A Tustin-based manufacturer of industrial vending machines is expanding into new markets as it responds to demand with fresh innovations.
AutoCrib Inc. has produced close to 20,000 machines of various models since President Steve Pixley co-created the first one in 1994 in his Huntington Beach garage.
The machines dispense tools and other equipment needed for manufacturing, such as hard hats, office supplies and fasteners. The machines are operated by software that tracks how many tools are dispensed and to whom.
The first models were created to eliminate waste and fraud at manufacturing sites due to the frequent loss of tools and a resulting loss of money.
Goals now include helping manufacturing companies comply with regulations and develop ways to store employees’ personal items, such as cellphones, particularly in work environments where data security is considered critical.
Industry Solution
Pixley and partner Bob Moore teamed up in the late 1980s to create Machine Tool Supply in Costa Mesa. Their manufacturer customers were constantly complaining about the loss of tools but didn’t have the time to work on solving the problem, he said.
They came up with the idea for an industrial vending machine that would dispense tools the way a traditional vending machine dispenses candy or soft drinks.
Machine Tool spun off AutoCrib as an independent company in 1999. The name is short for “automated tool crib.”
Its Tustin plant employs 100 and houses most of its manufacturing operations, Pixley said. Revenue is expected to reach $30 million this year.
AutoCrib’s products range in price from $10,000 for a smaller model to $150,000 for a larger, more complex machine.
Much of the value is in the software the company writes for its machines at its 60,000-square-foot facility, which also houses a call center to troubleshoot problems customers might encounter.
The company has remained in OC because of the caliber of the workforce here, Pixley said.
“We believe doing the manufacturing here enables us to create a high-end product … because we control the quality.”
Generations of Innovations
AutoCrib manufactures 10 models of its industrial vending machines.
The first machine Pixley co-created is known as an RDS, or remote dispensing station, a smaller, less capable version of today’s models.
The company introduced the VX1000 in 2012 and produced the 1,000th unit in January. The model contains a carousel that can rotate in either direction.
Model TX750, introduced in 2014, features a “dual-Tambour” design featuring parallel sliding doors that open vertically, maximizing efficiency by opening the doors to the precise amount of space needed based on the size of the item being dispensed. The design provides 30% more product density in the same footprint as competitive machines, Pixley said, citing AutoCrib competitors Marietta, Ga.-based CribMaster and San Diego-based SupplyPro.
Another unique feature of the TX750: It’s the first industrial vending machine that can dispense square and rectangular items, Pixley said, such as a ream of copier paper or a boxed fluorescent light bulb. The design of the shaftless carousel enables dispensing of items that hadn’t been available in any other type of machine, he said. That opened up new markets, such as office, medical and welding supplies.
AutoCrib plans to release a new machine at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago in September. The AutoCabinet dispenses lower-cost tools and items. Customers that wanted more density for smaller or oddly shaped tools in a compact footprint catalyzed the creation of the machine, Pixley said.
New Markets
He attributes recent growth to its expansion into new markets, such as U.S. government and military operations and the biomedical industry.
Government contracts AutoCrib has secured resulted from federal efforts to boost employee morale by letting workers bring personal cellphones into facilities where they previously were barred, Pixley said. AutoCrib’s TX750 can accommodate the phones due to its product-shape adaptability and will be placed in government building lobbies all over the world to enable employees to safely store their phones. The company plans to start shipping the machines in April.
US Tool Group, which has a sales office in Huntington Beach, has been a longtime AutoCrib customer. The company has more than 500 AutoCrib machines at its customers’ facilities throughout North America, according to Bruce Weaver, business development manager.
He said the machines are valuable because they help keep accurate inventory counts and enable the replenishment of tools before they run out. The machines are especially helpful for the company’s “sophisticated” aerospace customers, he said.
“AutoCrib systems have become a cornerstone of our business and we would not have been able to enjoy the rapid growth that US Tool Group has experienced without AutoCrib as a strategic partner.”
