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Today’s Show is part one of a new season in which we’re talking about companies that produce their own products. Our guest is Howard Smith, owner and CEO of Wilson Bohannan, a 160-year-old padlock manufacturer. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. Or listen on your phone with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts or your favorite app. Main Points Howard talks about Wilson Bohannan’s products. The company makes brass key padlocks with stainless steel shackles, as well as other locking devices. The padlock business is still the company’s most important product. The company began in 1860, making padlocks for railroad cars. At the turn of the century, as the railroads were consolidated, it turned its focus to utility companies and heavy industry. Its products are designed for extreme weather conditions—freezing cold, wet, desert, etc. The locks range in size from an 1-1/4” to over 2” wide. Howard says the locks vary in security, from a “glorified seal” to sophisticated highly secure locks with computer chips in the key and lock. (3:30) Noah asks if it’s possible to break locks by shooting them with a gun like in the movies. Howard says it’s possible to engineer a lock that when shot with a gun collapses the mechanism and the casing around the key barrel to stop it from breaking. He says that Wilson Bohannan actually won a customer who shot a magnum rifle at one of the company’s locks but was unsuccessful at opening it. (6:45) Howard discusses the company’s computer chip locks. The chip in the key and the lock talk to each other, allowing the owner to change the combination via computer or cell phone. (7:25) Howard talks about the history of Wilson Bohannan. He says the company was founded in 1860 in New York by Wilson Bohannan and his son Todd. He says it was a good time to start the company because from the 1870s to 1930s it was the Gilded Age of America, when manufacturing had few restraints, regulations, and taxes. (8:20) Howards explains that Wilson Bohannan was his wife’s great great grandfather. He started working at the lock company 47 years ago in the accounting department. He is the 6th family generation of owners, and his daughters are the 7th generation. (9:00) Howard discusses how locks have stayed relevant and how they have changed over the years. He shows Noah a few of the locks the company makes such as a cable lock, a shrouded lock that has a component around it that protects it, and an interchangeable core padlock. (10:20) Howard Smith, owner and CEO of lock manufacturer, Wilson Bohannan Howard states that while innovations like computer chips and bluetooth have kept locks relevant and added functionality, the mechanical components remain the heart of the products. He says that computers can be hacked and magnets demagnetized, but a quality mechanical lock will still require a key, giving the analog components an advantage over other technologies. (13:50) Howard says that Wilson Bohannan has an extensive R&D department, which is focused on continuous improvement so that its products remain relevant. He says that the company remains competitive by gauging what customers want by going to trade shows and by tailoring products to individual customers’ specific requests. For instance the company had a customer who needed a lock for an irrigation system. It had another customer in the oil business who needed a shackle lock with a loop to keep leaded and unleaded gasoline separated. (15:40) Howard talks about Wilson Bohannan’s facility and the machines used to manufacture its products in house. Every component of the locks is manufactured and assembled starting with the raw materials at the company’s 40,000 square-foot factory in Marion, Ohio. The company employs around 70 people, working three shifts, five days a week, and can make just about any lock on its machines.(17:35) Howard says that outsourcing components, even to other US companies would compromise the integrity of Wilson Bohannan’s products. He says keeping everything in house protects the products’ quality and allows the company to make products to order. (18:40) Howard refers to Wilson Bohannan as a job shop because it tailors its products to the specific needs of customers. He says making products to-order helps the company avoid the expense of having to buy and store large lots of component parts and allows it to produce custom products more quickly. For certain parts that require larger volumes the company has a Tornos MultiAlpha multi-spindle and two EPIC Hydromats. (19:30) Howard says Wilson Bohannan considers itself as a small business, making just 5,000 locks a day. He says Master Lock makes hundreds of thousands of locks per day to stock retail stores like Lowes and Home Depot. Howard says Wilson Bohannan tried selling locks to Lowes and Home Depot in the 1990s, but it was not a successful business model. (21:25) Howard describes the evolution of the lock making business. He says that over 100 years ago there were hundreds of lock manufacturers in America, and 40 years ago there were around 30. He says that in the last 10-15 years, everything has changed. Now there are around five padlock makers in the US. Most of these companies mass manufacture and widely distribute their products, whereas Wilson Bohannan has always built custom locks, which enabled the company to stay successful. (23:30) Howard says that the company doesn’t worry about intellectual property theft. Instead, it focusses on reinvesting in talent and equipment, and maintaining a good company culture. Howard discusses how Wilson Bohannan remained a family owned business by buying out its early stockholders. Today, just three family members run the business, Howard and his two daughters. (27:10) Howard says he is excited about the current reshoring of American companies and the improving infrastructure in the US to revitalize its manufacturing sector. (31:00) Howard says that Wilson Bohannan has not considered buying out other lock manufacturers. He says it prefers to grow its business through technology and innovations. (31:45) Howard states that he is not in the business just to make money. He says he has no interest in ever selling Wilson Bohannan. He says he is proud of the company’s identity as an American made business where the focus is on building something useful that benefits the lives of employees and customers.  He says that Wilson Bohannan will represent the State of Ohio at the Made in America Showcase at the White House (Oct. 5 this past week). (32:40) Howard says he worries about the future of America, especially with the current political climate and the pandemic, but he still remains confident that things will soon improve because of the entrepreneurial spirit of American businesses. He says he hopes that soon people will feel safe walking around again and being neighborly with each other. (35:00) Question: Do you lock your door during the day?  

