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Creative Design
Teknocraft president Sam Kumar has made a career of crafting business opportunities

By Anne Straub
Brevard Technical Journal

Teknocraft, Inc. produces the blue bodies for 40mm training projectiles for the U.S. Army. Photo by Tim Shortt, © 2003.

When a source of business for Sam Kumar’s company folded, Kumar faced a decision: He could move on and focus on his core product, or he could invest substantial capital and try to capture the contract in question for his own company. He chose the latter.

Several years later, results show that it was a smart move. And it’s one that’s providing his Melbourne company with the resources needed to develop its original business plan.

Kumar is president Teknocraft Inc., a valve designer and manufacturer. But because of that critical business decision, most of the company’s revenue comes from the production of 40-millimeter training projectiles for the U.S. Army.

Teknocraft had operated as a subcontractor for the prime that held the Army contract because the equipment the manufacturer used to make valves also could handle the projectile work. When the prime contractor went out of business, Kumar decided to invest $2 million in additional equipment needed to take on the entire project.

He also achieved status as an 8(a) qualified small disadvantaged business, a time-consuming project that paid off in snaring the government business. Teknocraft won the Army contract in 1998.

The company now delivers close to 100,000 projectiles a month, working three shifts, six days a week. Teknocraft makes all the components at its 70-employee plant in Melbourne. Assembly and test firing is done at a small facility in Perry, Fla.

That work now makes up 80 percent to 90 percent of Teknocraft’s annual revenues, which total between $7 million and $8 million.

The source of income couldn’t have come at a better time. The valve industry has been in a slump for five years, said Bill Sandler, president of the Valve Manufacturers Association of America. The industry felt the effects of the current economic slowdown early.

“There’s been no capital investment” among manufacturers that buy valves, Sandler said. “Any business is pretty much replacement business.”

The picture is similar in Europe and somewhat better in Asia and South America. But those areas so are rich with low-cost suppliers that U.S. companies see little of the business.

Teknocraft, Inc. technician Darlene Billington assembles, tests and ships computer controlled valves used in medical ventilation. Photo by Tim Shortt, © 2003.

Sandler expects valve business to pick up along with a general recovery for the overall economy, but he holds little hope for improvement this year. “We’re not looking to see much till the end of ’04,” he said.

Kumar plans to be ready. The company specializes in computer-controlled valves, particularly for engine fuel controls and for medical use, such as in controlling the flow of air and oxygen in ventilators. Rather than simply turn on or off, they respond incrementally. Kumar holds 15 to 20 patents in the area of proportional solenoid-controlled valves, and has more pending.

He plans to pursue new business in the beverage control markets. The market is small – just 2.5 percent of the $3 billion industrial valve market – but one in which companies are finding profitable niches, Sandler said.

The training projectile work is making the plan possible. “The government is giving me the resources I didn’t have before to market valve patents,” Kumar said.

The projectile contract isn’t the first time Kumar got creative to arrive at the best result in a situation. When Kumar wanted to build a home on a lot featuring mature oak trees, for example, builder after builder told him that the spectacular tree near the center of the lot would have to come down. Kumar eventually found a builder who would work with him to incorporate the tree into the house’s design. That design, however, would eliminate the possibility of a pool, the builder said. Kumar agreed to that tradeoff.

Several years later, Kumar did some more research, and he now has a home built around the oak tree – with a backyard swimming pool.

Linda South, executive director of the Brevard Workforce Development Board, saw his thought processes in action when Kumar served on the board.

“Sam has a keenly inquisitive mind that I’m sure has served him well in the entrepreneurial environment,” South said. His ability to take advantage of a wide range of programs helped him strengthen his business and the community at the same time, a connection that Kumar recognizes. “He brought a bird’s eye view of business needs” to the board, South said, helping Brevard’s employment agency refine its services and improve how employers can access services.

His very job is the result of Kumar’s tendency to take initiative to create solutions. A native of India, Kumar completed undergraduate work in that country before immigrating to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Oklahoma State University, followed by an MBA at Syracuse University. He spent 10 years in the corporate world, first at Corning Inc. then John Deere Co., before leaving to start his own company.

Corporate work threatened to pigeon-hole him into either theoretical or hands-on work. “I wanted to be involved in all aspects,” Kumar said, explaining why he decided to start Teknocraft. “I wanted to create my own interesting job.”

The 54-year-old father of two now gets to stay hands-on, running a company while earning patents for his design work. He also pursues his interest in technology by serving as a technical expert witness in patent litigation cases.

The result is his best possible job. “I get to work on all areas of my interest,” Kumar said. “I do just about everything.”

For more information, see www.teknocraft.com.