Business Profile: Rotomaster

Turbocharger manufacturer is revving up its business.

Rotomaster, a manufacturing company located in Surrey, B.C., provides aftermarket turbocharger products to the automotive industry. Turbochargers harness otherwise wasted exhaust pressure to force air into a combustion engine to increase power and improve efficiency. Rotomaster specializes in the CNC machining and assembly of heavy-duty diesel turbochargers.

The Rotomaster brand name has been around since the late 1970’s however the brand was acquired by the B.C.-based turbocharger rebuilder ADP Distributors in 2002. After the acquisition Rotomaster was rapidly rebuilt from the ground up. Castings were sourced from overseas and a single CNC lathe and mill were purchased to begin the local manufacturing operation. Rotomaster has since grown from three employees to over 80 running three shifts. The business now includes product design, manufacturing, assembly and testing of turbocharger products.

“We primarily manufacture heavy-duty diesel engine turbochargers” explains Nick Augustine, plant manager, who joined the company in 2010 when the shop already had six lathes and three mills. Now operating 14 lathes and six mills, the company continues to grow at a rapid pace expanding into high-volume, small displacement turbochargers. “Many of our turbochargers provide a direct replacement for generators, semi-trucks and buses. We also manufacture high-performance automotive and aerospace products.”

While the focus of the B.C. headquarters is on commercial and industrial engine products, Rotomaster is also heavily involved with two joint-ventures overseas where they manufacture high-volume turbochargers for small displacement vehicles for the European market, which accounts for nearly 50 per cent of its business.

From the first day of operations, Rotomaster has been focused on low-volume production runs with high changeover frequencies (often less than 100 pieces in each run). This focus gives Rotomaster a unique advantage over the competition. “We are able to provide rapid product development with low- to medium-volume production often with a few weeks. Anything under 10,000 pieces, that’s what we’re good at,” says Lester Lee, director of global manufacturing with Rotomaster.

As part of the business development over the last few years, Rotomaster has invested heavily in quality control and testing including the construction of a unique hot-gas turbocharger test stand. Running trials from behind bullet-proof glass, the operators are able to execute several different tests including efficiency, endurance, cycle, and burst testing. “The testing facility has proven to be an invaluable addition to our company particularly in areas such as product development, quality control, and overall consistency,” says Lee, noting that several companies, including OEMs, have used their testing facility and technicians for contract testing services of their products. “We can even burst test a turbo if need be to see how fast it can spin!”

The testing facility required a significant investment from the company however it has easily paid itself off over the years. Lee estimates a total investment in the neighborhood of half-a-million dollars. Between their own work and external testing the test stand is in constant demand.

Most of the parts produced in the CNC department are machined from castings (cast iron or aluminum). “We are also starting to produce cast titanium, Inconel, and stainless steel components,” says Augustine. Most operations are performed by multi-axis CNC machines, allowing for multiple operations with one set-up. A toolmaker by trade, Augustine and a colleague spent years designing and developing innovative jigs fixtures for common components. These developments provide rapid changeovers while maintaining the rigidity required to utilize high production tool paths with accelerated feed rates.

Nick Augustine, plant manager (left) and Lester
Lee, director of global
manufacturing at Rotomaster headquarters in
Surrey, B.C.

Nick Augustine, plant manager (left) and Lester Lee, director of global manufacturing at Rotomaster headquarters in Surrey, B.C.

“We are constantly in a state of changeover, so any time we can save a minute, we will,” says Lee. “Our lathes outnumber the mills, so we often make up for that by setting up multiple fixtures running on the same mill.”

The company is always seeking ways to gain efficiencies. Keeping the work environment bright and clean is priority one. “I’ve worked in other machine shops and they are often dingy and dark,” says Augustine. “From experience, I know that you cannot retain staff in that kind of environment. If you can provide a clean, efficient work environment, people will naturally take pride in their work.”

Augustine also encourages ongoing training and development for his machine operators and frequently receives support from the company’s local supplier, Thomas Skinner. “Our previous supplier was not providing the customer service we needed,” says Augustine. “Thomas Skinner, and specifically their representative Ali Bonakdarpour, does a lot of research for us. We explain our challenges and he finds a solution for us right away. You can’t ask for better service than that.”

One example of this problem solving customer service was related to the coolant in their CNC machines. Machining cast iron is messy, and it can be a challenge keeping the machine, parts and the operators clean. Rotomaster was experiencing a sticky residue from its coolant which was compounding various issues including a material buildup of metal dust and chips on the interior machine surfaces and creating paint adhesion issues for parts.

Bonakdarpour recommended bringing in a Blaser Swisslube cutting fluids representative to source a solution. After initial testing of the new coolant Rotomaster witnessed the old residues disappearing from the interior surfaces of the machines, and the residue issue on the parts was also resolved. “The new coolant is not sticky and our machine operators are happy with the change,” notes Lee, adding that the health and safety rating is another improvement over their prior coolant.

Rotomaster was also tasked with achieving a particular customer spec when it began machining titanium compressor wheels last fall. Once again Bonakdarpour helped along the way, bringing in new cutting tools, different grades of carbide, and working through the issues with Rotomaster to get them where we needed to be. “It’s beyond the tools themselves, but definitely the service that has made the difference for us,” says Lee. Bonakdarpour admits that he feels like part of the Rotomaster team. “Every time I visit the shop I’m thinking about how can I save some money in a process, or how can we save some cycle time?” he says.

A growing part of the Rotomaster business is supplying OEMs with components, and more recently the company retrofitted a former warehouse to dedicate space for the assembly of a complete turbocharger model for one OEM customer. It’s a contract the company has been developing for a while, and production began ramping up this year.

Traceability is a large issue for this customer, so a laser etcher is being used to code each component going into the turbo. The entire assembly process has been simplified with fail-safe parameters built in to ensure no missed steps and accurate repeatability. “Right now we are putting in a lot of time and effort to create the perfect environment for manufacturing and assembling the finished product for this OEM,” says Lee, who has been with Rotomaster since 2004. “We believe in the processes being developed for this project and know our team can help to grow this side of the business.”

That OEM relationship is a great success for the company, but becoming an OEM supplier within the competitive automotive market in Canada is a challenge. “Price is always a driving factor,” says Lee. “But with some thought and ingenuity it is possible here.”

Turbine wheels prepped for testing.

Turbine wheels prepped for testing.

For Augustine, he would like to see some of the current manufacturing occurring in China moved to B.C. to improve control over the quality and scheduling. “There are several product lines we could easily transfer over to North American manufacturing here,” he says.

With its singular focus on the turbocharger market and its emphasis on continuing to increase efficiencies, Rotomaster is upping its game and gaining greater traction in the automotive industry.

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Assembled Rotomaster turbochargers.

Assembled Rotomaster turbochargers.