Growing up in Cleveland in the sixties and seventies was a really special time for a young motor head! Although California seemed to be the acknowledged hotbed for the very beginnings of drag racing, Ohio is immersed in drag racing heritage. Industry entrepreneurs such as Joe Hrudka, who founded Mr Gasket, and Joe Shubeck of Lakewood Industries fame, were just two of the members of the Cleveland “Hot Rod Fraternity” with whom young Dick Malone and Gerry Korman hung out. In that era popular grouping of hot rodders were the “blower motor” faction and the “carbs/gasser” guys! Malone and Korman quickly decided that they were “blower motor” guys.

Dick Malone and Gerry Korman were to become two of the original successful pioneers of the fledgling Hot Rod industry. They were both excellent machinists as well as innovative mechanical designers. In order to finance their passion for racing blown alcohol cars Dick and Gerry began a machine shop business called KMS Industries, in 19xx. (Trivia: Dick Malone drove the "Assassin" 'Vette to the BB/Funny Car title at the 1981 AHRA Grandnationals over Ken Veney!) Because of their skills as well as their passion for racing, they concentrated on supplying parts for some of the early giants of the speed equipment industry. In addition to machining many diverse parts for the quickly growing Mr. Gasket Performance Group, Joe Shubeck, and fellow racer Ken Veney, they purchased and operated the Cragar Supercharger Drive Components division.

Dick and Gerry engineered the supercharger that revolutionized the supercharger manufacturing process and set the standard in high-precision supercharger manufacturing. In 1990 they founded SSI (Supercharger Systems), and in 1998 they earned membership to the exclusive Car Craft Magazine All Star Drag Racing Team for their accomplishments! They later sold SSI to concentrate on KMS and continued to manufacture precision components for the automotive and aerospace industry. Tragically Gerry Korman died suddenly due to complications from an accidental fall at his home in early 2014. However, Dick Malone continues on with the CNC machine shop business, as well as expanding the Custom Floaters division.

Their floaters are currently being utilized by several NHRA Top Fuel Funny car teams. When Dick heard the reactions from the crew chiefs regarding the quality of their floaters, compared to the components available from competing manufacturers, he was encouraged to expand his business. A new division, under the Custom Floaters umbrella, is currently manufacturing both Steel and Aluminum, SFI approved Bellhousing Shields. Dick Malone has never been a person who stands still, and he is already designing and testing a line of clutch service parts that exceed the function of any components that are currently available.