The company's growth is largely attributable to the adoption of Quik-Latch by a wide range of industries beyond the automotive aftermarket. "We're shipping about 5,000 latches a month out," he says. Quik-Latches retail for about $25 to $400 per unit, depending on size and features.
It's always easier if we have it all right here." "I buy ball bearings, I buy springs, I buy regular nuts and washers, and then after that, I buy regular raw material and we build it ourselves," says Camp. The operation machines, assembles, and coats the latches in-house, outsources only a bit of anodizing.
"It paid for itself in the first six months," says Camp. Production now leverages automation in the form of a robotic arm from Universal Robots to feed parts and material to the CNC operators. "When I first first started making my own thing, I went from over $9 in costs down to a little over $3 in costs." Camp, who went full-time with the business in 2014, says annual sales have grown from $5,000 in 2010 to about $1.5 million in 2021."My costs went dramatically down, too," says Camp. Quik-Latch now embraces in-house manufacturing on a half-dozen CNC machines. "The shop said it'd be 12 weeks and it ended up being 24 weeks. "We just got our first big order - from Google, 1,000 pieces," says Camp. Manufacturing was handled by job shops until 2014, when Camp acquired the company's first CNC machine.
Automotive distributors began selling Quik-Latches and the product gained traction for applications on not only hoods, but things like glove boxes, access panels, and carburetor housing. The first production run quickly sold out, leading to a smaller version in 2010. You push the panel on it and it just automatically latches, and then to unlock it, all you do is push a button." "No tool is required to operate it," he says. "I started running aluminum and stainless on my manual lathe, and just figured it out."Ī month later, Camp applied for a patent on his push-button alternative (it was ultimately awarded in 2015) and started Quik-Latch Products. "I was driving home that night, and the idea came to mind, and I turned around and went back to the shop," says Camp. A customer wanted a better way to open his hood without the threat of scratching it with the latch's cable. The Quik-Latch originated at Camp's hot-rod restoration shop in Dallas.
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