If you really wanted to buy something that you thought could be important in your life, would you be willing to walk away from the opportunity because the price tag seemed higher than it should be or because you felt offended by the seller? I ran into this dilemma this week.
Our guest on the podcast today is Shawn Gaskin, owner of Swiss Technologies of New England and Stone Medical in Plainville, Massachusetts. Shawn started Swiss Technologies over 20 years ago, with one L20 Citizen making parts out of sterling silver for Tiffany and Company. Over the years, his company has grown into a diversified shop, doing a significant amount of medical work. If you want to learn about the medical Swiss components business I recommend you check out this interview.
Our guest on today’s podcast is Adar Hay, co-founder and CEO of Jiga, a company providing a web platform for manufacturing buyers and suppliers to communicate and establish new relationships. It’s ironic how in today’s world, in which we have so many channels to communicate and network, it’s still complicated to do those things well. Jiga’s mission is to simplify those processes.
Our guest on today’s podcast is Justin Tauber, co-owner and Vice President of Integrated Machinery Systems (IMS), a machine tool distributor in Itasca, Illinois.
Justin’s company sells a wide variety of machine tools, ranging from turning machines, machining centers, grinders, 3D printers and automation equipment. In our interview, Justin discussed the merits of high-end expensive European machine tools as well as the advantages of lower cost brands built in Taiwan. If you’re currently thinking about purchasing a new CNC machine, I think you will find this interview useful.
What if the popular wisdom is wrong? As usual.
For many decades, the consensus was that if inflation gets too hot, the Federal Reserve must raise interest rates to tame it. Reduce demand for goods and services by making them more expensive, then people will purchase less and the pressure on prices will seep out like air in a balloon. It makes sense, seemingly. The Fed is the only powerful force capable of doing this in the American economy because Congress and the President have become helpless beasts stuck in Washington sludge, incapable of reducing federal spending.
I came into contact with Edwin Nyuysever Mbinkar a month ago, when he sent an email to Graff-Pinkert inquiring about an expensive Mikron 5-axis machining center on our website. He explained that he was the manager of a High Tech Centre (British spelling of “Center”) in Cameroon, and he wanted his school to have the first 5-axis machining center in the country.
You are confused about inflation, interest rates, recession—your job. I’m not going to act like the Wall Street economist who knows less than nothing, but proclaims there is a 10% to 90% chance of recession to justify their million-dollar paycheck.
I’m going to tell you what is going to happen over the next year. Give me a grade next July 4th when the fireworks go off.
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By Noah Graff
Today’s guest on the podcast is Matt Wardle, owner and President of JD Machine Corp. in Ogden, Utah. JD Machine currently produces around 4,000 active part numbers, serving a diverse group of sectors, which include aerospace, defense, and medical.
Matt says he sometimes envies other machining companies who have a more narrow focus on the types of parts they produce because it simplifies their operations. Yet, he insists that producing a diverse group of parts is the best path for his company to have longterm success.
By Noah Graff
Our guests on today’s show are Michael Ottenweller and Terry Hanson, of Ottenweller Company, a medium-sized fabrication and machining company headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Ottenweller is a 108-year-old fourth generation family business. I spoke with Michael and Terry about how a family business can grow and thrive for over a century and continue to find new quality talent.
I wonder. How many people in the world do I already know who I’m missing out on doing great things with?
The used machinery business is quite good lately for Graff-Pinkert, though I’m probably jinxing this prosperous period by saying that. Sometimes I ask myself how I have contributed to make these deals happen. I know that sounds like a comment from a business person lacking swag, but it’s good to ask oneself why things are working while they are working. It often seems like we luck into our best deals. We just happen to serendipitously find the one person in the world looking for a legacy Hydromat HB45-12 or an INDEX MS42C CNC Multi-Spindle Mfd. 1999.
Getting lucky—finding that one guy (or woman) who wants to buy our machines—I think can be attributed to our customer network as much as anything. It sounds crazy, but I think at least 50 percent of the deals Graff-Pinkert makes include at least one party who we already have a past relationship with. We have relationships with a colorful cast of characters around the world, comprised of dealers, end-users, and auctioneers. A lot of these people I’ve really gotten to know well for many years, and I regard them as friends. We talk on the phone often, and they actually seem to genuinely care when they ask how my newborn son Abe is doing.