TPT July 2016

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8 July 2016
I NDUS T RY
Rafter Equipment founder to retire
RAFTER Equipment Corporation
has announced the retirement of
company founder and former president
Walter Krenz. In 1988 Mr Krenz and
his two partners (Paul Rohde and
Jack Brandli) purchased the Rafter
Machine Company and relocated it to
the Cleveland, Ohio, USA, area. The
company was subsequently renamed
Rafter Equipment Corporation.
However, Mr Krenz’s story begins well
before Rafter Equipment.
In 1952, Mr Krenz immigrated to the
USA from Germany where he gained
both his US citizenship and high-
school diploma in 1956. In June of that
same year, Mr Krenz was hired by The
Yoder Company where he started as a
machine apprentice and, thus, began
his career in the tube and pipe industry.
Over the next four years Mr Krenz
obtained his Journeyman Certificate,
and by 1961 he was assembling tube
and pipe mills.
Soon after, Mr Krenz was transferred
to Yoder’s engineering department
where he designed mill equipment until
1964. Moving to the sales department
as a sales engineer, Mr Krenz spent
the next six years preparing equipment
prices, writing equipment specifications
and meeting with tube mill customers.
He was then promoted to tube mill
sales product manager in 1970. The
following year, he was promoted again
to assistant plant manager and then
plant manager.
By 1973, Mr Krenz advanced to vice-
president of manufacturing where he
served for the next three years. In 1977
he became Yoder’s vice-president of
sales and marketing. It is safe to say
that Mr Krenz knew tube and pipe mill
equipment as well as anybody in the
tubing world by this point.
In 1986, Mr Krenz and his partners
first tried to buy Yoder from then
owner The Northern Group, a Seattle
investment company, when it was put
up for sale. Although unsuccessful, the
desire to be his own boss never faded
and Rafter Equipment became a reality
just two years later, in 1988.
With Rafter Mr Krenz and his partners
were determined to design new tube
and pipe mills that were more robust and
operator friendly. They brought a new
level of customisation to the industry.
Over the past 28 years the company
has built well over 100 tube and pipe
mills and roll forming machines. In
addition, the company has supplied
hundreds more mill accessories (weld
boxes, turkshead straighteners, etc) as
retrofits to existing machines.
“I too worked for Yoder for eleven
years as a sales engineer,” said
Mark Prasek, Rafter VP of sales
and marketing. “It was after Walter
had already left though. In my time, I
essentially was competing with him. In
all those years I was only able to beat
him once or maybe twice. In those
cases, however, I recall there were
‘extenuating circumstances’ that played
a part in my minor success. Now at
Rafter I can see why he always seemed
to run circles around me. He knows the
equipment inside and out and he knows
what the customer needs.”
“Walter always pushed us to maintain
a strong, conservative financial
position,” said John Hostetler, Rafter
CFO. “He always worked to retain
quality employees to make it through
the ups and downs associated with the
manufacturing industry. It was this type
of leadership that permitted a company
like Rafter to survive years like 2009. As
a result Rafter learned how to become
more efficient, not only in manufacturing
but also in administrative functions. We
are a better company now.”
“Walter has been an influential and
important part of the tube and pipe mill
industry for 60 years, and his depth
of experience from apprenticeship
to ownership is truly an example of
the American dream,” said Daniel
Whitehill, Rafter president. “I would
like to personally thank Walter, Paul
Rhode and Jack Brandli for their
years of experience and the amount of
knowledge they have passed on to me
and the rest of the Rafter employees
over the years. We will continue
the Rafter name under the same
principles these men set forth – rugged,
dependable equipment and dealing
quickly and fairly with our customers’
needs. In addition, Walter will remain
on the company board of directors and
will still be available for consultation.
His company email address will remain
active.”
Mr Krenz’s influence and contributions
to the tube and pipe industry are
significant. Although his talents and
skills will surely be missed he has
paid his dues and has earned the right
to now enjoy himself away from the
industry. Well-wishers are encouraged
to leave comments for Mr Krenz on the
company’s website blog.
Rafter Equipment Corporation
manufactures tube mills, pipe mills, roll
forming machines, cut-off machines,
and auxiliary and other related
mill machinery. Additional services
include rebuilding and upgrading mill
equipment. Originally started in 1917,
the Rafter name is known for reliable,
high-quality tube mill and roll forming
equipment.
Rafter Equipment Corporation – USA
Email:
Website:
Walter Krenz
(and below)