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?
For years, Graff-Pinkert has tried to convince customers who use 6-spindle Acme-Gridley or New Britain automatic screw machines that they would benefit from running Wickmans instead.
Before I go any further with this spiel, I want to add that I have never run production, so I’m sure there are reasons why Wickmans are not always the best option. And, the point of this blog is a lot more than just a commentary on screw machines.
Sometimes machining companies tell Graff-Pinkert they have long running, lucrative jobs supplying parts to the D.O.D., and it always has seemed a little mysterious to me. What are these parts they are supplying to the government? How does a company get to become a supplier to the D.O.D.?
Is supplying parts to the U.S. Government a good idea for a small-sized or medium-sized machining company?
Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”
Today, I’m going to tell you a story about how dots in my past came together serendipitously to help me solve problems and make some good deals in our used machinery business. When I met the people in these stories, I had no idea they would be significant to our business down the line, and of course, I never could have predicted how they would connect with one another.
Lately, Graff-Pinkert has seen a lot of new opportunities for our used machinery business–particularly in the category of machines that I like to call “Sexy Ugly.” Many customers are clearing the decks of their dirty Acme, Davenport, and Brown & Sharpe cam screw machines to become pure CNC machine shops, while at the same time, quite a few machining companies are still embracing those ancient cast iron beasts.
On today’s episode, we’re shaking things up. We’re playing an episode from a podcast I guested on, the Business Growth on Purpose podcast with Jose Palomino.
I followed a Tesla Model S driving home last night. Attractive blue sedan, even in the Chicago gloom.
I have not personally seen any other makes of electric vehicles other than a rivian pickup, which looked like it had never been driven on the streets of Chi-town. I know Ford has sold some Mustangs, and GM sold some Bolts, which they discontinued. I see no electric BMWs or Mercedes or Audis or Chinese built electric varieties in my town.
Spinner is a German CNC machine tool brand that’s been around for 73 years. The company sold 1,200 CNC mills turning centers, and automation systems in Europe last year, yet in the United States, a large amount of people in the machining industry have never even heard of them.
I followed a Tesla Model S driving home last night. Attractive blue sedan, even in the Chicago gloom.
I have not personally seen any other makes of electric vehicles other than a rivian pickup, which looked like it had never been driven on the streets of Chi-town. I know Ford has sold some Mustangs, and GM sold some Bolts, which they discontinued. I see no electric BMWs or Mercedes or Audis or Chinese built electric varieties in my town.
On today’s show we’re talking about what you do if your business’s growth becomes stagnant or even stops all together.
Our guest is Jose Palomino, host of the Business Growth on Purpose podcast and founder and CEO of Value Prop, a consultancy that gives established B2B companies strategies to jump start growth when it has fallen off.