Graff-Pinkert - Screw Machines, Hydromats, CNCs

Editor’s Note: This podcast was recorded in Spring of 2022. Tyler has now been retired for over 2 years, and Noah is the proud father of a 1 year old.

In early 2022, Tyler Jarosz sent me an email to ask if Graff-Pinkert would be interested in a used little parts washer he no longer needed in his machine shop. He found out about Graff-Pinkert from listening to Swarfcast, which I’m proud to say is the only podcast he has ever listened to.

Last week, I heard a story about an old customer of Graff-Pinkert who lost three key machinists because a shop down the street was paying more. It led me to make a post on Linkedin, asking if machinists and setup people were paid enough to attract young people to the machining field. On the whole, commenters vented that they were not compensated what they felt they deserved working in the machining industry.  The post has 53 comments so far (I’m usually lucky to get one).

In November of 2015, our used machine tool company, Graff-Pinkert, bought a Schütte S32PC, mfd. 2002, in Cologne, Germany, from a dealer we didn’t know. It was a nice looking machine. A big 32mm CNC Multi-Spindle, painted red and cream because it came out of a Mercedes factory. We were excited to bring the machine to the US until the seller allowed it to get wet when he put it outside in a rainstorm.

The question seems as obvious as the sun in the sky. Our company can make more money if we can find skilled workers to run our machines. Where are they? 

What if that is the wrong question? 

What if there were a dozen questions and the simple, straightforward one was leading you into a brick wall? 

What if a better question was how much will it cost to hire the skilled workers I need?