A well-known and well-respected brand from the past has recently made a comeback thanks to industry veteran Robert Brinkman, who acquired the assets of Davenport Machine last year with a clear mission in mind: to win back Davenport customers.
A successful showing at the recent Westec trade show has Brinkman enthusiastic about the prospects of rebuilding the Davenport name and its successful line of screw machines. The company’s latest contribution to the screw machine market is the Davenport HP, a machine with simple, PLC-based controls and multiple servo drives that have eliminated 150 parts from the original, mechanical version Model B machine.
The new control system means that operators can concentrate on producing parts, rather than fine-tuning adjustments. This was done in order to reduce set-up times, increase the machine’s flexibility and increase the already high production rates.
“There was great interest in our machines at Westec, and we have several promising orders,” said Brinkman, president and CEO of Davenport Machine, Inc. “And not only for rebuilds – the rebuilding of Model Bs and converting them to Servos – but also new machines.”
Full servo upgrade packages are available that will convert existing machines into Davenport HP units, allowing them to incorporate many of the same productivity gains available on new machines. It was in this market, along with the existing Davenport parts business, that Brinkman still saw value.
At a time when Davenport was struggling with bankruptcy, he still saw a company that was worth something… but at the right price. “I grew up in the industry,” said Brinkman, “and my father spent 54 years at Davenport. What we need to do is provide the customer with great service and fairly priced, quality parts – it’s not rocket science, it’s just being a reliable and appreciative supplier.”
It’s this type of attitude that Brinkman hopes will re-attract Davenport’s old customer base and bring the Davenport name back into prominence in the machine industry. “There is a great deal of history in my family with Davenport. So there will be a lot of satisfaction in bringing it back,” he said.