| Edition 5 - November 2008 |
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  060-1200 RV Screen Door
Latch This product is designed to secure the screen door on recreational vehicle entrance doors including motor homes and travel trailers. It features sturdy aluminum die cast construction and a low profile design that works with a variety of doors. Other product details include:
 610-0100 Ignition
Switch TriMark's 610-0100 Ignition Switches satisfy the toughest customers in the roughest environments with superior performance and reliability. Further enhancement is now available by offering a heavy duty ignition switch for on or off-highway applications with KeyOne Plus modular locking system providing "One Key – One Vehicle" convenience. Other product details include:
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 TriMark Corporation has an ambitious tradeshow schedule planned for 2008 and 2009. Our tradeshow schedule is listed below. Please plan on visiting our exhibit booth if you are attending any of the following events in 2008 or 2009.  The largest and most important industry platform
for the rapidly growing construction machinery sector in China and
eastern Asia is bauma China 2008 in Shanghai, which will open its
gates for the fourth time from 25 – 28 November 2008. bauma China
2008 allows manufacturers to showcase their products in a
professional setting, acquire new customers and make optimum use of
business opportunities.  The recreation vehicle (RV) industry's shipments
will total approximately 303,100 units in 2009 nearly identical to
the projected total for 2008. The 46th Annual RV Tradeshow
highlights the RV industry at its 2008 event in Louisville, KY,
December 2-4, 2008.  The Association of the United States Army's
Institute of Land Warfare presents the 2009 Winter Symposium and
Exposition February 25-27, 2009. A central focus of the symposium is
the Army's progression towards transforming while conducting combat
operations. Special emphasis will be devoted to the indispensable
role that our industry partners provide to the United States Army.
Guest presentations and panel discussions will provide a myriad of
information as regards the direction and progress of balancing our
resources, equipment, personnel, doctrine and training to provide
the essential protective umbrella that our nation deserves.
 The 21st Annual Convention and Trade Show for
the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers will be held in
Charleston, South Carolina February 24 through February 28, 2009.
 The Work Truck Show® 2009 and 45th Annual NTEA
Convention attracts attendees involved in buying, selling or using
work trucks and equipment. The 2009 event is being held March 2009
at McCormick Place in Chicago.  The world's leading agricultural machinery
exhibition, Agritechnica '09, will be an event characterized by
innovation. The 2009 event is set for November 10-14, 2009 in
Hannover, Germany.  More than 700 exhibiting companies from the
construction industry will take advantage of the global solutions
offered at CONEXPO Asia November 16-19, 2009. The 2009 edition is
expecting to break all records by bringing the highest quality
equipment buyers from around the world. You can expect:
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| Survey Response and a New Question | |
| In the last issue of this newsletter we asked you to
give us your insights into the single biggest economic challenge
facing your business today. A majority of you who answered the
question listed challenges such as increasing materials costs and
surcharges. As you are no doubt aware there have been big changes in the economy since out last newsletter back in September. We've seen the stock market take a real tumble as well as massive layoffs being announced by companies large and small. We are even starting to hear the use of one of the dreaded "D" words – deflation. So for this issue's question we would like you to look into the crystal ball and give us your "yes" or "no" answer to the following question:
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| TriMark Future Remains Strong |
| It's very difficult to avoid the continuing bad
economic news which seems to have become a part of the everyday
message we get from the mass media outlets. And it appears, based on
some very credible predictions, we will continue to face uncertain
and volatile economic fluctuations well into 2009. I wanted to communicate to you as TriMark customers and friends that TriMark continues to be a strong and viable company. While it is more difficult to gauge and anticipate what will happen in the long term, in the near term we will continue to monitor the situation very closely so that we can keep our operations in sync with the economy. We recently announced an extended holiday shutdown schedule in an effort to balance workforce deployment with the anticipated workload. While there is little pleasure in making these kinds of decisions, as an employee-owned company we have an obligation to protect company viability for current and future owners. Thank you for your continued business and support. Patti Knowlton – General Manager |
| TriMark Launches Campaign to Raise Visibility and Awareness of China Operation |
| As you are reading this e-newsletter, members of
TriMark's management team will be meeting with key editors
from China's leading construction publications at bauma
China 2008 being held in Shanghai, China. The bauma event is the
most important trade fair for the construction and building
materials industries in Asia with an expected attendance of over
80,000 trade fair visitors from every continent and all regions of
China. "While TriMark Xuzhou has been operational for several
months, we wanted to make sure we had all of the other pieces in
place," states Ric Marzolf, TriMark's VP of Research and
Development. "For example, the Chinese market is quickly becoming as
electronically oriented as the rest of the world which meant that we
had to have our website up and running (
www.trimarkcn.com) before we could really make this push. And,
the timing could not have worked out better with bauma China 2008."
