You may know someone like this. The guy whose mind never really stops churning out ideas. A man married not only to his wife, but his livelihood. A company owner never quite satisfied with the latest improvement to his product, always pushing to reach that next level.

It's a family affair at ARC Manufacturing. From left to right, Susan Fuchs, Tasha Sheets and Mike Fuchs stand in front of their machines. ARC was started by Susan's father, and today she owns and runs the company with her husband and daughter.

"Ideas usually come about 3 in the morning," said Fuchs with a laugh. "I figure a lot of things out in my head. I really like making things happen."

With one patent to his name, and a few more pending, it comes as no surprise that Fuchs is the mastermind behind the innovation of this Spokane, Washington company. He owns and runs ARC Manufacturing with his wife, Susan, and his stepdaughter Tasha Sheets. He credits the company's stance as an industry leader to the fact that their technology has evolved through extensive research and development. The company invests $30- 50,000 annually on R&D.

Innovative use of power

ARC Manufacturing began in 1995 when Susan's father, Robert Hunter, patented the concept of a battery-powered dent puller and put the first product on the market.

The difference is in the flow of power. When using an AC current, the source of power regularly changes in amplitude and polarity. By running the equipment on battery power, it uses a DC current and provides a constant voltage of output.

Fuchs followed in the footsteps of his father-in-law when he patented the com- pany's resistance welder. He said that to have a good welder, you need three-phase power and over half the shops either don't have this or don't have the power to run them.

"With battery, you can still have the same output of a three-phase welder. We could plug in to your kitchen and be as powerful as a factory welder at GM, so it's a huge advantage," Fuchs said.

Educated consumers buy ARC products

Rich Sacha of Automotive Excellence in Ohio did his homework before choosing to buy the ARC panel beater and hybrid system resistance welder for his 14,000 sq. ft. shop. As a member of the American Welding Society, he understood the industry.

"I had done some research and realized this was the only true direct current piece of equipment," he said. "I think a big thing is that many of the inverter machines that have a little higher profile in the industry can create some problems because of the electrical power. Not all shops are equipped to handle that much current. There's not enough juice and what happens is the weld quality is degraded drastically."

Due to the intricacies of creating such specific products, Fuchs does not license his ideas to other companies. The equipment is manufactured in a factory near his office, and he said he has made changes based on feedback and suggestions from customers.

"A big company cannot do that," Fuchs said. "I'm the one that wants to see it succeed, so I make sure I know what's going on."

Accommodating special requests

Because he has an influence on each aspect of production, Fuchs can accom- modate special requests.

In 2005, Honda approached ARC to create a DC dent puller based on their needs. They wanted the ability to spot-weld their cars in a second or less on the assembly line to repair parts that were breaking off or burning apart on the metal.

Fuchs consulted with them over a period of time, exchanged ideas and eventually created the product. Since then GM has ordered the same, he said.

Due to its productivity, Fuchs decided to offer the welding tool to the public as the Model 1015 DBL. He said it works great when welding heavier metals such as older cars in restoration projects.

Many hats

Although his expertise is on the technological side of the products, Fuchs wears many hats in the company.

"After the salesman leaves, the long term relationship is between us and the customer," he said.

There is a toll-free number on every product, and the caller reaches either Fuchs or someone who is familiar with the machines and also understands collision repair. There are LED lights in the machine that diagnose the problem with computers. The machines are serviced from the factory and all the major components are in one box.

"We can ship him the box, he plugs it in and sends his faulty box back," Fuchs said. "No one has to get inside the machine."

All products carry warranties, and the transformer boxes offer a lifetime warranty