posted 08-03-2005 01:26 AM                  

Well I can tell you that I would have NEVER expected this level of service. Norb came out as we arrived with a personal greeting and a smile! We pulled the car directly into the Metalcrafters shop, discussed the small problem, and he actually corrected it by having another top ready for me!!! POA Group...THIS IS SERVICE!!!

But that's only the start, first Norb grabbed some Final Detail and a soft cloth rag and started wiping my car down!! Sure it had some road dust on it from the drive, but I would have never expected that. Then he offered Julie and I a tour of the facility. Being in the automotive business over 30 years now, and most of it for a major vehicle manufacturer in Engineering, I can tell you I was totally impressed!! This is a 200,000 + sq ft facility that is ISO 9000 certified and the most comprehensive prototype vehicle facility I have ever visited.

Norb was gracious enough to take us deep into the bowels of the operation! Metalcrafters can build an entire running vehicle, from front to back bumper, inside and out! They have the capabilities to do it all. This is a 200+ employee operation! We saw the complete metal shop with full size presses and even a metal smelting operation. In the advanced prototype component lab they have a 3-D copy fabrication machine that makes complete cad drawing parts in an oven with layers of a composite plastic powder and a laser. My wife was truly amazed at this machine!!!

The glass shop is unbelieveable and they can bend, shape, temper, cut, drill, tint and laminate in this building. The glass shop actually fabricates 7 layer aircraft windshields for Lear Jets!

They have an advanced carbon fiber assembly area which manufacturers all of the body panels for the Saleen 7 supercar. The vehicle prep area was full of various Chrysler vehicles being prepped for photo shoots. And finally we were not allowed in the confidential areas where future auto show prototypes were under construction. As manager of a proving grounds, I fully respect the privacy and confidentiality issue and understand what "off limits" areas truly mean to the security of a vehicle manufacturer. As a result of this security, it also means NO CAMERAS in the buildings...but we did manage to get a few photos with Norb in front of the building.

So I hope I have not let out too many details about this fantastic operation! I don't know if Norb could do this type of tour for everyone, or if he did it because I am actually also in the "business". I hope that Norb doesn't mind this "report" to share with the POA group. He did mention that he would love to do this as a POA group tour, but the confidentiality issues make it way too difficult to arrange and organize.

My whole purpose for writing this is to tell all of you from my first hand experience that Metalcrafters is a top quality operation and Norb is first class...all the way!

I was originally impressed with my hard top when I first took it out of the crate, but now seeing where it was fabricated, with the first class equipment in this operation, and the high degree of quality assurance every step of the way, I am REALLY glad to have purchased from this company, and will do so when I want some other mod they offer in the future.

For those of you who are waiting for TGF grills, Norb showed me a whole shelf full of them already painted, and just waiting for the grills to arrive for completion.

Norb, thanks for the hospitality..from Julie and Jim .... 1ST CLASS GUY...1ST CLASS OPERATION

posted 08-03-2005 08:44 AM                  

Your right on all counts, I had the good fourtion to have a guided tour about three years ago, couldnt belive what I was seeing it was so awsome. And of course Norb made a very grasous host spending a lot of his valuble time with me. I hope to someday return again

Thanks Norb

block-buster