SITUATION Cast Technologies is a family-owned-and-operated foundry and machine shop that got its start 120 years ago making brass plumbing products. Today, the Peoria, Ill., company primarily machines aluminum and brass diesel engine, transmission and earth-moving components such...
SITUATION Parkn Manufacturing (Litchfield, Ohio) knows machine fixture design and how it can be applied to boost quality and productivity. When the company opened its doors in 2005, it encountered fixturing limitations within its commodity vertical machining center, limiting overall...
THE CHALLENGE Innovative Mold of Washington, Mich., excels in producing complex mold making applications such as two-shot rotational molds. Most of the company’s projects are built for the automotive industry’s tier-one and tier-two original equipment manufacturers (OEMs),...
THE CHALLENGE While the manufacturing industry has long been a part of the American economic lifeblood, it has certainly had its share of highs and lows. Cayce Washington, owner of Valley Tool in Water Valley, Miss., had experienced his own personal adversity, but finally found...
THE CHALLENGE Vanderhorst Brothers Inc. performs milling, turning, EDM, programming and assembly services. This mid-sized Simi Valley, Calif., machining company has been around for four decades, performing work for customers in the aerospace, medical, semiconductor and commercial...
THE CHALLENGE Quincy Compressor in Bay Minette, Ala., makes rotary screw and piston air compressors, vacuum pumps and air treatment products. It manufactures these products totally in-house—making the parts, assembling the compressors and getting them out the door. Created...
THE CHALLENGE Twin Disc of Racine, Wis., develops, engineers, manufactures and distributes power transmission products that make things work. These products are installed in the drivelines and powertrains of farm tractors, road pavers, cranes, oil rigs, firefighting and rescue vehicles,...
THE CHALLENGE Abipa Canada Inc. of Laval, Quebec, is a Tier 2 supplier of small to mid-sized aircraft engine and structural components. The company wanted to be more competitive with low-labor-cost countries and realized that having stand-alone machining centers with an operator...
THE CHALLENGE Chicago Faucets was founded in 1901, and just a few years later invented the Quaturn cartridge—a part that is known throughout the industry for its reliability and value. Its design has been a part of every Chicago faucet developed since then. Due to...
THE CHALLENGE All Axis Research & Development LLC of Claremont, N.H., creates prototypes for clients in the electronics, aerospace, glass and industrial printing industries. It also manages larger runs and creates fixtures for the parts it designs. Because it is regularly...