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 management system for small to medium manufacturing companies. Paul says that using a few best practices, guided by ProShop’s management system, can reduce a machine setup time up to 50%. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. Or listen on your phone with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts or your favorite app. Main Points Paul shares his background. He grew up in New York and studied mechanical engineering in college. He says he found it dry, so he began looking for something more hands on. He found a program in Washington State that was heavily involved in the Formula SAE competition, which he fell in love with. He and his teammates decided to start a machine shop together right out of college. (3:10) Paul says that for their machine shop’s first three years (in late 1990s) the company used Excel to make its job routers and travelers. As it added more machines, it put a computer next to each one. (5:15) Paul explains that the idea for his company’s proprietary shop management system came out of desperation and need. As the company grew, introducing more machines and employees, Excel was not keeping up. His team researched shop management software in the old school Thomas Register books. (6:25) Paul says that none of ERP software firms his company looked at offered products designed specifically for managing the shop floor. The products also required paper printouts, which Paul and his team felt was a step backward from what they were already doing using Excel. Ultimately, they decided to hire a software designer to design a custom ERP system for the company. Paul says it took a little less than a year to develop workable software to handle the company’s needs. (7:35) Paul says it took about eight years before the company’s ERP software received outside attention. During the economic slowdown in 2008, a production manager from his company’s biggest customer came to the shop to work one day a week. When he tried using the ProShop ERP he liked it so much that he told his own company about it. (10:50) The customer convinced Paul’s company to let it use ProShop ERP. Paul says that within six months of using the system his customer’s productivity was boosted so much it was able to free up three full time employees, and it drastically decreased its lead-times on various jobs. Then the customer asked if Paul’s company would allow some of its vendors to use ProShop ERP. Paul and his team then realized the opportunity to start a new business selling their ERP, which they founded in 2016. (12:30) Paul says he misses the joy of the production process of running a machine shop, but he says providing ProShop to help other companies succeed is what he enjoys the most. (15:45) Paul says that by using a few best practices a shop can save up to 50% of machine setup time. (17:45) Paul says proper setup process starts when a machine has already been torn down from its previous setup. The teardown should be part of the machine’s previous job’s processes. (18:46) Paul says the first thing to think about when starting a machine setup is to have all of the materials ready for the job at the machine—tooling, instructions, and rich media such as videos and photos to guide the setup person. This is because if a setup person has to leave the machine to get something that she forgot she can run into a multitude of distractions in the shop which significantly delay getting back to work on a machine.  Paul says one of the worst obstacles in slowing down setup time is when the shop doesn’t even have a necessary tools or materials on site. Then the setup process loses days while the company waits for materials to be shipped in. (23:00) Paul says it’s very important for a setup person to have detailed work instructions for a job ready (SEE VIDEO BELOW). He says that ProShop ERP’s paperless system makes it easy for people to have all the important info about a job at the machine at all times (again, so they don’t have to get up and leave the machine). Having paperless instructions also makes it smooth to set up jobs that were already run on that machine in the past because the setup person doesn’t have to find an old printout. The instructions from the old job are ready on a computer next to the machine and may have important updates from the last time the job was run. Having organized instructions at a machine that are easily accessible enables a different person to set up a machine than the previous one. Paul says that ProShop ERP has plans to have software integrated right on machine tools in the future.(24:45) Paul says ProShop ERP also helps with cutting time on the inspection step of a setup. It sets up processes for a setup person to do her own inspection on a part so the part looks good before it is sent to the Quality department. When the part goes to the Quality department there are notes for the quality technicians to pay attention to. (29:45) Paul says another important part of every setup is continuous improvement on a part. One of the key features of ProShop ERP is that it allows machinists to document process improving ideas, flag their planning department, create action items, and assign tasks to save even more time. It’s all in one place so that communication is simplified and efficient. (31:40) Paul says one of the most interesting things he learned last week was that 6% of the forests on the West Coast have burned this year within the last few weeks, which is nearly 20 times more acreage than last year. (34:05) Paul says a key takeaway is that setup is very logical and doesn’t require specialized software if you have key systems in place. He believes that a little upfront work will have huge ROI on your time on the back end of the process. (35:15) Question: What aspect of work do you wish you were more organized for? For more information on ProShop ERP, visit: https://www.proshoperp.com/.