After attending the last bauma China event in 2006, TriMark determined that there was a real opportunity for the company if they had a manufacturing presence in China. The OEM market for TriMark's products was growing and, after receiving some encouragement from several of their long-time customers, the decision was made to explore locations. In January 2007 TriMark selected the Xuzhou Economic Development Zone as the site for its China operation after having visited twelve potential development areas. Xuzhou offers TriMark a unique location close to current customers with a high concentration of potential customers within a short distance. Additionally, transportation is made easier by the favorable location of modern roads, railway and a local customs station. Even though there were critical factors in choosing Xuzhou, the final determining factor was the friendly and skilled people. Ron Priestley is the General Manager of TriMark Xuzhou and he states, "Moving forward, TriMark Xuzhou is rapidly expanding, and in the near future, we hope to employ additional professionals in both engineering and manufacturing. In terms of technological innovation, TriMark brings the same global standards of door system hardware to China as we have in the U.S. and Europe, including QTM (Quick Turn Manufacturing)." Recognizing that in today's modern world speed is of the essence, QTM focuses on getting products into customer hands 8 to 10 times faster than traditional methods. This enables TriMark to better serve customers in China and all over the world. Look for a more complete rundown on TriMark's innovative QTM program in the next issue of this e-newsletter. There are many real life examples of cooperation between TriMark's United States and China teams. Valued customers often have design changes at the last minute and Caterpillar found themselves in this very situation. TriMark's engineering team assessed Caterpillar's needs and made changes to the models. Changes in the drawings were assigned to the team in Xuzhou and the next day production drawings were ready to go. Part models had already been furnished to manufacturing where the new parts were already in the process of being built. Components were built and verified, product assembled and the new parts were on their way to Caterpillar for installation. Total time taken due to close cooperation and teamwork between the TriMark Xuzhou and Iowa based teams: two days! We will give you a full report on the bauma China 2008 Trade Fair in the next issue of this e-newsletter. |
| TriMark to Debut a New Look and New Products at RVIA |
The RV Industry's 46th Annual National RV Tradeshow
being held December 2 – 4, 2008 in Louisville, KY, will be the venue
for TriMark's introduction of a new product system logo and
several new products developed for the RV industry.  KeyOne Plus - TriMark's
single-key locking solution for the operation of multiple locking
products on a single unit has a new look. Based on the proven
KeyOne design plus 10 years of OEM experience, the patented
KeyOne Plus approach features a modular lock cylinder design
that allows for a single key system that can be installed as the
last step by the final stage OE manufacturer. New Ignition Switch for OEMs Offers "One-Key – One Vehicle" Convenience – TriMark's 610-0100 Ignition Switches (see New Products in left column) satisfies the toughest customers in the roughest environments with superior performance and reliability. Further enhancement is now available by offering a heavy-duty ignition switch for on or off-highway applications with a KeyOne Plus modular locking system.  Automotive-style Handle for OEM's Adapts for
Power Locking and Remote Installation – TriMark's new
020-1100 Remote Pull Handle is designed for entrance doors on RV and
specialty vehicles where it is desirable to have the exterior handle
remotely mounted from the inside release and rotary latch. Click
here for more information. New Latch More Durable and Versatile – TriMark's new 060-1200 RV Screen Door Latch (see New Products in left column) is designed to secure the screen door on recreational vehicle entrance doors including motor home and travel trailers. The product features sturdy aluminum die cast construction and a low profile design that works with a variety of doors. If you are planning to attend RVIA in Louisville please plan to stop at the TriMark booth to see these new products as well as the full-line of products available to the RV market. |
| Six Sigma - Excellence Through Strategic Discipline - Part 2 |
In the last issue of the newsletter we introduced you to TriMark's Continuous Improvement culture and how this program blends the complementary approaches of Lean and Six Sigma because it is possible to reap the benefits of more than one CI methodology and not lose sight of the ultimate objective of the overall program. As a quick review, TriMark's Continuous Improvement culture combines two complementary approaches - Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing. Continuous Improvement efforts focus on eliminating non-value added activities, reducing variation in all processes, and increasing the ability to meet internal and external customer requirements. TriMark's focus continues to strive towards being a competitive supplier to customers in all markets served. Albert Einstein said, "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." This is a secret that TriMark and a long list of other successful companies share is their use of the Six Sigma approach. Six Sigma is a rigorous and disciplined methodology that uses data and statistical analysis to measure and improve a company's operational performance by identifying and eliminating "defects" in manufacturing and service-related processes. It is a disciplined, data-driven approach to process improvement aimed at the near-elimination of defects from every product, process, and transaction. The purpose of Six Sigma is to gain breakthrough knowledge on how to improve processes to do things better, faster, and at lower cost. It can be used to improve every facet of business, including production, human resources, order entry, and technical support. Six Sigma can be used for any activity that is concerned with cost, timeliness, and quality of results--perfect for a producer. Unlike previous quality improvement efforts, Six Sigma is designed to provide tangible business results like savings that are directly traceable to the bottom line. ALL Six Sigma projects are successful because they result in a process that performs much better than when the project started. Not all Six Sigma projects at TriMark deliver dollar savings but all have produced a change in method/process: some have reduced cycle time, some have reduced scrap, some have eliminated paperwork by making the process web-based, some have reduced cost, some have reduced or eliminated waste, and some have actually created a process where none existed before. The Six Sigma methodology is used to achieve TriMark cost goals and seek continual process improvements and is based on the following core principles, measurements and participation levels of TriMark employee/owners: Six Sigma Excellence is the 3M's:
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