Our Story – Told by Ron Dillard

Our Story – Told by Ron Dillard

My early years, particularly my time in high school, presented significant challenges due to persistent difficulties with spelling and memorizing numbers. This wasn't a fleeting issue; it was a struggle that had been with me since childhood. Consequently, many of my teachers during those formative years would point me out as being slow. It wasn't until later that I understood the reason behind these difficulties – I was diagnosed with dyslexia. Frustration with these academic hurdles eventually led me to act out, causing problems for both my teachers and my family. Despite these challenges, my father was adamant that I would not quit school. Ultimately, in 1956, Akron East High School issued me my diploma.

The following year, my high school diploma arrived indirectly, delivered by my younger brother. By late May of 1956, I began my search for employment. With the valuable assistance of a family friend, I was hired by Bellows Valve-Air, a company that manufactured air cylinders for automation. Despite having focused on art during my high school years, leaving me with no formal machine shop experience, I started as a drill press operator. It was there that I discovered an unexpected strength: I could interpret complex drawings with relative ease compared to some of my colleagues. I believe my ability to visualize two-dimensional plans in three dimensions gave me a considerable advantage as I progressed in the machining trade. While this spatial reasoning was a key asset in 1956, I recognize that today, computers perform this task with far greater efficiency.

I spent thirteen years at Bellows Valve-Air, gaining experience across all areas of manufacturing, operating various machine tools, and learning comprehensive manufacturing procedures. During my tenure there, I also worked part-time in several locally owned job shops in the Akron area. This provided invaluable insight into the operations of smaller machining companies. Having married young and soon after welcoming a daughter diagnosed with Down Syndrome in 1961, the added medical expenses necessitated supplementing my income. A year later, in 1962, our son Tom was born, who is now the CEO of RRR Development Co.

My first venture, Ripley Machine, began as a part-time operation during my final years at Bellows. I purchased a small lathe and set it up in my basement, taking on small jobs for various machine shops around Akron. During this period, I was essentially working three jobs: full-time at Bellows, part-time at H & H Machine, and operating my basement shop during evenings and weekends. Eventually, I reached a crossroads. I had to decide whether to reduce my part-time work and remain at Bellows, where I had become the night shift foreman overseeing over 40 employees, or to take the risk of leaving my full-time position and launching Ripley Machine as a full-time business. In 1969, I chose the latter.

Ripley Machine Co. (Established 1967, Restructured 1969)

Ripley Machine underwent restructuring in 1969, with the ownership divided as follows: me holding 45% of the stock, Lee Matheny with 45%, and Gary Corder with the remaining 10%. At that time, all three of us were employed at Bellows Valve-Air. Following Lee Matheny's passing in 1979, I acquired his shares, bringing my stake to 90%. The remaining 10% was later acquired when Gary Corder faced a family financial crisis. Gary remained an integral part of the company through all the subsequent changes, finally retiring in 2016 after 47 years of working together.

Walker Grinding (Established 1975)

In 1975, I initiated a new, smaller operation called Walker Grinding in partnership with Bill Walker and Chuck Fazio. Ownership was equally divided between the three partners. This company provided a specialized service to Ripley Machine, focusing on the finish grinding of one of Ripley's recurring jobs. Over the next few years, I bought out my partners. Walker Grinding was later integrated into Radial Manufacturing at a new location.

C & B Machine CO. (Acquired 1978)

C & B Machine, a small machine shop, was acquired by Ripley Machine in 1978 when the owner decided to pursue a less demanding career. All C & B's machinery and employees were absorbed in Ripley Machine's operations.

RRR Development (Incorporated 1980)

RRR Development was incorporated in 1980 by Ron Dillard, Robert Christian, and Richard (Dick) Shilts, a former salesman from Akron Standard Mold Drum division. This new venture focused on rebuilding old-style gravity collapsing tire-building drums.

Robert Long Manufacturing Co. (Incorporated 1982)

Ron Dillard and Bob Long, a former employee of Akron Standard, incorporated Robert Long Manufacturing Co. in 1982, with each holding 50% of the stock. After a year, I sold my shares back to Bob at a modest profit.

Radial Manufacturing Co. (Incorporated 1985)

Radial Manufacturing Co. was incorporated in 1985 by Robert Christian and Ron Dillard as an overflow facility to address the growing machining capacity needs of both F.M. Machine and Ripley Machine. A building was purchased to house this operation. Walker Grinding and RRR Development were also moved to this location, and all companies shared common business expenses. In 1990, this business was sold to Dave Harner. By that time, the drum rebuilding work and the grinding shop had been integrated into Radial Manufacturing. The entire operation, including the building, was sold, except for the RRR corporation shell, which I retained.

