Graff-Pinkert - Screw Machines, Hydromats, CNCs

I encounter a lot of friction in my work. Too many obstacles get in the way of me doing the things I need to do and the things I like to do.

I know all of you out there have friction in your work too, and if you’re in the manufacturing business you likely encounter friction when you have to achieve the necessary quality to be ISO certified.

Today’s guest on the show, Adam Marsh, has a company called Ledge Inc. that guides manufacturers through the ISO certification process.

Most of us don’t have a knack for pivoting. 

We follow the standard curriculum, and we keep going forward when we get in a lane, whether we believe it’s the right direction or not.

But for Michael Gimbel, my guest on today’s show, seeing setbacks as serendipity and then pivoting is a natural gift.

Michael built a CNC router in his garage by age 12. He dropped out of an elite university after one year to start a company selling 3D printing technology that he invented.

Today’s show is the second episode in our season about Swiss machining.

I interviewed Chris Armstrong last week while he was parked at a rest stop somewhere in Texas. He was en route on an all day trip to service a customer’s Citizens. I met Chris and his partner, Ryan Madsen, owners of Texas Swiss, a few years ago, trying to sell them some Citizen L20s from Asia.

I stare at the artistic montage of Today’s Machining World covers that rests against the wall behind my son, Noah. Boxes filled with old issues of Screw Machine World and Today’s Machining World lay behind my chair. We moved Graff-Pinkert’s offices last week, 700 ft. down 166th Street in Oak Forest, Illinois, and those precious copies of my magazines will not be left behind.