Today, we’re going to do a quick Throwback Thursday to March of this year, to a discussion about going digital with machine data. This week’s podcast is an interview we did with Eric Fogg, co-founder and head of machine connectivity at MachineMetrics. MachineMetrics produces an IOT device that connects directly with machine tool PLCs and controls to track realtime and historical data on equipment. Operators use the data to assess how machines are truly performing, which is often quite different from what they perceive. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. Or listen on your phone with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts or your favorite app. Main Points Eric explains that MachineMetrics is a machine data connectivity data platform. The company makes a device (he calls an “edge device”) that connects directly to machine controls and sensors of production equipment. The device gathers valuable data on how the machines are performing and sends it to operators to analyze. (3:10) Eric talks about taking machine shop classes in high school. During high school he worked at a lot of different machine shops on nights and weekends and taught himself programming. (4:10) Eric says that MachineMetrics can gather data from all vintages of machine tools, not just CNC machines, though CNC machines provide the most data. He says right now MachineMetrics has a client using its edge device to gather data from a punch press that was manufactured in 1925. He says, “As long as it moves and has electrons flowing through it we can probably get some useful data out of it.”(7:00) Eric says that in college he majored in theology because he wanted to work in the field of corporate ethics. Eventually he started his own machine shop in his mid 20s that specialized in green technology products. (10:00) Eric Fogg of MachineMetrics Eric says that when the 2008 recession hit he started doing more job shop type work with low margins. He eventually closed his company started doing Six Sigma consulting for job shops in Vermont. The experience of analyzing the processes of different shops inspired the idea for MachineMetrics. He says he observed that shops were often making decisions based on a gut feeling rather than based on data. He came up with the idea to pull the data that already was on the machines’ controls to create reports, dashboards and analytics to help machining companies make decisions. (14:00) Eric says the most basic data MachineMetrics tracks is machine utilization—how much machines are running versus how much people think they are running. He says the average perceived utilization of equipment by MachineMetrics’ customers is just under 80%. The actual average is in the high 20 percents to low 30 percents (the numbers are based on active shifts). He says that the numbers can be surprising as various markets differ. For instance, he says for some types of very low volume work (1 or 2 part runs) 15% utilization might be considered world class. He says for high volume shops utilization is often much higher. For instance, he says shops making millions of parts with much thinner margins sometimes have utilization in the 90 percents. He says that no matter what type of shop, clients are usually surprised at their utilization rates. (20:25) Eric gives some examples of how MachineMetrics data uncovered problems that led to low machine utilization. He gives an example of a client who was using cheap 1/4” drill bits on a drill and tapping center. The company calculated it took only 5 minutes to change a drill bit out, so they used cheaper ones with short tool life. The problem was that while operators left to get a new drill bit from the tool crib they got sidetracked and the average time to change the drill bit was actually over 40 minutes. After learning this the owner of the company decided to go out and buy the most expensive drill bit that lasted 10 times longer than those he was using. It was a solution that was much faster and easier to implement then changing the procedure in the shop which could have tons of variables to consider. (24:10) Eric says that MachineMetrics generally does not advise customers how to use the data they collect. He has found that customers usually take the initiative to solve their problems. He says his company is often surprised at the interesting ways that clients utilize the data. (27:40) Eric discusses a phenomenon he sees in CNC shops he calls “cyclecreep.” What happens is that over time people gradually alter they way they run jobs by making tweaks such as changing tools or feed rates which often increases cycle time. The problem is that the manufacturer continues to bill its customer for the original cycle time. Operators see green lights on machines which makes them think everything is running fine but problems are occurring behind the scenes. (30:15) Eric gives an example of a company running the same parts on 20 vertical machining centers that were bought over 10 years. MachineMetrics found that no two machines had the same original cycle time of 40 minutes. He says that some cycle times only differed a few seconds but the delta between fastest machine and the slowest machine was 15 minutes. After seeing this data, in just a week the company was able to adjust the machines to all have a cycle time within a few seconds of each other. (35:30) Eric says it can be difficult for his clients because often MachineMetrics is delivering them bad news. He says that the consistent trend he sees is that the most successful shops have a culture around change. (37:25) Question: Are the effects of the coronavirus a net plus or a net minus for your machining business?

On today’s episode we are discussing the machining industry in Spain. Our guest is Patrick Bosch, Managing Director of Nagamohr, a 150 employee Tier 2 automotive company headquartered in Madrid, Spain. According to Patrick, despite Spain’s reputation as having a relaxed culture, its people are quite serious about manufacturing. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. Or listen on your phone with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts or your favorite app. Main Points Patrick talks about his family’s German origin and about a subsidiary his company started recently, Nagamex, in Mexico. (2:55) Patrick talks about Nagamohr’s business, producing turned parts for Tier 2 automotive. The company has over 80 machines in its shop in Spain, including a large number of Hydromats, as well as CNC multi-spindles and other CNC machines. It has a turnover of around 15,000,000 euros per year. (4:05) Patrick says Nagamohr was originally a joint venture between a Spanish firm and a German firm, Nagares and Mohr, but the two could not get along, even while the company just existed on paper. Nagares, the Spanish division, wanted out of the partnership, so Patrick’s family took its place. Only a few years after the company was founded, the Bosch family assumed full ownership of Nagamohr. (5:25) Patrick talks about his background. He studied business administration and engineering at university. For a few years he worked in the finance field, but when the opportunity arose he decided to join his family’s company in 2011. He assumed a leadership role in 2013. (6:40) Patrick’s talks about why his family moved to Spain. He is the first generation of his family born in the country. In 1962 Patrick’s father originally visited Spain to study Spanish, but decided he preferred to stay in Spain than return to Germany. Patrick’s mother is also German. (8:00) Patrick says that the automotive industry represents over 10% of Spain’s GDP. He says Spain’s manufacturing is most significant in the country’s Basque region (in the north) as well as Catalonia, while his location in Madrid ranks third.  Patrick discusses the division between the regions of the Spain. He says half of the people in country identify themselves as Spanish, while the other half of people identify themselves by their region. (11:45) Patrick talks about the skills gap in Spain. He says it’s hard to find skilled workers in the machining field, so usually its necessary to train employees in house. (13:10) Patrick talks about the industries commonly found in Spain besides automotive, including the energy industry and engineering. (14:40) Patrick says unemployment in Spain fluctuates quickly and can be very high because of the country’s reliance on the seasonal tourism industry. He says before the COVID-19 crisis the country’s unemployment rate was around 11%, but right now it is around 18%. (15:22) Patrick dispels the myth that Spanish people are lazy workers. He says the Spanish work day is similar to that of other countries but the custom of the Spain is to operate one hour later than the rest of the world, as though it were in another time zone. For instance, someone working in a shop in Spain might start at 7:00AM rather than 6:00AM, but then work an hour later in the day. Rather than eating lunch at noon,  Spanish people often eat lunch around 2:00PM. Then they typically start eating dinner around 8:30PM and as late as 10:00PM. (17:10) Patrick discusses salaries in Spain and Spain’s government-run programs such as health care. He says salaries range widely, with entry level in a shop around 20,000 euros a year, with an additional 33% going to the government for social security and health care. He says that Spain’s public health care is very good. He says inexpensive private insurance is also available but generally everyone uses the public health care providers for serious medical concerns even if they have the private insurance. He jokes that he always asks himself why he pays for private insurance. (18:50). Patrick says people in Spain work much harder than other nations realize.  (21:20) Patrick explains the origins of Nagamex, Nagamohr’s Mexican subsidiary, which was originally conceived in 2015 (See video below). Two major customers suggested the company should build an additional facility to be a local supplier to North America. It started the company there two years ago. Patrick says the biggest challenge of working in Mexico is the paperwork. He says there is significant employee turnover there but also many good workers. He also says he hasn’t encountered any corruption there so far. He says the Spanish language and Western culture was one of the driving factors behind building a plant in Mexico rather than in Asia. (21:55) Patrick says business slowed for just a few months due to coronavirus. He says demand for automotive parts is at its peak during September and October, after which it will be easier to see where the company will be in the future. (25:50) Patrick says that 99% Nagamohr’s work is automotive. The company was hit hard by COVID-19, with a reduction of more than 70% for two months. Business has picked up somewhat in the last few month. (27:00) Patrick talks about something new he learned recently. He says two weeks ago at the beach he saw someone riding a special bicycle on water. (27:45) Question: Do you prefer to work early or to work late?

