It seems that today’s younger generations of workers, such as millennials, want to understand why they are instructed to do their jobs in a certain way more than their predecessors. Many of today’s employees are not content to just follow orders and take home a check. They want to feel invested in their work, they want it to mean something. So we are featuring this classic Swarfcast episode. ********** Our guest on the podcast today is Reid Leland, founder and President of LeanWerks, a precision machining job shop in Ogden, Utah. Lean Works operates using open-book management, which means the…
Author: Noah Graff
In the last year, our used machinery company, Graff-Pinkert, has been successfully growing our business brokering division. This podcast and Today’s Machining World have played a huge part in our marketing. They have established us as thought leaders in the machining industry, and that is bringing in customers. It only took 24 years of writing and six years of podcasting. Today’s podcast discusses this concept–how creating a podcast and media like it are a powerful way for a B2B company to promote itself. *********** Our guest on today’s podcast is Joe Sullivan, founder of Gorilla 76, a successful industrial marketing…
Today’s episode is Part II of our interview with Roger Duffy, owner of F&F Machine Products. In Part I we touched on Roger’s natural entrepreneurial instinct and how he loves to push himself to get out of his comfort zone. In this episode, we’re delving further into Roger’s business adventures and philosophies. He believes in a theory he calls the “Goldfish Bowl Syndrome,” which he observed in the growth of his own business. He says a business can be like a little goldfish in a small fish bowl that gets transferred to a large aquarium and quadruples in size when…
How many times has something happened to you that really sucked but then eventually turned out to be a good thing or even a great thing that happened for you? Today, I’m going to tell you a story about when a big machinery deal went to hell and then how its failure led to an amazing turn of events—a way better result than if things had gone the way they were supposed to go. You know. Serendipity. We’re going to explore how good things can come out of bad things, so the next time when something seemingly bad happens to…
Recently, we have seen a growing number of mergers and acquisitions in the manufacturing space. After these deals are finalized there’s a lot of uncertainty for the employees caught in the middle of reorganization. Our guest on the podcast today is Jennifer Fondrevay. Jennifer is a best selling author and the Founder of Day1 Ready, a consultancy that advises companies on how to prepare for challenges that result from changes in the workplace. This interview will be helpful for anybody dealing uncertainty in their work environment. You can also view the podcast in video form on our YouTube Channel. …
At Graff-Pinkert, I’ve sold a lot of machine tools to successful entrepreneurs, including my guest on today’s show, Roger Duffy, owner of F&F Machine Products. But, just a few people like him really have stood out for their outward ballsiness in business. Roger says he loves being an entrepreneur because it allows him to take risks, to dive into the unknown, whether that means trying entirely new equipment or even starting new types of manufacturing businesses of which he has no previous experience. Today’s episode is the first of a two part interview in which we will talk about how…
As the housing market has slowed recently in our current economy, alternative types of construction such as 3D printing with concrete have become more and more relevant. It brought me back to a classic podcast episode we did a while back. The technology has advanced since we recorded this episode in 2019, but still you will be wowed. ******** Our guest on today’s Swarfcast is Jonathan Ladouceur, head of engineering at Twente Additive Manufacturing, a company specializing in architectural 3D printing. We met Jonathan last week when his company bought an ABB IRB 6700 track mounted robot from Graff-Pinkert. Rather…
Happy New Year everybody! On today’s podcast, Lloyd Graff and I reflect on the ups and downs of machining world in 2023 and give our thoughts about what we might see 2024. As you would expect, we discuss a number of topics in addition to precision machining, such as the US’s unpredictable economy, anti-semitism, and my intention to bite off more than I think I can chew and then figure out how to it chew later. Listen on your favorite podcast app using pod.link, or: …
We originally published this episode in 2019. It was a better time in Israel’s history, before the country was savagely provoked to go to war to protect its existance. Israel is a country full of industry and world class innovative companies, such as the manufacturing company Ditron Precision. This interview contains insight on how Israel is so important to the world’s metal working industry as well as why the Jewish People need it as a Jewish Homeland. View the podcast our YouTube Channel. Listen on your favorite podcast app using pod.link, or: …