Keeping up with growth: Turning Performance

Launched in the early days of World War II, Graetz Manufacturing Inc. began as a family-run sawmill and blacksmith shop that made equipment and repair parts for the local farming community. Located in Pound, Wisconsin, the company has continued to recognize and adapt to the needs of customers and implement necessary machining technology as demand warrants.

Graetz Manufacturing gradually expanded its machining capabilities to make parts, such as gears, sprockets and shafts, and the company produces components and entire machines for the agricultural, marine, logging and packaging industries. In addition to machining, the manufacturer offers a full welding/fabrication shop, including heat treating, and a tool and die shop, said President Jamie Graetz, who noted that his great-uncle Edward founded the business over 80 years ago.

“We’re not just a machine shop,” he said. “We actually run a job shop and a production facility side by side. Most of our production runs consist of families of parts from 50 to 500 pieces and are for OEMs in the agriculture side of the business. We have long-term partnerships, some more than 50 years in length, with most major agriculture OEMs.”Workpiece materials range from steel and cast iron to bronze and aluminum, and tolerances are typically as tight as 0.0076 mm to 0.0127 mm (0.0003″ to 0.0005″).Graetz said the company regularly adds equipment to improve efficiency at its 12,077-sq.-m (130,000-sq.-ft.) facility, and one of the shop’s most recent acquisitions was a Mazak VC-Ez 20 three-axis vertical machining center.”I believe it was the first one that came off the line,” he said.Graetz said the shop explored its options but had positive experiences with Mazak turning centers in the past and one employee was familiar with this size of machine. The VMC’s travels are 1,050 mm (41.34″) in the x-axis, 510 mm (20.08″) in the y-axis and 635 mm (25″) in the z-axis.”(That employee) said this will fit the bill for what we’re trying to do,” Graetz said.He said another attractive aspect of the VMC was that it is relatively easy to program. Mazak reports that the machine’s Mazatrol SmoothX CNC includes full Mazatrol conversational programming and EIA/ISO G code programming compatibilities, along with Quick Mazatrol for easy part-program creation and confirmation and Mazatrol Twins for offline part programming.Chad Kanzelberger, CNC machinist for milling at Graetz Manufacturing, operates a VC-Ez 20 three-axis vertical machining center. Image courtesy of Mazak

Graetz pointed out the well-known challenges of attracting and retaining workers with the skills to program and operate machining equipment. While the vast majority of young people are computer literate and immersed in the internet and video games, they are typically not trained in the trades.

“How do you fit the bill of what the current teaching structure of school is?” he said. “The Mazak screen is like one big video game.”

He added that Graetz Manufacturing’s purchase of the machine was an attempt to attract people who can perform G and M code programming at the machine.

“It’s a speedier process of programming to set up a simple job,” Graetz said.