Our podcast team is taking a short break to enjoy Labor Day weekend with our families. In the meantime, in keeping with the international theme of Season 4, we hope you will listen again to the podcast we did with Graeme Sinclair, owner of Parish Engineering, a machine shop in Melbourne, Australia. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. On today’s podcast we interviewed Graeme Sinclair, owner of Parish Engineering, a prominent precision machining shop in Australia. Graeme has been in the machining business for 60 years, since he served his apprenticeship at age 14. In the interview, Graeme discussed the challenges faced by machine shops in Australia verses the rest of the world, his eclectic taste in CNC machines, and his passion for the game of squash. Sinclair explains that one reason he has many different types of equipment is that automotive companies have shut down their operations in Australia, meaning a lot of high volume work has disappeared. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. Or listen on your phone with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts,or your favorite app. Main Points Graeme talks about being a long-time fan of Today’s Machining World. He used to receive the printed copy of the magazine before it went digital and enjoyed sharing the printed articles around the shop. He talks about Lloyd offering him screw machines in the past. (2:40) Graeme speaks about Parish Engineering, which was created by Mr. Parish in 1932. Parish ran turret lathes and single spindle cam screw machines such as INDEX B60s. In 1968, with no one to take over the company, Parish sold the company but remained to train others. Graeme joined the company in 1972 but was laid off in 1975. In 1980, Graeme returned and bought the company with his brother-in-law. His business partner retired in 2010, leaving Graeme and his daughter as the current owners. (4:30) Graeme describes the company as a screw machine job shop with 28 CNC lathes and several vertical machining centers. The company owns Citizen, Star, Mori Seiki, Tsugami, Nakamura Tome, and INDEX machines. Graeme says he prefers Citizens for Swiss work. (6:00) Graeme says the company made parts primarily for the automotive industry when he assumed leadership in the 1980s. It still does some automotive parts, specifically for the Ford Ranger, because the gear shift is made in Australia. Forty percent of the company’s current business is making pneumatic couplings and air fittings for track braking systems. The remainder of the company’s business comes from contract jobs. He says he is pretty sure the Ford Ranger is assembled in South America, South Africa and Thailand. (7:00) Graeme talks about growing up in Melbourne, Australia, and how he got into the machining business. At 14, he left school because his parents were very poor and began an apprenticeship in fitting and turning. For 10 years, he went to night school three nights a week to get a degree in engineering. Both of his daughters are also mechanical engineers; one is the CEO of Parish Engineering and the other works in New York. Graeme is 74 and has been in the business for 60 years. He says he is finally down to working just five and a half days a week. He says he starts work at 8AM or earlier. (9:00) Graeme says he didn’t plan to get into the machining business, but got into fitting and turning because it seemed like a good opportunity for someone with little formal schooling. He also worked in the machining business in England for a short time. (10:40) Graeme talks about the differences between screw machine shops in the US and Australia. He has visited shops in the US and England, and says it seems like they all are facing the same challenges. The main difference he says is the US not using the Metric system. (12:20) Graeme says about 20% of the parts produced by Parish Engineering is exported. (13:10) Graeme says he still has use for multi-spindle screw machines. Three years ago, he acquired a second machining business, which he has been growing. He is thinking about adding another multi-spindle to handle high volumes. CNC work is diminishing slightly because of Australia’s declining auto industry. He says Australia doesn’t support manufacturing as well as other countries. He says manufacturing is strong but not as strong as it used to be.(13:40) Graeme talks about the skills gap and how there are fewer jobs in the machining industry, as well as fewer skilled workers to fill them. He says many of his employees are immigrants because Australians are not as interested in working in manufacturing. He says Australians believe strongly in getting a college education, but many graduates struggle to find jobs in their fields of study. (14:10) Graeme explains that immigration to Australia is not difficult for skilled workers from more developed countries. He says Australia is very culturally diverse and that the number of nationalities in Melbourne is close to 200. (17:20) Graeme describes the differences between Sydney and Melbourne. He says Sydney is larger and closer to the mining industry, but Melbourne is the metal working manufacturing hub of the nation. Graeme says Sydney is similar to New York while Melbourne is Australia’s fashion capital and sports mecca. (18:40) Graeme talks about playing squash, a sport that he has enjoyed for 57 years. He is the captain of his team and says he can still beat players 26 years younger than he is. He says the difference between racquetball and squash is the size of the ball and rackets. Both sports are played on the same court, but he says squash is faster and more challenging. He says when he was growing up, everyone played tennis. (21:20) Graeme discusses the relationship between Australia and China. He says China is one of Australia’s closest large countries and its biggest trading partner. It buys a lot of Australia’s wine and agricultural products. Graeme says doesn’t buy much tooling from China and sells only one part to a Chinese company on an infrequent basis. (25:00) Graeme says many Southern Australians where he lives are not fans of President Trump. He says many people including him regard Trump as “unprofessional.” Graeme says his business has not felt much impact from American foreign policy. (26:20) Graeme says his businesses are going well and they consistently make profit. He says Parish Engineering is the oldest machine shop of its kind in the Australia. He says it has about six competitors of the same caliber. He says his philosophy is not to relax when things are good, and not to worry when they are bad. (28:35) Graeme describes himself as hands-on. He spends a lot of time problem solving and trouble shooting on the shop floor. While he doesn’t mind time in the office, he says being on the floor is the best way to utilize his 59 years of practical shop experience. (30:20) Graeme says having his daughter as CEO gives the company more purpose, knowing that the business will continue into the future. (31:25) Graeme discusses the additional Lico CNC machine that he is looking to purchase for his company. He likes that it is quick and flexible. (31:50) Question: Would you like to move to Australia?

