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True Temper Spotlights Product Development The Customer is Always Right Contact Cara Polinski MEMPHIS, Tenn. - At True Temper Sports, researchers, designers, and engineers exhibit the most important manufacturing practice for any type of product - attention to customer needs. True Temper realizes that although the demand is there, clients and consumers are still looking for distinct qualities and properties in their golf shafts. By engaging in intense product analysis and planning, True Temper can always bring the most desired golf shafts to market through remarkably successful product launches. The only way to build a product that customers want is to first understand what they want. True Temper has great internal and external resources from which to draw product development information. More than 200 associates in manufacturing, engineering, research and design, and sales and marketing, work on product designs and assess the current trends and demands of the golf industry. From initial concept to final product, there is an integration of various departments to create the best product possible. Before finalizing a product design, True Temper assesses the opinions of OEMs, distributors, clubmakers, and consumers. "We closely watch and listen to OEM engineers, PGA Tour Pros, and even average players to discover trends and insights," states Russ Minick, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for True Temper. "The 'golden nuggets' are the unarticulated insights and 'compensating behaviors.' These are the things that club designers and players do to overcome shortcomings related to their equipment," continues Minick. To be sure that the product is up to par, the specifications and qualities of that product are analyzed continuously throughout the development process. True Temper follows a toll gate system, meaning that each step serves as a gate for approval before moving on to the next step. These steps include questionnaires to assess what the customer needs, sample production, and extensive static, dynamic, and player testing. Engineers can then tweak a product to fit very specific requirements to address the needs of the customer, by manipulating the flex, weight, bend profile, or even cosmetic appearance of the shaft. This, in turn, produces a wide array of products - over 5,000 SKUs. "Discussions with OEMs are crucial," states Scott Cokeing, Director of Metals Design. "We work with them throughout the process so we can design a product that fits well with their product. We want to meet their specifications, and exceed their expectations." True Temper Sports is the leading manufacturer of golf shafts in the world and is consistently the number one shaft on Tour. The company markets a complete line of shafts under the True Temper and Grafalloy shaft brands, and sells these brands in over 30 countries throughout the world. True Temper Sports employs over 700 people in 10 facilities located in the United States, Europe, Japan, Asia, and Australia. |