Swarfcast

On today’s podcast we discuss how to run a profitable high volume machining business. Our guest is Harry Eighmy, co-owner and C.O.O. of American Turned Products (ATP) in Erie, Pennsylvania. Scroll down to listen to the podcast Harry and his brother Scott believe it is important to invest heavily in high-end turning equipment such as INDEX multi-spindles and Hydromat rotary transfer machines for large volumes. They also make sure to balance their high volume work with smaller run jobs using CNC Swiss and turning centers, such as Tornos DECOs and INDEX C200s. Main points of the interview (3:03) Harry discusses American Turned Products’ focus on high volume machining, but also the company’s ability to machine smaller run prototype parts in order to win high volume jobs. (5:05) Harry talks about the history of his family’s machining businesses, starting with a Brown & Sharp shop started by his grandfather around 1955. The family’s business evolved into a higher volume model using ACME-GRIDLEYs in 1970s. (6:40) Harry says that the company doesn’t have a huge amount of customers, but it tries to do a variety of jobs for those it has. The company has no customer with more than 25% of its business. (8:00-14:40) Harry talks about the Davenport shop in El Paso, Texas, his family started in 1990, which he ran for five years starting at age 26. (16:30) Harry talks about his father, Jerry Eighmy, who had the foresight in the late ‘90s to sell off all of the company’s ACMEs. The company upgraded to all European multi-spindles, particularly Index CNC multi-spindles. (23:00-26:00) Harry talks about ATP’s reliance on INDEX CNC multi-spindles and turning centers, Hydromat rotary transfer machines, and Tornos CNC Swiss. He says that to justify buying a $500,000 to $2 million machine a company has to run it at least 100 hours per week. (31:00) Harry talks about the importance of having a vision for the company going forward. He says that the quality of people a company does business for is one of the most important factors for success. Question: Is high volume production too risky these days?

On today’s podcast I interview Dr. Doug Conroy of Conroy Orthopedic & Sports Physical Therapy. Doug has been treating injured folks for decades, including me as I rehab my left Achilles tendon. Our interview focuses on the negative effects a workplace environment can have on the human body. Scroll down to listen to the podcast Doug told me that in the past, workplace health risks were mostly associated with accidents in industrial settings. However, he says that many of today’s experts consider office jobs with constant sitting as possibly more dangerous to workers’ health, going as far as to characterize sitting as “the new smoking.” Main points of the interview  (2:55) Doug explains his expertise in the field of orthopedic physical therapy. (5:18) Doug explains that the association of workplace health risks with an industrial setting is changing. Arguably, the largest threat to the health of the working population is prolonged sitting, which he characterizes as “the new smoking.” (11:00 – 16:00) Doug recommends workers change position after 20 to 30 minutes, regardless of their posture. He says that it is generally healthier to be a mechanic who moves around than to work at a desk. (16:00) Doug explains how many people do not seek medical advice or physical therapy soon enough. As a result, it can take twice as long to reverse the bad habits their bodies have become accustomed to. (17:00) Doug describes various scenarios where surgery should be performed or abstained from. He cites medical studies which show that many doctors recommend unnecessary surgeries. (20:10) Doug talks about the use of prescription pain killers during recovery. He says they were overprescribed in the past, but the trend is changing. (24:10) Doug talks about the improvements in knee, hip, and other joint replacement surgeries. In the past, joint replacements made sense only for older people because of the need to replace them every 10 to 15 years. With new advancements, the components that go into joint replacements are significantly improved so that more young people are receiving replacements. (30:50) Doug discusses various sports injuries, such as damaged Achilles tendons, ACLs, ulnar collateral ligaments and thumb injuries. He compares the severity of those injuries and examines new developments in treatment. (35:25) Doug reminds listeners to pay attention to what their bodies are telling them. He also says people need to share more information with doctors and physical therapists, in order to better their chance for recovery. Question: Would you rather work in the shop or in the office?