This week we head to Canada, as we continue our season exploring the diverse world of machining around the globe. Our guest is Sander Boelen, founder of Allegiant 3D in Montreal, Canada. Allegiant 3D engineers and produces prototypes for OEMs in the photonics industry around the world; companies making products like lasers, medical instruments and dental scanners.  As a used machinery dealer I’ve sold a lot of machines into Canada over the last few years. From my vantage point, the machining business generally seems to be doing quite well north of the border, and I wanted to find out why that is. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. Or listen on your phone with Google Podcasts.  Apple Podcasts or your favorite app. Main Points Noah talks about meeting Sander Boelen when Sander inquired on Graff-Pinkert’s Trumpf TruLaser Station 5005 Laser Welder it has for sale. (2:40) Sander talks about the origins of his company, Allegiant 3D, which began in the mid-2000s as an engineering firm. The company designs products and manufactures prototypes for the photonics industry, including lasers, receivers, and various types of medical equipment. (4:00) Sander gives an example of the types of businesses he works with, including a local producer of intraoral scanners used in dental work. ( SEE VIDEO BELOW – 6:30) Sander talks about the machine tools that Allegiant 3D has in house to make prototypes for customers. (8:00) Sander talks about his personal experience growing up in the southern region of the Netherlands, which he calls a great breeding ground for technology. In his college years, Sander moved to Canada to take an apprenticeship in the Physics department at McGill University, located in Montreal, Quebec. (9:00) Sander talks about higher education in Canada. He says public education there is free and universities are inexpensive, with tuition costing around $2,500 CAD per year. He says many Americans study in Canada because of the low cost. He also says Canada has good trade schools, including one close to his shop. (11:30)  Sander talks about Montreal, located approximately five hours from Toronto. He says in Quebec French is spoken in the street and signs are in French, but everyone knows English. (13:00) Sander says that Montreal’s machining industry is mainly in the aerospace sector, while machine shops in Toronto, which aren’t far from Detroit, primarily work in the automotive industry. He talks about some of the aerospace suppliers in his area which range greatly in size. Sander says Canada is a good place to start a machining company but at the same time it’s complicated to start a business anywhere in the world. (16:30) Sander talks about the Canadian government. He says Canada has good programs that encourage business. He talks about R&D tax credits that encourage companies to be innovative and work together. (17:50) Sander says he believes that running a machining company in Canada is not that different from running one in the United States. In fact, currently he is looking for potential opportunities to start a company in the US. He also says that Canada’s economy is very socialist, particularly Quebec. He says not needing to provide health care for employees was one reason it was easier for him to start a company in Canada, which has a public health care system. He says that successful companies in Canada often offer supplemental insurance as an extra benefit to employees. (19:00) Sander talks about the higher tax rates in Canada. He says at a certain income bracket tax rates can be 50-55% but there are ways to decrease taxes such as investing in pensions plans. (21:40) Sander says that the machining industry in Canada will be prosperous for the next few years and that he sees work coming back to North America. He says that though the value of the Canadian dollar is much lower than the American dollar the lower value is beneficial for exporting. He says currently the aerospace industry is taking a hit, but his business is busy right now. (23:00) Sander talks about the advantages of having a niche, making parts for the photonics industry. (24:50) Sander says a big challenge he is facing is having to say no to the demands of smaller customers as his company continues to grow. He also says it is a challenge to produce the right parts consistently all of the time. He says making one part well is easy, but making a lot of different parts consistently is difficult. (25:30) Sander says the most interesting thing he learned recently is that pushing employees to work longer hours often has diminishing returns. (27:00) Question: Is doing business with Canadian companies important for your business?

