Valencia, Ca. based S & R Products Co is a company focused on building strong and reliable tools for the manufacturing industry. Using high quality materials and aerospace practices, their products are proudly made in the USA and designed by machinists, for machinists.
S & R’s manufacturing center in Valencia, Ca. is 8000sq.ft. and filled with 14 CNC machining centers from Haas and Doosan.
The origin story of S & R is one for the ages, and probably impossible in 2022. Salvador Ramirez immigrated to the United States and began a career as a machinist. He spent years working for other people in various shops throughout Southern California. In 1994 Salvador was basically running a company for an absentee owner when he was approached by a buyer with an interesting proposition. “My dad tells the story of a buyer asking him one day if he was one of the owners since it seemed he was doing everything from order taking and customer service to running the machines,” tells Oscar Ramirez, president of sales/marketing and Salvador’s son. “Dad said no, and the guy asked if he wanted to own his own company. If so, they would just go directly to him for all their work since he was doing it anyway. Long story short dad didn’t have the money to open a CNC machine shop, but with this supplier’s reputation and signed contracts in hand, the buyer got us hooked up with the right machinery dealers who financed the equipment and even helped find a building to put them in. With us as their new manufacturer pricing was better, they had job priority, and my dad was a business owner. Mr. Martinez has since retired, but he made it all happen and almost 30 years later we are still thankful. Personal relationships like that are so rare now, seems impossible, but that is how S & R CNC Machining got into aerospace manufacturing.”
As an aerospace parts manufacturer, S & R know their way around precision. All S & R items are manufactured in house to the same stringent standards and protocols as their everyday work. Here a single to double vise converter is being used for the first op and second op on their S & R Products Co socket.
The aerospace game is competitive, and to be in it three decades you’ve learned a few things over the years. It’s difficult to think about your future while at the same time honoring your legacy. But that’s exactly how S & R came to the point of releasing their own product line of Workholding solutions. “Instead of competing for aerospace accounts we decided to put our aerospace manufacturing experience into designing, building, marketing and selling a unique work holding solution that we used to increase our productivity,” details Oscar. “We launched S & R Products Co in June 2021 with the intent of making competitors into customers. Our flagship product is the patent pending double vise converter for 4” and 6” vises.” S & R also manufacture high quality tool holders, tool organizers, tool changers, sockets, wrenches, chucks and soft jaws, but hands down the double vise converter is their pride and joy. “The double vise converter is the biggest seller and is a product that really changes how you utilize a vice,” continues Oscar. “Work holding is an artform, sometimes voodoo, but always is essential when it comes to delivering a quality product. Nine years ago, we designed and built a device that converts your single vise into a double vise within a couple minutes utilizing a patent pending design and 4 bolts. As far as we know there is nothing else like it on the market. We’ve spent the last ten years testing it in our own aerospace manufacturing facility to improve production and increase throughput.”
The S & R single to double vise converter does just what the name suggest. It turns your single vise into two. Sure, there is no shortage of double vises on the market, but product specialist Richard Morris is quick to point out some advantages to the S & R product line. “First off is price,” explains Richard. “Our converter is a value and will work in conjunction with the vises you already have. Our double vise converter is very light and comes on and off in a matter of minutes with only 4 bolts. Changeover is crazy fast, and crazy easy. Our double vise converter takes on the traits of the vise it is mounted to. So, if you have a brand-new Kurt vise, it shares that quality and repeatability. Our double vise converter doesn’t have a fixed center like a standard double vise. It uses more of a sandwich method that offers a lot of creative ways to hold parts. We have many demonstration videos on our website.”
S & R Products tool tray is available in 30mm and 40mm versions. S & R Products sockets are machine specific and heat treated to 38-42 Rockwell. S & R Products wrench has a socket specific end and a standard 3/4” end for most standard vises. The tool changer is designed to be bench mounted and rotates for ease of use.
S & R exhibited at Westec 2021, as part of their brand launch. Day after day, demo after demo, it was a great opportunity to introduce a lot of people to their products in a short period of time. “We are machinists at heart, so we are learning as we go the best way to showcase our products,” tells Oscar. “We are building the brand though shows, online sales and a growing distribution network. We have 35 distributors in the US, Mexico and Canada as well as a dedicated team on the east coast pushing product in the field. We’ve partnered with companies that are in the business of customer service, and not just order processing. The other thing we’ve found is that no one wants to stock anything. All our products are in stock ready for delivery.” “We’ve talked a lot about the double vise converter and only mentioned our other products,” adds Richard. “I know the thought of a socket, or a wrench isn’t as exciting and not as unique, but they go above and beyond what people think of in a quality tool. Anodized, and heat treated are not words that usually go hand in hand with a socket and a wrench. We are proud of the fact that we do our manufacturing right here in Valencia, California, USA. As an aerospace manufacturer we know the importance in Made in the USA, and as a user of tools we know the value of Made in the USA too. Our tool holders hold tools just like everyone else’s, but they are anodized, sized to fit in standard cabinets and have easy to use handles making them ultra-portable.”
One thing is clear, S & R Products Co has a goal to deliver a luxury tool experience at a fair price. Decades of aerospace manufacturing go into their products, and it shows.