For the fiftieth episode of Swarfcast we are playing clips from some of our favorite past podcasts. Scroll Down to Listen to the Podcast Highlights include: (3:06) From episode 1, Lloyd talks about his decision to go into the family machinery business. He also talks about his working relationship with his father and his father’s cousin Aaron Pinkert. (7:37) From episode 15, George Breiwa, founder of DynoVap, talks about his proprietary vaporizer that does not rely on an external electrical source. He discusses manufacturing his product using CNC Swiss screw machines. (11:10) From episode 10, John Griner, owner of Griner Engineering, discusses his company’s drug testing policy. (13:50) From episode 18, Jerry Levine, former executive at Amoco, gives his take on global warming, saying the earth’s environment is not in an age of crisis as many scientists believe. (17:00) From episode 5, Esben Østergaard, founder of Universal Robot, discusses the role of collaborative robots in the future of manufacturing. He says that in today’s economy there is a need for robots that are easy to redeploy for constantly changing short runs. (20:25) From episode 37, Brent Robertson of Fathom gives Lloyd and Noah insight on how they can find purpose running their machine tool business and media business. (23:53) From episode 47, business writer, Bo Burlingham discusses the keys for business owners to successfully exit their businesses. (26:47) From Episode 43, Bruno Schmitter, owner of Hydromat USA, discusses his upbringing in Switzerland and the early days of selling Hydromat rotary transfer machines in the United States. Question: Who would you like to hear interviewed in a future Swarfcast?

On today’s podcast we interview Sebastien Schmitt, North American Robotics Division Manager of Stäubli, a prominent robot producer from Switzerland. Sebastien explains how Stäubli focuses on building robots to help produce smaller automative components for car interiors and parts under the hood rather than assembling large car bodies like some of its competitors. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. Sebastien also discusses Stäubli’s TX2 Robot, a model which can be used in a collaborative or a standard industrial mode, plus the importance of working with robot integrators who are specialized in their specific fields in order to get the most out of robots. Highlights from the podcast include: (2:44) Sebastien Schmitt discusses the history of Stäubli since the company’s inception in 1892 in Switzerland as a producer of textile machines. Later Stäubli got into the connector business, and in 1980s it entered the robotics field. (6:10) Sebastien discusses the specialty areas for Stäubli robots. He says that 50 percent of industrial robots are utilized by the automotive sector. Stäubli focuses on the production of smaller automotive components such as car interiors and parts under the hood. Other robotics companies produce a lot of larger robots for welding and assembling car bodies. (7:37) Sebastien discusses Stäubli’s significance in automating industries such as pharmaceuticals, life sciences and medical devices. (13:00-18:30) Sebastien discusses the trend of collaborative robots. Stäubli’s TX2 model is capable of being used as a collaborative robot as well as standard industrial type. He discusses how robots can only truly be collaborative if they are properly integrated. Telling the robot what to do is not complicated. The complicated part is integrating the robot to execute a productive application. (18:30) Sebastien explaines Stäubli’s philosophy of partnering with integrators who are specialists in the field of an application rather than using an in-house integration department. (23:25) Sebastien discusses statistics which show that when countries bring in a lot of robotics into their infrastructure their unemployment rate actually decreases. (25:55) Sebastien discusses how he got into robotics. He talks about his upbringing in northeast France, an area once known for mining. He was influenced by his father, a mechanic who was the first in his family who didn’t go into mining. (29:43) Sebastien gives his preference for the film Short Circuit over The Terminator. Question: What task do you wish you could give to a robot?

Bo Burlingham has spent much of his career writing about the lives of entrepreneurs. I recently interviewed him at his home in the rustic hills of Oakland, California. Scroll Down to Listen to the Podcast We talked about the need to plan for a strong and successful conclusion to a business career, as described in his recent book, Finish Big. Bo discussed seven factors that characterized owners who had happy exits: (10:55) You must know who you are, what you want and why. (11:44) You have to build a sellable business—a business that you could sell when you wanted, to whom you wanted, for an amount you considered fair. (11:20) You have to give yourself enough time. Most people don’t start thinking about exiting early enough. You need to find a successor, and it takes a long to time to get that right. (13:15) You have to get the right advice from others who have exited their own businesses in the past. (13:50) You have to become very clear in your own mind about what you want to have happen to the people in the company for you to feel at peace afterwards. (14:20) You must do as much do diligence on the buyer as the buyer is going to do on you. You want to find out why they really want to own the company. Otherwise you are in for some bad surprises. (14:44) You have to figure out what you are going to to do after the exit, who you are going to serve. Bo found that many people after they leave their company don’t know who they are anymore. They no longer know what their purpose is in life. Question: What will you do after you are finished with your current work?

