Using savings to buy a 20-year-old Swiss machine that’s been sitting idle for year is a gamble. Buying one to start a machining company without any customers yet or a place to put the machine means really going ALL IN. Today’s podcast is Part II of my interview with Dulio Arellano, founder of Premier Swiss in Addison, Illinois. We’re continuing Dulio’s story, discussing how he transitioned from working in job shops to becoming one of Tornos USA’s top technicians, and then how he rolled the dice, purchasing a used Tornos DECO 10 to start his own machining company. If you…
Author: Noah Graff
Have you ever wondered what it takes to manufacture luxury watches that cost tens of thousands of dollars? This is the episode to find out! Last week I reconnected with Josh Shapiro to tell him about a used Willemin 408MT Graff-Pinkert had for sale. He told me that he was extremely excited for his new line of watches coming out that he has been working on for years. He is finally going to be producing the entire movement in his watches. Please have a listen to one of our most popular interviews on the show! Our guest on the…
As a machinery dealer, I hear the word “fair” thrown around a lot during negotiations with customers. I think most people don’t mean any harm when they say it. They say it because they’ve heard other people say it. They think it sounds genuine and persuasive. But it grates on me because what does it even mean when you say the word “fair?” In Webster’s dictionary, “fair” is defined as, “Marked by impartiality and honesty: free from self-interest.” Let’s be honest with ourselves, in our deal we’re both negotiating in our own self-interests, so don’t talk to me as though…
My guest on today’s show immigrated to the United States from Mexico at 18 years old, went to tech school, worked his way up in job shops, became one of the top technicians at Tornos, and then founded his own successful job shop. Dulio Arellano is the founder of Premier Swiss, a Tornos Swiss screw machine shop in Addison, Illinois. He is one of the most knowledgeable people I know about Tornos Swiss machines throughout the world, and whenever we talk he always has fascinating insight about entrepreneurship in the machining business. He’s really good at all the stuff I’m…
This week on Swarfcast, we’re sharing an interview we originally did back in 2020 with Paul Van Metre, Co-Founder of ProShop ERP. During our discussion, Paul shares a lot of valuable and timeless information that can help your shop run more efficiently. Since we did the interview, he has also started his own podcast, called Machine Shop Mastery: https://machineshopmastery.com/about/. We invite you to give it a listen! *** On today’s show we’re talking about how to set up machine tools efficiently. Our guest is Paul Van Metre, co-founder of ProShop ERP. ProShop produces a comprehensive web-based and totally paperless shop…
Do you ever wonder how I make a living buying and selling old iron? Sometimes Graff-Pinkert’s used machinery business boggles our own minds too. But we have some tricks of the trade that make it possible for me to pay my mortgage, and on today’s podcast I’m going to share a few of them with you. We’re running an episode from the Job Shop Show podcast, where I was interviewed last year. Host, Jay Jacobs, and I talked about a lot of fun topics, such as what to watch for when you’re buying used machinery, negotiation tactics, and of course,…
Pasta machines operate a lot like cam screw machines, Antonio Adiletta told me when I interviewed him for this week’s podcast. Antonio is co-owner of Arcobaleno and GAM Precision in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After growing up in Italy, Antonio moved to Canada and then eventually emigrated to the United States with his wife and business partner, Maja. He has manufactured, sold, and serviced fresh pasta making machines for 26 years, and for the last decade, he has simultaneously run a CNC machine shop. Listen on your favorite podcast app using pod.link. . View the podcast on our YouTube Channel.…
Working in the machining industry I hear the term “lean manufacturing” mentioned a lot. But what does the word “lean” really mean in this context? And how do you implement it in your company? To help me clarify these questions, I interviewed Matthew Rassi, founder of Twenty Helping Hands. He’s a lean manufacturing consultant who has been working in the manufacturing industry for over two decades. Matthew says that the first step for a company to adopt lean manufacturing is to bring all of its people together to exchange ideas, from the CEO to the person sweeping floors. In his…
In honor of this weekend’s PMPA National Technical Conference, we’re resharing a podcast we did last year with Elliott May, engineer at BME in Port Huron, Michigan. BME builds original custom attachments for cam multi-spindles. They also rebuild Acme-Gridley screw machines. Elliott and I talked about a lot of fascinating things in this interview. How to keep old mechanical beasts relevant, getting young people into machining, and what it’s like to work closely everyday with your dad—who’s also the boss. Listen on your favorite podcast app using pod.link. . View the podcast on our YouTube Channel. Follow us…
I’m dealing with a customer right now who seems interested in some CNC machines Graff-Pinkert has for sale. They told me they needed this type of machine ASAP! And these machines are RARE! They even said they had a big job for the machines already and they are on the “verge of pulling the trigger any day now.” But then they stopped returning my phone calls. They’re ghosting me, and my crock brain is getting the best of me. I know these kinds of scenarios have happened to most of you listening to this, either in your professional life or…