On today’s show we’re discussing the machining business in South Africa. Our guest is Peter Frow. Peter has been immersed in the machining business and has also been a participant in the social change of South Africa over the last 50 years. While so many of his countrymen emigrated, Peter stayed and has recently started a business building a new machine tool in South Africa called FAS Machine Tools. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. Or listen on your phone on your favorite app or Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Main Points Peter talks about his businesses, Renfield Machine Tools, which he started in 1991, and his new company, FAS Machine Tools. Renfield Machine Tools reconditions used cam screw machines and turnkeys them, while FAS Machine Tools builds new machines. (3:40) Peter says FAS Machine Tools builds a machine in South Africa that has the fast cycle times of a cam screw machine and the user-friendliness of a CNC lathe. He says his machine costs half the money one would likely pay for a comparable machine. Peter describes his machine as similar to a Swiss style machine but with a fixed headstock. It has an 8-station turret that moves on 2 axes, a dedicated turning slide that moves on 2 axes, a dedicated forming slide and a dedicated parting slide. The machine’s design allows for tools to work simultaneously on a workpiece, which gets cycle times down. (5:25) Peter discusses what it’s like being 75 years old and starting a new company. He doesn’t worry about his age. (8:00) Peter talks about his background in the machining industry. His father was an engineer at a power utility company in South Africa. Peter received a degree in mechanical engineering and for seven years worked for the same power utility company where his father had worked. In his late 20s he changed careers and went back to his hometown of Durbin. Once there, he joined his father’s screw machine shop. It was supposed to be a temporary gig, but he ended up staying and building up the company over the next nine years, from 1973 to 1982. (9:15)  Peter describes the history of Apartheid in South Africa. He says country consists of essentially four racial groups: black, white, Indian, and those of mixed racial heritage, which South Africans call “colored.”  White South Africans are descended either from Dutch colonists (Afrikaners) or the English. In 1948, the Nationalist Party, supported by the Afrikaners, came to power and instituted the Apartheid, separating the country’s racial groups into different geographical areas. The whites, who represented only 20% of the population, controlled the majority of the land. Despite economic sanctions, the unjust situation lasted 40 years. In the late 1980s, F.W. de Klerk was elected Prime Minister. He eventually released political prisoners such as Nelson Mandela, allowed political parties that had been prohibited, and embarked on the process of negotiating a new constitution, which came to fruition with the 1994 Election. (13:50)  Peter talks about his work as church leader and how he worked to bring reconciliation in South Africa in both a religious and political context from 1983-1990. (18:30)   Peter talks about many whites leaving South Africa for fear of what would happen when Apartheid ended. He says he and his wife never considered leaving. He says he likes the complexity and colorfulness of the country. Peter says he enjoys the variety of people in South Africa, and sees a kinship with America in its diversity. Peter’s son lives in the US and holds dual citizenship. (21:20)  Peter says many South Africans still want to leave the country, most of them white people. He says this is partly because the economy has had a lot of tough times, much of which stemmed from political corruption. He says the country at one point was over 20% white and now it is around 9%. He says that though unemployment is high, there are strong affirmative action programs in place that have helped to level the playing field for black South Africans. (23:40)  Peter says the rise in the price of precious metals has helped South Africa’s economy. He says a big part of the economy is based on mining, specifically gold and platinum. (26:30) Peter says there are a lot of black people and mixed race people working in machining in South Africa, but there still aren’t many who own machining companies. However, he says things are changing. (29:25)  Peter says South Africa continues to suffer from significant disparities in income and living standards. The rich people live in modern cities, while others live in rural areas in mud huts, carrying water on their heads. However, he says the poverty in South Africa is not as extreme as places like India and that people from all over Africa travel to South Africa to find work. (30:10)  Peter says engineering is a relatively popular career choice in South Africa, but the country has the same problems as the US when it comes to finding skilled people to work in machine shops. He says one of the reasons he created his new CNC lathe is because it’s hard to find skilled labor to work on cam machines. (31:40)  Peter discusses where he lives. His home is in a suburban area on the edge of a wildlife reserve so he gets to see a lot of bush bucks and wild pigs nearby. He says his home is just 25 minutes from a small game park, but jokes that there are no lions roaming down the street. (33:00)  Peter talks about wages of a factory worker in South Africa. He says it is not accurate to compare salaries to those in other countries because the cost of living in South Africa is relatively low. He says the standard of living for a person working in the machining industry is similar to what it would be in the US. (34:15) Peter says one of the most interesting things he has learned in the last week was reading about the new peace accord between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). (35:20)   Question: What country do you think builds the best machine tools?

On today’s show we are heading back to Brazil as we continue our season exploring the machining industry around the world. Our guest is Ali Jamil Jomaa, executive director at Samot, one of the most significant automotive parts suppliers in Brazil. Jamil has been at Samot for 32 years and is an authority on the tricky business of running a large machining company in Brazil. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. Or listen on your phone on your favorite app or Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Main Points Jamil gives his background. He says he has been working at Samot for 32 years, since he was 18 years old and loves what he does. He started at the company on the shop floor doing maintenance on CNC lathes. Though he already had some training working on CNC machines, as a teenager Jamil worked for his father, who owned a Lebanese restaurant. He also happened to be dating the daughter of the owner of Samot, Tomislav Jancar. One day he was delivering food from the restaurant to her father (his future father in law), and they spoke about Jamil’s knowledge of CNC machines. This led Tomislav to ask Jamil if he wanted to work at the company. Over time he worked his way up to Executive Director. (3:00 – 6:30) Jamil tells the story of Samot’s owner, Tomislav, immigrating with his family to Brazil from Austria when he was 13 years old as a refugee of World War II. In Brazil, Tomislav studied mechanics and then went to work at Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen. Then he started his own machining company in 1960. (6:30 – 8:15) Jamil says that Tomislav’s business philosophy