Why would anybody buy a CNC multi-spindle for $2 million? Or $3 million for that matter? My guest on today’s podcast, Richard Kingsbury, has the answer. Richard is Managing Director of the Kingsbury Engineering Division, England’s INDEX distributor. In this interview, Richard gives a history lesson of screw machining. We discuss how you sell a $2 million dollar CNC multi-spindle. Most importantly, we talk about how a machining company can make lots of money with these Ferraris of multi-spindles. I know, I should call them Porsches as they’re made in Germany. In any case, INDEXs are so choice! If you…
Author: Noah Graff
Today’s podcast is Part 2 of our interview with Dave Thuro, second-generation owner of Thuro Metal Products. In this episode, Dave discusses his growth philosophies. He believes in aggressively acquiring as many job opportunities as possible, but then saying no to most of them. The company tries to acquire at least two long term accounts per year that will bring in monthly sales of $50,000 to $100,000. Scroll down to listen to the podcast with Dave Thuro. Dave also discusses his hiring practices. He believes in hiring the majority of his employees at the entry level and training them from…
We are going back to the archives this week with an interview from our first year of the show! Great story and great company. ********* Today’s podcast is part one of a two-part interview with Dave Thuro, second-generation owner of Thuro Metal Products, a successful job shop in Long Island, New York. The business produces parts for a variety of industries, including aerospace, fuel injectors, HVAC, bearing and linear and, more recently, optics and lighting. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. We spoke to Dave about his equipment choices, focusing on Swiss automatics and multi-turret CNC lathes. We also…
I’ve interviewed a lot of interesting business coaches for this podcast, and all the coaches had one thing in common. They focused on coaching a company’s owner or management, rather than working with everyone at the company. But my guest on today’s show, Tim Drinkwater, founder of Accurate Machine Products in Janesville, Wisconsin, hired a coach to be available for all eight of his employees. He says the coaching has provided his people with helpful guidance professionally and personally and has had a positive impact on his own personal growth. The interview really resonated with me as I personally have…
This week on Swarfcast, we’ve been thinking a lot about some of the exciting tech that we saw last month at IMTS. One thing that always stands out to us are the robots. As our recent podcasts have touched on the topic of AI, we thought it would be fitting to reshare an interview we did with George Konidaris, co-founder of Realtime Robotics. A new podcast is on its way soon, but in the meantime we hope you enjoy this one again. Seems like right now every podcast is doing an interview centered around artificial intelligence. But I waited until…
I encounter a lot of friction in my work. Too many obstacles get in the way of me doing the things I need to do and the things I like to do. I know all of you out there have friction in your work too, and if you’re in the manufacturing business you likely encounter friction when you have to achieve the necessary quality to be ISO certified. Today’s guest on the show, Adam Marsh, has a company called Ledge Inc. that guides manufacturers through the ISO certification process. Getting ISO certification can be an overwhelming undertaking, but like so…
Monday morning I was thinking about what a slump I was in as far as selling used machinery in 2024. We’ve got some very interesting opportunities right now to sell or buy equipment on the horizon. Some potential deals have been dragging on for months and a few new ones have recently materialized. But still, looking at it objectively as far as sales I’ve closed, I’ve produced poor results most of the year. When I get my coffee in the morning I sometimes picture Alec Baldwin yelling at me, “Put that coffee down. Coffee is for closers only.” But as…
If you have not already listened to Part I, you can find it here. After serving in the Navy SEALs for nine years, Bill Berrien retired from the military in 1999, ready for a new chapter in his life. He attended Harvard business school where there were six other SEALs in his class. After graduating from Harvard, Bill worked as a Six Sigma Blackbelt at General Electric Health Care, which brought him to the Milwaukee area in 2002. Rather than climb the ladder at a large corporation, Bill’s ambition was to eventually acquire his own business. Scroll down to read…
Bill Berrien has had an extraordinary professional journey. He earned an MBA at Harvard, worked for General Electric and then in private equity. Ten years ago, he purchased Pindel Global Precision, a successful two-generation machining company near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which he has modernized and grown over the past decade. Oh, I forgot to mention, he was also a Navy SEAL officer for nine years. Scroll down to read more and listen to the podcast. Or listen on your phone with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite app. You can also view the podcast in video form on our YouTube Channel. …
At IMTS 2024, I learned about the latest technology for CNC lathes, robots, and most notably 3D printing. Stratasys was the first 3D printing company I visited at the show. I spoke with Foster Ferguson, Director of Aerospace, and Tom Leach, Commercial Leader at Stratasys, about 3D printing applications for automotive and space vehicles. Then I spoke with Evan Hochstein and Allison Harbaugh, Business Managers for the Stratasys Medical Team, about the capabilities of Stratasys 3D printers to replicate the feel and shape of body parts, which surgeons analyze before they operate on real human flesh. ************* Listen on your favorite podcast app…