Small Business Stories - CTM Engineering

Ivy Hartman: Welcome to sbtv.com, coverage of the 2008 SEMA Show here in Las Vegas. I am Ivy Hartman and with me is Duane Carling, the owner and founder of CTM Engineering. Duane Carling: Yup. Ivy Hartman: Welcome to SBTV.COM. Duane Carling: Thank you, thank you. Ivy Hartman: Absolutely. Tell us what CTM Engineering is, and what you do? Duane Carling: Okay. I am a car guy from the sixties. Carroll Shelby offered me a job at one time. Ivy Hartman: And by Carrol Shelby, we are talking about the Shelby of Shelby Mustang. Duane Carling: Mr. Shelby himself, in 1967 at the L.A airport. Ivy Hartman: Oh, wow! Duane Carling: And he's always been my hero. In the early days, Carroll Shelby won awards, he's a real racer. And when they introduced the new Mustang in 1964-and-a-half, he insisted that they are make an independent rear suspension form. And all Mustangs that have ever been made, except for a few in the `80s have a solid axle. So when you are going around a corner and you hit a bump, it upsets the other tire. Shelby of course knew that, I mean, every modern car has an independent rear suspension. My wife's mini van has an independent rear suspension. So they made 3 or 4 of them, and since it was more expensive, you could buy a new Mustang in 1965 for under $3,000. But wouldn't afford a lot to make one of those today. Ivy Hartman: Right, right, wouldn't we love it too? Duane Carling: Yeah. Ivy Hartman: And you can sell us 65 Ford Mustang for way more than that, now. Duane Carling: Oh yeah. I have a customer who put one of these in his car. He's got over $100,000 on that car. Ivy Hartman: Wow! Duane Carling: But the thing is, you can't tell by looking at it. Ivy Hartman: Really? Duane Carling: It looks like a 65 Mustang Fastback. Ivy Hartman: So as an engineer by trade and coming up with this independent rear suspension, how did you go about making it a success for CTM? Duane Carling: Well, first thing I did is, I called up the original designer. A guy named Klaus Arning, and I met him here at SEMA. Ivy Hartman: Yup, I was just going to say. How many people can say they just call up the designer for Ford and say, hey!. Duane Carling: He have been retired for years. Ivy Hartman: Okay. Duane Carling: But his son incidentally is a manager at Flat Rock Michigan, where they make the new Mustang. Ivy Hartman: oh neat! Duane Carling: Yeah, and he has got my brochure on his office wall. Ivy Hartman: Well, even better. Duane Carling: Yes. But he brought the blue prints. Ivy Hartman: Okay. Duane Carling: I happen to find some parts at Holman Moody in North Carolina. I know Holman pretty well. And between the blue prints and the parts we built two link, for all the parts. Ivy Hartman: Wow! Duane Carling: And we put it in and then bolts in. It was made to be on the production line and we started making them. They are pretty expensive, they are about $7,500. Ivy Hartman: Wow! Duane Carling: But it's Mustang IRS, www.independentrearsuspension.com is the website. Ivy Hartman: Okay. Duane Carling: It unfortunately stars me, but. Ivy Hartman: Well, it's you, you are CTM? Duane Carling: Yeah, I guess so. Ivy Hartman: I mean that's good. Duane Carling: Yeah, and we were on the cover of Hot Rod a few months ago. Ivy Hartman: Okay, and currently you are on the cover of Race Car Engineering. Duane Carling: Race Car Engineering, that's actually in October. Ivy Hartman: Okay, in October. Now talk about what's being exhibited here at SEMA Show on the Dynacorn Ford Mustang. Duane Carling: And the Dynacorn makes news 67 Mustang bodies, and they are just introducing their 69 this year. You know, people like those old cars. Ivy Hartman: Yeah. Duane Carling: I mean old guys like me remember, Cruise and Mary Lou and my 65 Mustang. Ivy Hartman: Yeah. Duane Carling: But you sit in one of those cars and it rides like a coal truck, and the carburetor leaks, and the seats are uncomfortable, and the air conditioning doesn't work. Ivy Hartman: No, it doesn't work, you are right. Duane Carling: You have one. Ivy Hartman: I have a 65. Duane Carling: Yeah, good for you. It's Coupe, Fastback, Convertible? Ivy Hartman: Neither, it's not a Convertible, it's just a hard top, but it's got a leather top on top. Duane Carling: Oh! Great. Ivy Hartman: Chinese red. Duane Carling: Oh, fun, yeah, yes. A hot chic in a hot car. Ivy Hartman: That's right. I am known for my car rather than my personality. Duane Carling: Well, that's okay. Ivy Hartman: You can relate as a SEMA guy about that. Duane Carling: You got - yeah. So you buy an old car and there is an old guy who sit in it, and you say, man this sucks. Ivy Hartman: Yeah. It's not so. Duane Carling: So you'll say, well, the first thing I got to do is put rack and pin in steering it. Ivy Hartman: Yeah. Duane Carling: But the problem with handing in those care, is that the problems