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    Today’s Machining WorldToday’s Machining World
    Home»Swarfblog»The Europeans are Coming! The Europeans are Coming!
    Swarfblog

    The Europeans are Coming! The Europeans are Coming!

    Lloyd GraffBy Lloyd GraffMay 7, 2015Updated:July 19, 20226 Comments4 Mins Read
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    Matthew McBride and Arnaud Clerc, of French firm, Bouverat Pernat

    The economic numbers these days indicate a relatively weak first quarter of business in the U.S. The indicators I see in the machine tool business verify this, except automotive still seems strong.

    The strength of the American dollar and the weakness in oil and gas account for much of the slack in manufacturing. At the recent Precision Machining Technology Show (PMTS) in Columbus, Ohio, I talked with several European machining firms who are searching for business here. Their reasoning is that the shift in the dollar over the last several months gives them the opening they have been waiting for to land business here.

    Noah and I had a long talk with Matthew McBride and Arnaud Clerc, two representatives of a French firm, Bouverat Pernat, located in the Haute-Savoie region near Geneva, Switzerland, where the tradition of watch manufacturing has spawned generations of super skilled machinists and machining companies.

    What I found fascinating in talking to these folks and other people from companies in Germany, Spain and Italy, who are also searching for work in America, is their confidence that they can compete successfully in the U.S., despite the impediments of distance, language, and high labor costs. They really view the American market as a goldmine if they can just find the “secret sauce” that allows them into America’s “machining club.”

    We have discussed the barriers to entry in the U.S. with several machinery buying Graff-Pinkert customers. Like many clients they really want to discuss their equipment and skills. What we stress to them is that their prowess is a given. We know they are impressive machinists to survive and prosper despite high labor and ancillary costs in the expensive European manufacturing world.

    American buyers are interested in price, reliability, and consistent follow-up. Being close to the buyer is helpful, because the supply chain is still imperfect. The long dock strike in California is a constant reminder to buyers who believe in a  “just in time” world, despite all of the impediments that the real world drops in their path.

    Recently, we have been asked by several foreign firms to introduce them to big American turned parts buyers, as if we had a magical key to their purchasing departments, but there is no magic, no secret sauce. You work the phones, the Internet, knock on doors, build your network piece by recalcitrant piece.

    The Chinese had a 15-year window to build market share here with killer pricing and slow-reacting American companies. Those days are definitely over. It feels like everybody is pretty even on pricing after the big washout of manufacturing firms. So when you have a sudden shift in the value of the euro and yen as we’ve had in the last six months, it feels like the gyroscope of business has shifted mightily.

    I think the weak numbers of the first quarter reflect much more than the awful winter in the Midwest and East coast. The oil components folks have hibernated, pushing metals prices into the toilet. Oil and gas is not a huge piece of the machining world, but when it goes from hot to cold almost overnight it is significant. Agriculture pricing is soft, so the tractor makers are in the barn. Add in the aggressive and capable survivors in Europe and Japan who smell blood with the strong dollar and have connections with European and Japanese OEMs entrenched here already, and you have a more challenging environment on the ground in America.

    The euro has strengthened a bit in the last two weeks, but we do not know if it will stick.

    Meanwhile, do not be shocked if somebody contacts your company on behalf of a European client who is interested in buying a shortcut into the American market.

    Question: Has business in the first quarter been good for your company?

    Lloyd Graff is owner of Graff-Pinkert a used machinery dealership specializing in screw machines, Hydromats and CNCs, as well as the owner and chief space filler of Today’s Machining World.

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    6 Comments

    1. Rod Brower on May 7, 2015 11:23 am

      Lloyd,

      Our sales and shipments for the first quarter of 2015 are at 90% of last years total sales for the year 2014.

      Margins are way up as well.

      Mostly Specialized Tooling Components for Commercial Composite Airplanes.

      Lets see how the rest of the year shakes out.

    2. Len Harder on May 7, 2015 12:16 pm

      Business is off substantially in the first quarter. Primary reason is the drastic reduction in demand from the oil and gas industry. We’ve seen no evidence of European competition yet, but have no doubt we will as the dollar continues to strengthen against other currencies.

    3. Jack on May 7, 2015 12:32 pm

      First quarter was slow.
      But in the last month it’s picked up a ton.
      We went from no overtime the past year or so to swamped.
      No have to figure out how to meet the delivery schedules.

    4. Jim Bradshaw on May 7, 2015 1:29 pm

      Strong year in 2014, Stronger 1st quarter in 2015. We are seeing some softening recently, but I am hopeful that that will turn around soon. We still are living on our back log, but is dwindling.

    5. Steve Ruoff on May 7, 2015 2:07 pm

      Sales have declined for the last 3 plus years in defense work and we are pursuing new customers but still way below our capacity.

    6. Robert on May 11, 2015 6:08 pm

      Business sucks and I am a physician. It won’t be long until I have to close my private practice and start a salaried position for a Hospital. So much for my dream of starting a milling business.

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