Tariffic News?
When Donald Trump announced his grandiose plan for trade tariffs on April 2, 2025 some people cringed, others cheered, and a few called their lawyers. One of those was Rick Woldenberg, the CEO of a family-owned company in Vernon Hills, Illinois a suburb of Chicago. His firm, Learning Resources, outsources
Selling Out
I have been studying the process of buying and selling machining businesses for the past year. Companies have approached me to advise them on what
Refugee Flavor
At the beginning of September I spent some time traveling in Europe in search of lucrative machine tools, good salsa dancing and inspiration for an
Phone Call to the Dead
This American Life on NPR routinely does amazing stories on radio. The program, hosted by Ira Glass, recently had this piece that really struck me.
Pig in a Pipe
If 2012 and 2014 IMTS shows were about the arrival of 3D printing, 2016 was the year of the robot. It seemed like everybody was
The Cubs of Casablanca
The Chicago Cubs, my favorite team, and Casablanca, one of my all-time favorite movies, share so many common threads. One could say they are cut
The Foot Soldiers of IMTS
On Wednesday I went to IMTS. It was going to be a 16-hour marathon because we were taking folks out to dinner after the business