As the US office’s Director of Operations, Richard Haywood prepares to retire after four decades of dedicated service. We take a look at his incredible journey with Crane Electronics.
In this special Q&A, he reflects on his favourite memories and lessons learned, discusses the torque industry’s evolution, and shares his plans for the future.
Richard’s Retirement Q&A
1. When did you first join Crane Electronics? And in what role?
I joined back in September 1985, when I was 18. I started as an assembly technician in Stoke Golding, and I spent some time building the first rotaries. This was quite labour-intensive, with many sub-assemblies to make, including making the carbon brushes by hand – it was quite the cottage industry.
I have had many roles at Crane, including calibration tech, goods-in inspector, quality engineer, service manager, customer service manager, and now director of operations at Crane Inc.
2. Can you briefly describe your job/education prior to joining Crane?
I left school at 16 and went to Hinckley Tech to study electrical engineering, which included everything from electronic design and fault-finding to welding and machining. I also worked at the Sketchley Grange Hotel as a handyman, doing all sorts of jobs, from mowing the lawns to painting the buildings.
3. What inspired you to join the torque industry?
I saw the advert for a technician at Crane Electronics in the paper, and being interested in electronics and computing, it looked like a good fit for me. I found a place where I could use my general hands-on abilities and grow with the company.
4. Looking back, what are you most proud of during your time at Crane?
I’m proud to have helped in growing the service business from nothing to where it is today. In the beginning, there was no Service Department – all work was completed by production, controlled by a pad of paper and hand-written.
We have made major leaps in providing service to our customers over the years. It is looking good for the future, too, with new calibration software and automated calibration on the horizon.
5. How has the torque business evolved over the last 40 years?
Back when I started, the early digital wrenches and rotary transducers were starting to ship. For a long time, transducers and readouts were the bread and butter of the business. Now, it feels like wrenches are an important part of the range.
6. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced?
Finding ways to improve our service turnaround time, increase profitability and growing service sales have all been things I have put a lot of thought and time into over the years.
7. Can you share a memorable moment or achievement from your career?
A good memory is one from the early days of supporting the product at Caterpillar KK in Illinois, USA (America to us Brits ;-)
I spent many days in the plant dealing with technical issues, and on one occasion, Neil McDonald was on site with me. It was winter, and we had been in the plant all day.
We left after midnight to go to the hotel, and when we opened the door, the world was completely white – a blizzard had blown in and everything was covered in snow, including the road signs. It was quite an adventure trying to drive and find our way to the hotel. Luckily, my old Golf managed to stay out of the ditches.
An achievement I’m proud of is working with David Crane when computers were first launched at the business, helping to implement his Symphony database to control Service, and later, the Access database when that was developed. I’m proud of developing and supporting it for more than 25 years.
8. What leadership lessons have you learned over the years?
I was once on a team-building course and accepted the challenge to lead the group to a location – a pub for dinner – using a compass and a map with a large hole in the centre. I didn’t know how to triangulate where the pub was, but importantly, I trusted that the team around me would – and so, working together, we made it to dinner!
This was a great life lesson for me, in that you don’t need to know how to do something to get it done. People are always your greatest asset, so look after them.
9. What do you hope your legacy at the company will be?
I would like to think that over the years, I have contributed positively to how we do business and treat customers and employees.
10. What advice would you give to the person stepping into your shoes?
People are your greatest asset, so choose them carefully and look after them.
11. Is there anything you wish you had done differently in your role?
Maybe taking on too many responsibilities at times and not delegating more. It’s good to be open to doing anything that needs doing, but you can reach a point where the quality of what you do is somewhat diminished if you try to take on too much.
12. How has technology changed the torque industry during your career?
We have gone from a torque wrench that was able to display a peak torque and beep when the target was hit, to sophisticated products. For example, wrenches that have multiple smart measure modes, store hundreds of readings, connect to software for further analysis and results storage, as well as much more.
13. What innovations or trends do you think will shape the industry in the future?
As with a lot of things, we can expect a move towards better connectivity between product and data storage and analysis. Subscription-based models for software, hardware and support are sure to be coming too.
Also, the use of more robotic technology in industry to automate production will mean a move away from human labour and so torque equipment will need to be designed for machines to use.
14. What has been the biggest industry shift you’ve witnessed?
Early PCBs were labour-intensive to make and repair, but over time, the technology to make them has vastly improved and the costs have fallen dramatically.
15. What advice would you give to someone starting in the torque business today?
Come to work with the attitude that you will do whatever needs to be done to get the job done.
16. What will you miss most about working here?
When you work with a small team for so long, you do start to feel like you are family. I’ll miss my Crane Inc. family.
17. Do you have any exciting plans for retirement or your next chapter?
My wife, Myriam and I are moving back to Europe. We hope to settle in the French countryside and enjoy growing vegetables, cycling, dog walking, and restoring furniture. There will be many DIY projects too, I am sure.
18. How do you think you’ll stay connected to the industry, if at all?
I would say 40 years of thinking about torque is enough!
19. What’s one piece of wisdom you’d like to pass on to your colleagues?
I have two: Avoid putting things off until tomorrow and, write it down, because otherwise you will forget it.
20. If you could sum up your 40-year journey in one sentence, what would it be?
There have been a few bumps in the road, but on the whole, I feel lucky to have had such a stable job for a very long time.
21. And finally, what are the next steps for you? What are your plans after Crane?
We intend to work on being healthy in body and mind, keeping busy when at home, exploring Europe, and just making the most of life.
We wish you all the best of luck and hope you enjoy a long and happy retirement Richard. May this next chapter be filled with happiness, good health and a well deserved rest!