NEXLEVEL kicks-off our Partner Spotlight series! Our goal is to highlight each one of our Partners and share the key aspects that make them stand-out in their field.
NEXLEVEL Automation
Mike Sutcliffe, Business Development Manager | Mike@nexlevel-automation.com
Joe Kornack, Automation Engineer | Joe@nexlevel-automation.com
Manufacturer Representatives
Motion Control Automation Engineering and Consulting
www.nexlevel-automation.com
“Whether it is a standard product, slightly modified, or a complete custom solution, our team is well prepared to help.” – Mike Sutcliffe
Tell us about NEXLEVEL. How do you differentiate yourselves on your approach?
NEXLEVEL Automation is the premier Manufacturers Representative Team focused on delivering superior motion control and robotic solutions. Our company’s genesis began with the desire to offer our customers innovative technologies combined with collaborative engineering solutions. We have over 30 years of experience, enabling us to help OEMs, Integrators, and End Users develop their products and solve problems. Whether it is a standard product, slightly modified, or a complete custom solution, our team is well prepared to help.
Our expertise to identify incremental and disruptive innovative technologies in the Motion Control Industry has allowed us to strategically source and partner with top-tier mechatronics engineering manufacturers who understand how to apply custom-engineered mechatronics and automation solutions. NEXLEVEL provides the expertise to bring your design goals to fruition. Whether you need a component, subsystem, or complete system, we will work with you to provide a solution that will impact your market.
Why are we different? We have worked for Manufacturers, Distributors, and now as our own REP business. It has always been a debate when it comes to sales regarding what is most important, relationships, engineering, or technology. At NEXLEVEL, we believe the customer can and should have the entire package.
What intrigues you most about Motus Labs or its products?
It starts with the people; Motus Labs has tremendous leadership with a proven track record in various industries. When you combine a great team with truly disruptive technology, you have the making of something great. Customers continue to push manufacturers to supply more for less. The optimized Motus Labs’ series of precision geared products offer the ROI that customers crave. A product that provides a smaller footprint, more torque, and longer life is a winner in the gearing market!
Can you share an entertaining industry experience?
It wasn’t funny at the time, but it is now! I was working with a supplier, and they had some quality issues that were causing some pain for a particular customer. A young new hotshot supplier salesman came to town to visit the customer with me. I said to him, “this is going to be a tough sales call.” He said, “Why?” I said, “This purchasing manager is not too happy about the quality issues, and she is going to let us know it.” He said, “Don’t worry, I got this. How mad can she get? I said, “As mad as I have ever seen a customer!” Long story short, we met with the management team, and they let us have it! The new kid started to sweat, literally. He interrupts the purchasing manager and says, “We can work on these things, but right now we got to go; I have to go a catch a flight back home.” She starts laughing at him and says, “Get comfortable kid you’re not going on that flight. She was correct. He did not make the flight out of Boston that night! He learned the hard way and did not leave the customer until late that night after working on the corrective action plan to fix the quality issue. The moral of the story is – catching a flight is not important. The customer is important!
What was your most rewarding or challenging project?
One of the most rewarding projects goes back many years. We worked with a medical device start-up (literally started in a garage) with less than five people. We worked with them to develop a control architecture and the appropriate mechanical components that would allow them to meet the desired performance and cost. It was a lot of work, but it was a great success. Later, they were purchased by the largest medical device company in the world. Over the last decade, they have shipped over 1000 of these systems that are now working in the field.
The exciting aspect of this application was the introduction of disruptive technology. It was the first mobile x-ray system to immediately image the patient in the operating room before the procedure instead of taking an image in a separate radiology department before being transported to the operating room. This new technology provided the physician real-time 2D and 3D enhanced visibility that was incredibly beneficial. The system design was successful because it allowed an orthopedic surgeon to pinpoint and navigate at the same time while performing back surgeries and other surgeries, with extreme accuracy and with much better results for the patients. Previous back surgeries involved increased difficulty and a higher risk for surgical inaccuracies and resulted in lengthy scars.