Our guest on today’s podcast is Zak Pashak, founder of Detroit Bikes, the largest bike frame manufacturer in the United States. All bikes that the company sells are assembled in Detroit, and its high-end models have frames constructed of high quality American Chromoly steel. Zak lamented to us that he couldn’t find many companies in the U.S. to supply parts for wheels and other bike components. We told him we would take on the mission personally to find him some. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. Zak hales from Calgary, Canada, where he had success in the bar business and organizing one of Canada’s largest music festivals. He eventually developed an interest in politics and urban planning, which would inspire his next venture. In 2011, he sold all of his assets in Canada and moved to Detroit where he started Detroit Bikes in the building of an old sign company. Zak said he chose Detroit because he saw the city as a place with rich history. He remarked that it was where cars were first mass produced, where great genres of music were invented, and a place with talent in the manufacturing field. He also said he wanted to go to a challenging place where he could be part of positive change. We could feel a real sense of purpose when Zak talked about his company. He takes pride in assembling bicycles in the U.S., a country where most of them are imported. He appreciates boosting the economy of a revitalizing city. But Zak said his primary mission is changing urban landscapes. He really wants to contribute to changing the paradigm of how people get around in cities, making them less congested and more environmentally friendly. He said this ultimately will be decided by governments who invest in new types of transportation infrastructure—including bike lanes. Question: Does it make you want to buy a product more if it is made in the U.S.?

Today’s podcast is part two of an interview we did with Bruno Schmitter, CEO and COO of Hydromat USA. When Bruno came to America in 1979, his competition was National Acme and New Britain Multi-Spindles. Today he says his competition is mainly CNC Swiss and 5-axis Turning Centers. Bruno argues that having one machine that can do many operations at a time is a better option than having multiple machines which require more space, more people and more tooling. Scroll Down to Listen To The Podcast. In the interview we also discussed Hydromat’s diversification into selling bar loaders and the company’s newest offering, the Eclipse 12-100, which offers machining up to 100mm. Question: Would you rather have a Hydromat or six CNC Swiss machines?

Today’s podcast is part one of a two part interview we did with Bruno Schmitter, CEO and COO of Hydromat USA. In 1979 at the age of 25, Bruno came to St. Louis to sell and popularize the previously unknown transfer machine in North America. Bruno told us that at a young age growing up in Switzerland his father began encouraging him to go into the machine tool business. He also discussed his first years in the United States when he traveled the country convincing multi-spindle screw machine shops to use Hydromats. Scroll down to listen to the podcast below. Question: Did your father encourage you to go into the machining business?

Today’s podcast is part 2 of an interview we did with John Habe IV, President of Metal Seal Precision, a machining company based in Mentor, Ohio. Listen to the podcast on the player below. Over the last several years John has grown Metal Seal Precision both organically and through major acquisitions. According to John, growing through acquisitions can be financially rewarding but does not come easily. John discussed the difficulty in buying companies, which often have emotionally attached owners. He also talked about how he calculates the buy price of a company. He looks at cashflow, often called EBITDA in the acquisitions business, as well as criteria such as product sector, customer diversity, and management style of the current ownership. Question: Is this a good time to go into the machining business? If so, what sector?

Today’s podcast is part 1 of a two part interview we did with John Habe IV of Metal Seal Corporation, a machining company based in Mentor, Ohio. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. John and his two brothers own Metal Seal and several other machining companies, along with some granite countertop firms. He told us that since they purchased their father’s machining business in 1999 they have built their enterprise into one doing over $100 million in sales per year. In the interview John discussed how Metal Seal dealt with a catastrophic fire in 2014, as well as his approach to delegation of power in a family business. Question: Do you have a fire story?