General Shop Equipment & Supplies

John and Miles O'Brien are two of a few South Bend, Ind., business founders whose product is still being manufactured in the United States. John and Miles, born in Ireland in 1868, were identical twins whose family immigrated to the U.S., settling in Connecticut in the 1870s. At the age of 35, they went into business for themselves in a one-room building at the corner of West Washington and Johnson streets in South Bend. They began manufacturing lathes, at the time the most vital machine for any industry using metal or steel parts.

There's a very old parable, thought to have originated in the Indian subcontinent, of six blind (or blind-folded) men asked to describe an elephant. They reach different conclusions depending upon which part of the elephant they touch: side – it's like a wall; leg – it's like a tree; trunk – it's like a snake; tusk – it's like a spear; ear – it's like a fan; and tail – it's like a rope.n

U.S. manufacturers face an aging workforce, concerns regarding safety best practices, ongoing movement toward lean manufacturing and the rapid emergence of new technologies. At the same time, people are struggling to pay bills, find work that provides a living wage, and support themselves and their families.

The surface treatment global business unit of Ludwigshafen, Germany-based BASF SE's coatings division, operating under the Chemetall brand, opened a laboratory at its 38,700-sq.-ft. manufacturing and office facility in Querétaro, Mexico.

A sensei is a teacher or instructor, usually of Japanese martial arts. Sensai the company offers an augmented productivity platform for manufacturing operations, but transferring knowledge to help people make better decisions is at the heart of the company's concept, according to CEO Porfirio Lima. "We believe that the most valuable asset an organization has is the knowledge that comes from its people."

A rotary tooling development manager started March 19 and operates out of the office in Pittsburgh.

Sylvain Julien joined Kordt GmbH & Co. KG as key account manager of international projects.

Absolute Machine Tools Inc., Lorain, Ohio, is marking its 30th year as a machine tool importer and distributor in North America.

Acme Industrial Co., Carpentersville, Ill., a subsidiary of Jergens Inc., promoted George Margelos to general manager.

Jtekt Toyoda Americas Corp., Arlington Heights, Ill., named GeroTech Inc. distributor for east and north Michigan territories for the entire product line, excluding grinder sales.

Milltronics USA Inc., Waconia, Minn., named Protek CNC Sales Corp., Simi Valley, Calif., the exclusive distributor for Southern California and southern Nevada.

Kitagawa North-Tech Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., which manufactures standard chucks, advanced chucks, custom-engineered workholding and steady rests, hired Mike Johnston as regional sales manager.