enable them to see more or less exactly what is happening right inside your operation. We were also getting all the reports but none of them were being internalized, we were using them just to satisfy the customer. By contrast, HP have a statistically-based analytical mentality that says to itself, "You might be capable of making this product but we are thinking two or three product generations forward and asking ourselves, will you have the capability then, and do we want to invest in this relationship for the future?"' Tom Branton) The spring of 2000 also saw two significant events. First, Hewlett-Packard asked the plant to bid for the con- tract to supply a new ink-jet platform, known as the Vector project, a contract that would secure healthy orders for several years. The second event was that the plant was acquired by Rendall. What did Rendall see when they bought us? They saw a small plant on the Pacific coast losing lots of money. (Finance Manager, Preston Plant) Rendall were not impressed by what they found at the Preston plant. It was making a loss and had only just escaped from incurring a major customer's disapproval over the curl issue. If the plant did not get the Vector con- tract, its future looked bleak. Meanwhile the chief concern continued to be productivity. But also, once again, there were occasional complaints about quality levels. However HP's attitude caused some bewilderment to the operations management team. "When HP asked questions about our process the operations guys would say, "Look we're making roll after roll of paper, it's within specification. What's the problem?" (Quality Manager, Preston Plant) But it was not until summer that the full extent of HP's disquiet was made. "I will never forget June of 2000. I was at a meeting with HP in Chicago. It was not even about