are really in the back. The guy that did our Hot Rod article, we had a 65 Coupe, we took it down to our secret test track, and you can see this on the website. Ivy Hartman: Cool! Duane Carling: With those solid axle in it. And we also had a camera underneath the car, so you can see how it works. Then we took it back to their shop, put the IRS in it, and took it down on the same road. And the handling is just amazing. Ivy Hartman: Talk about any advice you have for other innovators or entrepreneurs who --. Duane Carling: Oh, boy! Ivy Hartman: I mean, it wasn't, you weren't just that lucky, were you? Duane Carling: Bring money. Well, you know, you got to love it. I mean, it really doesn't make a lot of sense, you make some money, you meet a lot of really fabulous people, you have some fun. But most of these guys that I see at SEMA, if they can pay their wages, then that's good enough. Ivy Hartman: You mentioned often time about exporting. Duane Carling: Yes, in Europe, they understand suspension systems much better than we do. Because their roads are so crappy. Ivy Hartman: Right, Oh, I thought it was just because they drove faster that, you know. Duane Carling: No, I went from London to Birmingham, whatever it is, anyway, north. The roads are about an inch-and-a-half wide and they have a lot of crown in them, and it tends to rain a lot, so they are slippery. If you have a solid axle car and you are going around the corner and you hit a bump, both tires lose contact with Mother Earth. If you have an independent rear suspension, each tire can move independently, but one of them is probably still solid, and they connected, so they appreciate that. And the world's largest or the Europe's largest importer of Mustangs wants me to develop a kit special for him, because he says that people love the car, the look, the power, the mystique, but they look underneath the car and it's 1955. Ivy Hartman: Yeah. Duane Carling: And we don't really need that in the U.S, because we have smooth freeways and smooth roads. And the only people need it are crazy people who are out racing in the middle of night. Ivy Hartman: We will not need. Duane Carling: No. ivy Hartman: So talk about independent rear suspension. Are you selling it to other businesses or are you selling directly to consumers? Duane Carling: No, I just sell it to people. That's the great thing about the web. If you Google Mustang independent rear suspension, I am the first person you come up with. But the second person you come up with, is Klaus Arning who patented that in 1964. I mean, I don't know what we did before we had Google. Ivy Hartman: You mentioned the web, and you mentioned about your internet website. What I your website again? Duane Carling: mustangirs.com. Ivy Hartman: Okay. And are you doing retail on your website also? Duane Carling: I am retail, wholesale, the thing is that it's available, each one is pretty much custom made. Ivy Hartman: Okay. Duane Carling: Now you can get whatever brakes you want, you can get it powder coated, you can get a Ford 9 inch. You know this is guy's passion, and they want, what they want. Ivy Hartman: How many do you think you do in a year? Duane Carling: I do about a dozen or so. But the thing is that the market is coming to me. When I started this 20 years ago, guys would say, well why should I pay $5,000? Just what it was back then, for a rear end, when I could buy a whole car for $5,000? And I would say, well, okay, I'll tell you what, don't do it then. Ivy Hartman: Right. Duane Carling: But now, $100,000 Mustang is not uncommon. Ivy Hartman: How has the internet helped your business. Duane Carling: Oh!. It s the whole different, it's the key to success. I mean I was in my basement office, couple of months ago. I am going to meet the guy here in about an hour. He called me from China, I am sitting there at 11 o'clock at night, my pocket rings, and it's the guy, he was from Shanghai. And he says, I am looking at your website, because it's a movie, and it shows the car, a movie and all that stuff. I answered, I know what you look like and I know how you sound like, so I know you are the guy. He says I want to buy one of your suspensions. I mean, how would I ever reach that guy, if it wasn't for the web? And he has become a friend too, and he is going to meet me here in about an half-an-hour. I have never seen him, he has seen me on the web. But he makes parts for steel plants. Ivy Hartman: Interesting. Duane Carling: Yeah. Ivy Hartman: So SEMA not only is a great opportunity to exhibit new technologies, but it's a great place to network as doing this, plan it out. Duane Carling: Oh yeah. If you are not at SEMA, you are not in business. Ivy Hartman: Thanks for being here on SBTV.COM. Duane Carling: Thanks. Ivy Hartman: People right here, as we continue to bring you all things automotive from the 2008 Show, right here in Las Vegas.