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Best of Swarfcast Ep. 31 – Ken Mandile, Employees Are Buying His Business

We’re currently working on fresh new episodes of Swarfcast. In the meantime, we felt this “Best of” was fitting for the recent season on CNC Swiss machining.

In March of 2019, we interviewed Ken Mandile, founder of Swissturn, a successful CNC Swiss machine shop in Oxford, Massachusetts. Ken’s children are not interested in taking over Swissturn when he eventually retires, so five years ago Ken began restructuring his company into an employee stock ownership plan or ESOP, in which he will gradually transfer ownership and management to his employees.

Swarfcast Ep. 112 - Developing a World-Class CNC Turning Company with Mike Reader

Today’s podcast is the fourth episode of our season interviewing people involved in CNC Swiss machining.

Swarfcast Ep. 111 - Producing Tiny Parts on Swiss with Dan Rudolph

On today’s podcast we continue our season about Swiss machining. Our guest is Dan Rudolph, co-owner and founder of Rudolph LLC. Rudolph LLC produces medical parts as small as .1 millimeter on Citizen lathes. The company has only three staff members, Dan, his wife, and his father, but Dan says he has no plans to hire employees and the company continues to grow.

Swarfcast Ep. 110 - Citizen Mad Scientist, Chris Armstrong

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.

Swarfcast Ep. 109 - Citizen CNC Swiss Lathes with Marc Klecka

Today’s show is the first episode of our new season about Swiss-Type CNC machining. Our guest is Marc Klecka, founder and president of Concentric Corporation, a prominent distributor of Citizen-Cincom CNC Swiss lathes in Cleveland, Ohio.

Swarfcast Ep. 108 - Optimizing Tool Life with Benjamin York

Our guest on today’s show is Benjamin York.
Benjamin’s company, Theory 168, makes a product called Tool Life that collects and analyzes data on machine tools to optimize efficiency in machine shops.

Swarfcast Ep. 107 - Reshaping the Supply Chain After COVID-19, with Professor Yossi Sheffi

Our guest on today’s show is Professor Yossi Sheffi, author of the new book, The New (AB)NORMAL: Reshaping Business and Supply Chain Strategy Beyond Covid-19.

In the interview, Sheffi explains how companies and governments around the world have dealt with the supply chain disruption over the past year’s pandemic. He also gives insight on how people can prepare for the next time the world’s supply chain is turned on its head

Swarfcast Ep. 106 - The Machining World of 2020, with Noah and Lloyd Graff

On today’s show we’re looking back on the year 2020.

Obviously, it was a tough year for the majority of people around the world. Loved ones were taken away, and many businesses couldn’t stay afloat. There were a lot of things that sucked. But there were a few pleasant surprises along the way as well. People adapted, they embraced limitations, and even found new opportunities for success.

Swarfcast Ep. 103 - Listening to Customers and Selling Hammers with Joel Trusty

On today’s podcast we continue our season talking to successful companies who produce their own products.

Swarfcast Ep. 102 - Growing a Community of Passionate Customers, with George Breiwa

On today’s episode we continue our season talking about companies who produce their own products.

Our guest is George Breiwa, founder of DynaVap, a company that produces a unique type of vaporizer, using Index multi-spindles and CNC Swiss lathes. George says that one of the keys to the company’s success is growing and nurturing a community of passionate customers.

Graff-Pinkert - Screw Machines, Hydromats, CNCs