On the Interpower Corporation website, company president Robert D. Wersen says he has witnessed lots of change since starting the company in 1975 including the rapidly rising expectations that customers have regarding quality of products and services.
“We choose at Interpower to treat changes as opportunities, not as threats and we can do that because we have a culture that prizes teamwork above everything else. We focus on not just satisfying the customer, but really delighting them with outstanding quality and outstanding service,” Wersen states on the website.
TechNation quizzed Interpower Corporation Vice President of Marketing Ralph Bright to find out more about the company.
Q: Can you share a little bit about your company’s history and how you achieved success?
Bright: Robert Wersen started the company in California in 1975. In 1993, he moved the company to Iowa in order to start manufacturing more of what we sold. At that time in 1993, we manufactured about 15% of what we sold and now we are at 75%. We realized we had a niché and our quality products and service that delights. Being fast is what differentiates us from the competition.
Q: What are some advantages that your company has over the competition?
Bright: The major competitive advantage for Interpower is our lead times and quick service. We manufacture in Iowa and have a one-week cycle time. We can have any quantity of product to a customer in a week. Our competition cannot compete with that. Interpower also has just over 4 million parts in stock and most items can ship the same day we receive the order. A lot of customers use us as an extension of their warehouse.
Q: What are some challenges that your company faced last year? How were you able to overcome them?
Bright: Interpower’s main customer base is made up of companies that export products around the globe. This has presented Interpower and our customers with challenges. Some recent challenges include the political climate and tariffs with China and other countries. We are able to overcome these by giving our customers a one-week United States manufacturing lead time and by keeping 4 million parts in stock for same day shipments.
Q: Can you explain your company’s core competencies and unique selling points?
Bright: Interpower’s core competencies and unique selling points are our ability to supply power system components to our customers … FAST! Our strength is our people and their ability to delight with same-day shipments, no minimum order quantities and our one-week United States manufacturing lead time. We manufacture power cords used around the globe for AC power. All of our cords are 100% tested. EVERY cord is tested for continuity and to make sure it is a QUALITY cord when our customer receives it. All of the cords around the world carry all the necessary approvals as well.
Q: What product or service that your company offers are you most excited about right now?
Bright: The two products we are excited about right now are:
Tool Free Connector Lock: A tool free way to lock in your IEC 60320 connector. These connector locks can retain Interpower’s IEC 60320 C13/C14 and Sheet E/Sheet F combinations, along with C15/C16, and C17/C18 combinations. While built specifically for Interpower connectors, including angled models, the Interpower connector lock also secures a variety of other brands. They will transmit any pull force to the cabinet, eliminating any stress on the electrical components.
Interpower Inlets and Outlets: Interpower manufactures IEC 60320 C14, C16, C18, C20, C24 inlets and Sheet F outlets. Snap-in and screw-mount options are available in a variety of panel thicknesses. Solder tab and quick disconnect options are also available. With our one-week United States manufacturing lead time and no minimum order quantity, if we don’t have them in stock we can ship them to a customer in one week.
Q: What is on the horizon for your company? How will it evolve in the coming years?
Bright: We are vertically integrating nonstop. Since our move to Iowa in 1993, we have been manufacturing more and more of what we sell. We are currently working on several new products for the all markets we serve, including the medical market. One product evolving right now is our cable. Interpower now extrudes all of its power cables for both international and North America. This means we can not only have fast turnaround for power cords, but also bulk cable with custom colors and packaging.
Q: Can you share some company success stories with our readers?
Bright: Honestly we have these on a weekly basis. The scenario is usually that a customer has a line down, the manufacturer overseas has dropped the ball and they need X amount of cords immediately. Interpower bends over backwards on a consistent basis to make sure our customers are delighted.
Q: Can you describe the Interpower facility?
Bright: Our headquarters are in Oskaloosa, Iowa and is home to our manufacturing, customer service, purchasing, accounting, shipping and quality departments. Most power cords and made-to-order products come out of our headquarters.
Ames, Iowa is home to our product development department, marketing department and our test lab where we conduct a variety of tests including withdrawal force, pull test, flex test, torque twist test, crimp cross section test, temperature rise test, flame test and tumble barrel testing chamber.
Lamoni, Iowa is home to our extrusion line for North American and international cable along with cable testing and molding of power cords including hospital-grade cords for our North America customers.
Q: Can you share any recent changes to Interpower?
Bright: Interpower has ramped up inventory over the last several years and now has over 4 million parts in stock. This was a decision by company management to ensure our same-day shipments and, hopefully, to delight each and every customer.
Q: Can you tell us about the Interpower employees?
Bright: The key to Interpower’s success is definitely our people. The individuals who work for Interpower realize the responsibility they have when making cords, especially for the medical market. We are not just manufacturing power cords, we are helping to save lives. Ensuring that the cord is 100% tested and will not fail in the field is vital.
Q: What is your company’s mission statement, or if you don’t have a specific one, what is most important to you about the way you do business?
Bright: Our vision is to be the premier supplier of power system components for worldwide markets.
Our mission is to make it easy for customers to design, build and maintain products for worldwide markets. To use teamwork that provides our customers quality products and services that delight – fast. To earn sufficient profit that sustains normal growth and reasonable return to the shareholders.
For more information, visit www.interpower.com.