BUSINESSES BEHIND THE SCENES: R&S Maintenance
Photos by JASON DAILEY
R&S Maintenance focuses on helping facilities keep production lines open and operating efficiently with a focus on preventive maintenance to help avoid downtime. The onsite machine shop provides custom machining, fabrication and welding services, while the millwright services include installation, service and maintenance on everything from catwalks and packaging lines to parts and whole machine installation.
“Whatever a customer needs, we can find a solution for them,” said Andy Surritt, owner of R&S Maintenance. “We understand manufacturing and our ability to make specialized parts lets us be creative to come up with ideas others might not think of.”
BUILDING A BUSINESS
That knowledge of the manufacturing industry goes back a generation to when Jim Surritt, former machinist at Goodyear Tire and Rubber, and his wife, Carol, started a machine shop out of their garage in Meriden in 1977.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Andy Surritt also started a business in his basement with former Frito-Lay colleague Dwayne Ross. Business for R&S Salvage quickly picked up, and in response to demand, they added millwright services that included equipment installations and modifications. It wasn’t long before they outgrew that basement.
“Once the business spilled out of the basement and began taking over our house, we knew it was time to find a new location,” said Andy’s wife Alexa.
R&S Maintenance leased a building in Topeka and business blossomed.
Everything was moving along smoothly — albeit with the chaos that comes from entrepreneurship — when Andy’s father passed away and his mother wanted to sell the business.
That was in 2011. With four children ranging in ages from 17 to 7, Andy and Alexa decided to take over the family business and consolidate it with their own.
“It just made sense, so we came back home,” Andy said.
BUILDING A REPUTATION
Able to provide a combination of machine shop and millwright services, R&S Maintenance quickly established a reputation for quality work and exceptional customer service, picking up clients in the printing, railroad, public works and food processing industries. Alexa, who now serves as co-owner and vice president, credits that reputation to their willingness to help anyone, anytime, with whatever they need, even if they aren’t existing clients.
“It is expensive for manufacturers to be down,” Alexa said. “If we can get them up and running, we are just grateful that we can help them. Even if that is on Thanksgiving or Christmas. We always answer the call.”
That willingness to answer has taken R&S Maintenance all over the country to service national companies.
“We have been to every Frito-Lay facility in the country,” Andy said. “And every Tostitos Scoops in America gets sent here for the mold.”
But Andy and Alexa are the first to point out that they haven’t built this business on their own, and that their success is a direct result of the talented and committed employees who take pride in their work every day.
“We would be nothing without our employees,” Alexa said.
The 80 to 90 people employed at R&S Maintenance are like extended family, and some of them are actually related. Over the years, numerous family members have worked at the company, including their three sons, who have worked their way up through the ranks after starting out cleaning in the shop during their summers off from school.
BUILDING A LEGACY
Zac, the oldest son, joined the family business after graduating from Washburn University and now heads up business development and marketing.
“Our parents have always given us the option to go do something else. But I chose to stay here,” Zac said. “I like my family and I like the family business.”
Wyatt, the middle son, moved from millwright to sales, where he works to build those relationships with customers. That means when those late-night calls come in, he is likely to be the one to answer.
“I like it when the phone rings,” Wyatt said. “This has been the only job I have ever had. I basically grew up here. I started working in the shop my freshman year and never left.”
The youngest son, Ryder, joined the business as a millwright after receiving his Certificate in Welding from Washburn Tech last year.
“It was great to be able to take what I learned at Tech and then come here and be able to apply it right away.”
Having a family business, especially when two of the sons still live at home, means it is virtually impossible to leave work behind at the end of the day. But when you love what you do, taking work home with you isn’t so bad.
As the third generation of Surritts take their place at R&S Maintenance, it doesn’t mean Andy and Alexa are ready to retire but they are willing to let them answer those late-night calls.
“We are happily handing that part over to the boys,” Andy said. “Eventually we will make the hand off, but we’re not there yet. They are still learning from the experts and growing; however, we make decisions as a family so they can help shape what the business will look like in the future.
In addition to taking care of their customers, it is important to the Surritt family that they give back to their community by supporting the Topeka Zoo, helping the local school district, promoting the tech programs throughout the area and allowing high school students to job shadow.
“We don’t take the generosity of our customers or our community for granted,” Alexa said. “We wouldn’t be here today without their support.”
Keeping manufacturing productive in Topeka is more than just integrating systems and keeping equipment running. It is also about providing manufacturers with the equipment they need to produce their goods. You can’t think about manufacturing in Topeka without thinking about tires. What are tires made of? Rubber. How is rubber made? With giant mixing and kneading machines designed to withstand high heat, abrasive particles and corrosive chemicals.
That is where HF Rubber Machinery comes in.
