Articles

How a Navy SEAL Runs a Machining Company, with Bill Berrien (Part II)—EP172

After serving in the Navy SEALs for nine years, Bill Berrien retired from the military in 1999, ready for a new chapter in his life. He attended Harvard business school where there were six other SEALs in his class.

After graduating from Harvard, Bill worked as a Six Sigma Blackbelt at General Electric Health Care, which brought him to the Milwaukee area in 2002. Rather than climb the ladder at a large corporation, Bill’s ambition was to eventually acquire his own business.

How a Navy SEAL Runs a Machining Company, with Bill Berrien (Part I) — EP171

Bill Berrien has had an extraordinary professional journey.

He earned an MBA at Harvard, worked for General Electric and then in private equity. Ten years ago, he purchased Pindel Global Precision, a successful two-generation machining company near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which he has modernized and grown over the past decade.

Oh, I forgot to mention, he was also a Navy SEAL officer for nine years.

How to Find New Manufacturing Talent, with Ann Wyatt — EP 170

It seems like every other day as a machinery dealer, I talk to someone who says they would purchase a machine from me, if only they could find a person to run it.

Today’s podcast guest, Ann Wyatt, founder of Ann Wyatt Recruiting, makes her living by finding manufacturing professionals for companies.

Buying the Bones

Two clients in the machining business. One is going up for auction soon. The other hopes to sell for $10M. Both are family businesses run by brothers. One runs mostly National Acmes, the other Davenports, Wickmans, and Brown & Sharpes.

One has well-trained operators, the other says they are quitting the business because they can’t get an operator nor setup man.

The one that is auctioning off their machines did mostly military and medical, the successful shop is almost all automotive.

STAR CNC Swiss Guru, Dave Polito—EP 169

Dave Polito is my Star CNC guru.

He’s always been there when I’ve had questions, whether I was asking about a 1999 Star SA12, or a sweet SV38R located in Asia, or the ever flummoxing Siemens control on an ECAS-20.

An Offer Too Good to Refuse

Everyday, Graff-Pinkert runs into a myriad of excuses why people won’t purchase a used machine tool from us. Maybe they don’t have the work. Maybe they don’t have the expertise to run a machine. Maybe they are not sophisticated in negotiating with buyers and suppliers. Maybe they don’t have enough money.

Knowing What Your Machines Are Up To, with Jeff Rizzie–EP 168

Do you know what is really going on with your machines? Have you actually listened to them lately?

Today’s guest on Swarfcast is Jeff Rizzie, Director of Digital Enablement at Sandvik Coromant.

Must do or Could do?

I get stressed sometimes choosing what tasks to prioritize in my day.

Tough For Ford

I wish I hadn’t bought the story.

Ford, the pickup truck gorilla, was going to take over the electric pick up market which was going to crush the gas and diesel portion over the next few years.

Ford knows the pickup business like nobody else. The Japanese and Koreans know new cars, but trucks are a mystery for them. The Germans can spell BMW, but for hauling a boat or a jalopy, “nein.”

Machining in Mexico, with Rogério Mezadri–EP 167

Our guest on the podcast today is Rogério Mezadri, Director of SAMOT Mexico, a 200-employee automotive machining company in Guanajuato, Mexico.

Rogério and I discussed the challenges running a machining company in Mexico. We talked about Mexican manufacturers upgrading technology. We also talked about the difficulty to find enough skilled manufacturing workers in Mexico. Yes, they have that problem too.

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