Around the same time that Radial Manufacturing was sold, I received an offer for Ripley Machine. Deciding to retire, I accepted the offer and stepped down at the age of 51 in June of 1990. However, after just two months of retirement and finding myself with little to do, I decided to return to work. I purchased a small office building in Akron, using the RRR Corporation as the titleholder to avoid breaching my non-compete agreement with the group that acquired Ripley Machine. I obtained their permission to act as a sales representative, receiving a 5% commission on sales with any new customers Ripley had not previously engaged with. I contacted Cooper Tire and secured a few small jobs for Ripley Machine. At the time, they were heavily occupied with Goodyear and informed me they lacked the capacity for new clients. Not wanting to miss an opportunity, I began searching for another source to handle any jobs I could bring in.

It was during this period that Bob Irwin approached me. I had known Bob from his time at Firestone Tire and later General Tire, where he was part of a team that designed tire-building machinery. He had left General Tire after its acquisition by Continental Tire of Germany. Shortly after, he took a position as a manager overseeing a group of engineers at Control Power Corporation in the Canton area. The division he managed had been unprofitable, and he was hired to turn it around. Unfortunately, this didn't happen, and the company decided to shut down the division. At this point, they offered to let Bob spin off the existing business at no cost, simply requiring him to complete the ongoing projects. That's when he approached me to become a partner, needing an infusion of capital for the new company. Thus, US Automation was born.

Haas Manufacturing (Established 1992)

Herb Haas, the former chief engineer of National Rubber Machinery’s (NRM) tire building machine division (at the time, the largest supplier in the US), left NRM to establish his own company. His goal was to manufacture a new style of first-stage tire-building machine that he had designed but had struggled to bring to the market. Around the age of 70, he was diagnosed with cancer and decided to retire. He sold his new first-stage tire building machine designs to VMI, the largest producer of tire machines in Europe at that time. RRR Development acquired the machine shop and a collection of upgraded drawings for NRM machines, renaming the company Patriot Precision Products. The company remained at its existing leased location, which was reassigned to P.P.P.

Patriot Precision Products (Established 1992)

The ownership of Patriot Precision Products was initially divided, with 50% held by R.R.R. Development and 50% by my brother, Dave Dillard, who worked at Ripley Machine until its sale. He was to manage the company in exchange for his equity stake. A few years later, PPP was integrated into R.R.R., and Dave’s stock in PPP was exchanged for 20% ownership in R.R.R.

U.S. Automation Inc. (Established 1992)

The stock of US Automation was divided equally, with 50% held by R.R.R. Development and 50% by Robert Irwin. RRR was to establish a line of credit to support the new company until its initial projects were completed, at which point it was expected to become a self-sustaining entity. Bob Irwin was to have complete operational control without external interference. However, it soon became apparent that while Bob was a skilled engineer, he lacked strong business management acumen, leading to persistent cash flow problems that RRR had to resolve. All transactions between US Automation and RRR were conducted at arm's length. Eventually, US Automation accumulated significant debt, making recovery impossible. They owed RRR a substantial sum with no assets to repay. Consequently, RRR took control of the company and dissolved US Automation. As compensation for the debt, RRR acquired all designs related to the tire-building equipment. RRR also paid all other outstanding debts of US Automation, as we shared common vendors and were often perceived as a single entity. To maintain good relationships with these vendors, RRR had to assume approximately $300,000 in liabilities.

PJM Machine (Acquired 2002)

In 2002, RRR acquired PJM Machine Company, a small operation, primarily for its machinery and experienced employees, some of whom are still with RRR today.

RRR Development Asia (Established 2007)

To address the increasing pressure to lower our product costs due to the rise of Asian manufacturing, RRR needed to find a solution. Having previously sold tire equipment to Goodyear and Cooper Tire for their plants in China and other Asian facilities, we were being urged by our customers to establish an operation in China to service our equipment in the Far East. We ultimately decided on Vietnam instead of China because my younger brother, who had served in the army there, had married a Vietnamese woman and ¹ was fluent in Vietnamese, which offered a significant advantage. With his assistance, we opened a small operation in 2007, located outside of Ho Chi Minh City in the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP). We have now been operating there for 17 years. Our employees in Vietnam, now numbering around 35, recently held a large celebration. RRR Asia has become a crucial part of our ongoing operations, manufacturing many small, close-tolerance parts that are incorporated into our final assemblies in the USA.  

RRR Development Co. (2017)

The current structure of RRR Development incorporates the lessons and growth from these ventures. Following my brother's departure in 2003.

Haas Manufacturing – Patriot Precision – U.S. Automation – PJM Machine – RRR Asia

RRR Development Co. (2023)

The current ownership rests with Tom Dillard, CEO, Gene Emerick, President and Van Nguyen Director of RRR Development Asia.