was to always reinvest in the company, keeping up with the latest technology. This legacy is clear today with the company’s many INDEX CNC multi-spindles and other late model turning equipment. (8:15 – 10:00) Jamil says that the majority of Samot’s customers are Tier 2 automotive (87-88% of sales). He says the remainder of the parts the company produces are for the defense industry. (10:00 – 10:45) Jamil talks about how Brazil’s low valued currency (currently approximately 5 Brazil real to one US dollar) effects his company’s exporting strategies. Jamil says that while other companies try alter their business models with fluctuating currencies, he prefers to continue to export regardless whether real’s value falls or rises. He believes if Samot can make parts efficiently it can remain competitive all the time. He says he has put three sales representatives in the United States to bolster the company’s exports. (11:00 – 12:45) Jamil talks about why Brazil is a tricky place to do business. He says companies have to pay considerable taxes and provide lots of benefits for employees. He says the median salary for an employee at Samot is the equivalent of $10,000 US per year. He says the lowest paid person makes $5,000 and the highest paid makes $80,000. Jamil says that Samot has to pay 80% on top of an employee’s salary. This means if an employee makes $10,000 it costs Samot $18,000. The company has to pay several types of taxes and benefits such social security, private health care, and food (he says the company has a great restaurant). Employees also receive a 13th month of salary for vacation that is also increased by 30%. He says employees have to work 150 days per year to pay their taxes. (12:45 – 19:20) Jamil talks about the disparity of income across Brazil’s population. He says Brazil has 210 million people. He says 47% Brazilians are “economically active people,” but among those people, 25 million are unemployed (searching for work). He says 40% of those economically active people are doing work off the grid. He says that 75% of Brazilians are medium to lower class and 19% of Brazilians are at the bottom “miserable class.” Jamil says that every month he and some friends distribute food to 250 poor people in the street. (19:20 – 24:00) Jamil says he sees a bright future for Brazil, but he doesn’t know how long it will take. He says the government has been making a lot of promises about privatization and taking away extra benefits given to government workers. He says if the tax laws are changed, the country can thrive because it has so many diverse resources. (24:00) Jamil says he knows a lot of Brazilians who want to move to other countries. However, he says that most of them don’t want to move because of economic conditions. Instead, they want to get away from the corrupt government and crime. (26:20) Jamil says in recent times he has realized a great spirit of the employees at Samot, seeing how well they have come together to deal with the obstacles presented by COVID-19. (27:00) Question: Where are you vacationing during the COVID-19 summer?

On Season 4 of Swarfcast, we’re talking to people involved in the machining industry around the globe. On this week’s show, we visit India. Today’s guest is Mayank Patel, director of Mayank BrassFit in Jamnagar, India. In the interview Mayank tells Noah his company produces Brass fittings primarily for Tribal Manufacturing and Parker Hannifin, both located in the United States. Mayank produces the majority of his parts on an expensive Buffoli Transfer machine. This is in stark contrast to his competitors who use cheap but slow single-spindle CNC lathes that require considerable manpower. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. Or listen on your phone on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Main Points Noah introduces Mayank Patel, talking about the used Buffoli Transfer Machine Graff-Pinkert sold him a few years ago. (2:30)  Mayank says he has  two Buffoli Transfer machines, one he bought new and other he bought used from Graff-Pinkert. He says that the new one cost 800,000 Euros. (3:20)  Mayank gives his background. He lives in city called Jamnagar, which is the hub in India for manufacturing brass parts. He went to boarding school from ages 6-15, which he says is standard for a certain class of people in India. He spent two years in Bombay to complete is undergraduate degree. Then he went to London for four years and got a Masters Degree in international business. He says he later learned machining on the job, as opposed to having formal training. (4:30)  Mayank talks about his family’s business. His family has been in business for a long time in the brass machining sector, and he wanted to join the company when he came back from studying in London. He wanted to run the international business operations of the company, but unfortunately he was 8th in line for this position. Mayank says the company did not want to expand into international markets like he did, but just keep the status quo, focusing on India’s domestic market. Ironically, Mayank says his father had explored opportunities to bring high production machines back to India and to export parts to the American market, but the family had never bought in. So, Mayank went on his own to start his own shop. (6:00)  Mayank talks about exporting brass parts to US customers, Tribal Manufacturing and Parker Hannifin. He says it took him two and half years to get his first PO cut for those accounts. In 2018, when he came to the United States to dismantle the Buffoli he had bought from Graff-Pinkert he visited Parker Hannifin. He says before he started selling parts to Tribal and Parker Hannifin he was shipping parts to second tier distributors in Kansas City and Michigan. Mayank says the main reason he bought his first Buffoli was to machine lead-free parts, which had not yet been done before in India. Mayank had to import lead-free brass rod samples from Italy to prove he could machine the material. At that time mills were not producing led-free brass in India because plumbing in India is entirely made up of iron pipes. Mayank says that before he proved he could run lead-free brass his own workers doubted him, saying it was impossible to run the material and he was wasting time and money attempting to. Mayank believed that if other countries required parts made from lead-free brass it had to be possible for him to machine it. He also knew that if he didn’t start machining it, a competitor would be the first to do it. (9:20)  Mayank shows some parts he makes on the Buffoli for plumbing applications such as compression elbows machined from profiled bar. (See video). The parts are lead-free and he can machine them in 3.5 to 4 seconds. He also shows another part he makes from ECO BRASS with a volume of 1-2 million pieces. He says the tolerances are pretty wide open for brass plumbing parts (see video above). (14:00)  Mayank says his competitors are now making parts with lead-less brass. He is using high quality ECO BRASS because he is sourcing OEMs in the United States, while his competitors are machining lower quality alloys for India’s domestic brass market. (17:00) Mayank says that his competitors machine with inexpensive single-spindle CNC lathes. He says for each part it requires requires two machines. One lathe machines a blank, and then a second machine completes the part. Usually one person has to operate each machine. He says with this two machine process parts often have a 2 minute cycle time (one minute for each machine). Mayank runs the same parts on his Buffoli in 3.5 to 4 seconds. Mayank