.
As a result of continued growth, S&S Tool has moved its headquarters to 2,200sf at 140 West Industrial Way in Benicia. "We have taken more space, so we can have a separate administrative office," explains Mr. Tomkovicz, who leased the space with the assistance of Larry Hazard of CRS. "We just got big enough to hire a chief financial officer, Paul Hoffman, who is developing a financial group of 10 people." The easiest way to save Mr. Tomkovicz's idea for S&S Tool's outsourcing service grew out of his childhood experience. "Because I grew up poor, I know that the easiest way to save money is to not spend it," he says. "That is part of what makes S&S Tool unique. We show major corporations how not to spend money. We perform asset management systems for them. We have 30 people inside clients' plants who run their tool cribs and their warehouses, keep track of their equipment, and show them how not to lose stuff." Initially, Mr. Tomkovicz helped clients control the loss of supplies by using vending machines in the plants. Now, he uses computers in addition to vending machines. "I helped develop a computer system called SSAMS, which stands for S&S Asset Management Systems, so these companies wouldn't lose their assets," he says. With this system, they wouldn't lose too much WD40, pairs of gloves, or batteries, because we can monitor how much of each item |
people are using. That's
how we made a name for ourselves."
Mr. Tomkovicz, who was hired to consult with General Motors' Saturn project, says S&S Tool can save a large company millions of dollars a year. For instance, he says he showed Shell Oil how it could save $3 million-$4 million a year. S&S Tool is also offering more services. "We have gotten into selling safety supplies, hoses and fittings, and janitorial supplies," says Mr. Tomkovicz. "We just keep growing and will continue to grow. We have a real good group of people. We save our customers money, not by cutting the price of an item and then trying to figure a way to make it up, but by really cutting the amount of money they spend and figuring a business process through which we can integrate with them." Numbers tell the story In addition to the new headquarters, S&S Tool has two other buildings in Benicia totaling 6,000sf. They are used for rental equipment and repair work. Along with its three Benicia locations, the company has branches in Martinez; Fremont; Los Angeles; Denver; and Anacortes, Washington. The numbers tell the story of S&S Tool's growth: Mr. Tomkovicz started with two employees and $30,000. Last year, S&S Tool grew 30% to $27 million in sales, and Mr. Tomkovicz expects the now-100-employee company to grow even more this year. "We should do around $36 million this year," he says. S&S Tool's latest venture is the opening of a store in USS-POSCO in Pittsburg, where all of S&S Tool's products are available. In addition, the company has spent about $500,000 on a computer system to put it on the cutting edge for managing Internet sales as well as its industrial accounts. "Outsourcing and integrated supply are the buzz words now," says Mr. Tomkovicz. "We've been doing that for a long time." For more information, call 707-747-0166. |
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