Firm Establishes Phone Service for Metal Clients

For years, Terry Ward-Llewellyn, president of Quick Draw & Machining Inc., a Ventura metals fabricating firm, has been plagued by the problems involved in tracking down the wide variety of metals needed to produce parts for such customers as Hughes Aircraft and Litton Industries.

Starting Jan. 4, Ward-Llewellyn hopes to cash in on all the information he and his employees have been punching into their computers.

Quick Draw has established a service, Material Sources, that, for the cost of a 900 phone call, promises to find the best sources, along with addresses and phone numbers, for any of the thousands of alloys being produced nationwide.

“For a few dollars, we feel we can save manufacturers many hours of work,” said Mike Kuehn, marketing director of the new service. “One metals supplier directory, for instance, is three inches thick and full of cross-references. All we have to do is push a few buttons, and the information appears on our screens.”

At first, Material Sources will track only domestic sources, Kuehn said. Eventually, the service hopes to add overseas suppliers.

To query Material Sources, a caller will be charged $8.95 for the first minute and $4.95 for each additional minute. Kuehn estimates that the average call will take three to four minutes.