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The Buck Stops Here
Friends call me Tom. I am a husband, father, grandfather, mechanical engineer, Air Force veteran, motorcyclist and racer.
Motor racing was one of my hobbies. It all started by accident in August, 1969 when three of my college buddies said, "Gather up some beer and a sleeping bag because we're going away this weekend." I was happy to go on vacation and did not bother to ask where or why. As we were heading north on I-71 out of Cincinnati, I figured we were headed to Woodstock. Wrong! We camped on the infield at the Mid-Ohio racetrack and watched a Can Am race. Bruce McClaren, Denny Hulme, Mark Donohue, Peter Revson and Jim Hall were racing unique cars with unlimited engines! That's the day I got hooked on motor racing. Had we gone farther up the road, Jimi Hendrix might have hooked me on rock-n-roll instead.
A short time later I joined the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and started autocrossing. I converted to kart racer in 1978.
Although I was having fun on the kart tracks, I was frustrated in the pits because those old clutches were fragile and inconsistent. So I designed and built my own clutches from scratch with technology acquired from my engineering world. I'm not a great driver, but I started to win races. My friends quickly figured out where my sudden advantage came from and asked me to build clutches for them. Then it snowballed. 
I started Structure Mechanics Corporation in 1983. Originally it was a consulting business that solved complex stress and vibration problems. I employed mechanical, civil and aerospace engineers to work on everything from surgical instruments to jet engines to spy satellites.
By 1989 clutch development was more fun than rocket science. I laid off the engineers and sold the office building. I kept the state-of-the-art aerospace experience, high-tech industry contacts and the computers. I purchased CNC machinery, patented four clutch designs, rented industrial space and focused on racing clutches.
Milestones:
- SMC clutches are used in North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Australia
- SMC is kart racing's second oldest manufacturer of disc clutches. (Horstman Corp. is first.)
- SMC manufactured approximately 4,000 axle clutches. Most are used on road courses such as Daytona Motor Speedway and Mid-Ohio.
- SMC has produced tens of thousands of engine clutches. I've lost count.
- Sprockets and clutch discs designed by SMC in 1996 are now used by virtually all manufacturers of kart clutches.
I wish I had time to design a chassis but good clutch design consumes all of my working hours. I am still searching for the perfect clutch. SMC's computers and dynamometers are always loaded with prototype clutches. Faster clutches are forthcoming. Bookmark this site.
This company is run by an engineer not an accountant. I measure success with trophies instead of dollars. I sell the best clutches not the most clutches. SMC's longevity is a result of a large R&D budget and a single minded pursuit of maximum clutch performance.
If you are a past or present customer - Thank you for your business.
Everyone else - thanks for visiting this website.
Good luck to all.
Thomas Fehring