says the machine shops running the single-spindle CNC lathes have to run lights-out to be profitable. He says he runs his Buffoli 20 hours a day. He also has 10 of the cheap single-spindle lathes in his shop for lower volume runs. (19:00) Mayank says he personally works for 10-15 hours per day running the Buffolis and employs one other person to run them. He says he likes to be on the shop floor, solving problems and adjusting setups on the complex and powerful machines. (23:00)  Mayank says that engineering is a very popular field for young people to study in India and that many companies send employees to their own engineering schools to groom their own workforce. (24:00)  Mayank says a huge problem with running the slow single-spindle machines is that the large number of operators required creates tons of variables. He says the human factor decides the efficiency of a shop and the quality of the parts. If there are 50 machines, there are 50 different operators, 50 difference cycle times, and 50 different tolerances. (25:20)  Mayank says when he was in Italy to get a demonstration of his Buffoli he observed a more efficient and focused work ethic than he generally sees in India. (26:50)  Mayank says a typical machine operator in India makes less than the equivalent of $200 per month but this amount of money can go much further in India than many other countries. He says in India the cost of living is cheaper and often extended families live together sharing a house and car, which cuts expenses. (28:30)  Mayank says a skilled machine setup person in India might make $600-$700 a month. He says that operators have the opportunity to climb the professional ladder and make more money as they acquire skills. He says his company also trains its own employees. (30:00)  Mayank says nobody India wants to spend much money on technology. He says his peers tell him he is crazy to buy a million dollar machine when he could buy 50 single-spindle CNC lathes for the same money. Mayank says the stereotype that Indians like to negotiate is valid. He says there are negotiations on everything in India, from buying a carton of eggs, to buying materials, to buying machines. (33:00)  Mayank says he sees India’s economy modernizing but says “change is always slow when you’re talking about a nation of 1.3 billion people.” He says the current Prime Minister is trying to change the country from what it was during the last 40-50 years, and obviously India is a huge market. He says there is a lot of high quality machining there but not for brass. He does not sell his parts domestically because Indians mainly want cheap brass products rather expensive high quality parts. (36:00) Question: Do you expect products from India to be good quality?

On this week’s episode we’re continuing our tour of the machining world outside the United States. Today’s stop is Brazil, where I’m speaking with Rogerio Salvatico, Industrial Manager at Engemet, a major precision parts supplier for Tier 1 and Tier 2 Automotive in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. Or listen on your phone on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Main Points (3:00) Rogerio gives his background. He grew up in São Paulo, Brazil. During high school he attended a specialized school with technical classes in the afternoon. When he was 17 he started an apprenticeship at Mecano Fabril, a machining company producing automotive components. The first machine he learned on was a Haas SL10, which he says he immediately fell in love with. He says for him the idea of CNC machining parts for cars was fantastic. Mecano Fabril had 60 Wickman cam multi-spindle screw machines. (4:20) Rogerio says that after high school he went to university to study engineering. Later he went to work for Engemet, a large automotive parts supplier, where after eight years he became engineering manager.  (5:30) Rogerio says São Paulo has a lot of industry and technical schools. He says the city has a lot of opportunities for people to work in the machining industry because lot of automotive suppliers are located nearby.  (6:30) Rogerio says Engemet is primarily an automotive supplier. It supplies parts for Tier 1 and Tier 2, both cars and trucks. (6:50) Rogerio states that most of the parts Engemet makes are for domestic use, though the company has supplied some firms in Germany. He says Brazil has factories of most of the major car companies from around the world. He says most of the cars manufactured in Brazil are sold in Brazil. (8:20) Rogerio talks about Embraer Brazil, a Brazilian owned company that is the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, behind only Boeing and Airbus. He says many regional jets in the United States are produced by Embraer, usually models with 100 seats or less. He says Boeing recently tried to merge with Embraer, but the merger was stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic.  (10:20) Rogerio says that the salary of a machine operator in Brazil starts at around $500 a month, however this number is misleading because the current economic crisis has made the Brazilian reais plummet. He says when the currency is stable it is around 3 or 4 reais to the dollar. Recently the currency fell to 5 reais to the dollar and at one point it was around 6 to one dollar. (12:20) Rogerio says that because of the falling Brazilian currency a lot of customers are asking domestic vendors to make parts that they were buying overseas in the past. He says this is a big opportunity for Brazilian manufacturing companies. However, current automotive parts volumes are at 40% of their average because of lower demand for cars during the pandemic.  (15:00) Rogerio says there are a lot of machining companies in Brazil doing medical and dental implant components. He says there are also many companies machining components for the oil and mining sectors.  (17:00) Rogerio shares that he hopes the Brazilian economy is going to improve before the end of the year. He says the country was optimistic the economy was going to have a good year at the beginning of 2020.   (18:00) Rogerio says that it is pretty difficult to borrow money in Brazil. He says the country’s interest rates are very high, and it’s hard to buy capital equipment from abroad because used machine tool imports are taxed at 30 percent. (20:20) Rogerio explains that it’s hard to start an automotive or aerospace parts supplier in Brazil because it takes so much capital, but he sees a lot of startups in the Dental and Medical sectors.  (21:45) Rogerio says that Brazil’s president Balsonaro has been called the country’s version of Trump because he is pro free markets and often makes impulsive remarks. (Watch the clip below).   (23:15) Rogerio says that people in Brazil’s favelas (ghettos) sometimes work in machining shops, but it isn’t easy for them to get those jobs. (25:15) Rogerio likes that people in Brazil are social and enjoy life. He says that families there spend a lot time together and he loves the country’s food and music. He says when the economy is good Brazilians are content, but when the economy has problems a lot of people want to leave. He says he would like to move to a smaller city in the country because it’s peaceful and without much crime, while still having a lot of industry. (27:00) Rogerio says that Brazil is the seventh largest economy in the world. He says the country has a lot of opportunities to prosper in the future because of its manufacturing, oil, mining, and finance industries. However it’s still developing, so life there isn’t always easy. Question: Is Brazil a place you would like to visit?