People & Companies

CEO of John Force Racing Inc. and 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force along with Cory Miller, General Manager of Hurco North America, announced an initial five year agreement between the Indianapolis area based companies that will continue to enhance the development and production capabilities of JFR and its Force American Made (FAM) machining company.

Takumi USA, Indianapolis, recently unveiled its new technology center and showroom to distributor partners to kick off the introduction of Takumi USA to the North American market.

Patrick M. Ryan, Vice President of Manufacturing for Kankakee, Ill.-based Stor-Loc, passed away June 25, 2016. A founder of the Stor-Loc Modular Drawer System, Pat recently celebrated 25 years in business.

Sunnen's new SVL-2115 automated lapping machine brings increased productivity and part consistency to what is traditionally a manual process. Based on the same machine platform as the popular SV-2100 honing system, the SVL-2115 provides single-setup processing of hydraulic valves, sleeves, fuel system components and other parts that are prone to distortion when honed.

Dorner Mfg. Corp., Hartland, Wis., recently appointed Michael Goodall as its Regional Sales Manager covering the area of Northern Ohio and Michigan. In this new position with Dorner, Goodall will be working with sales channel partners and key accounts to grow the company's industrial and sanitary conveyor business, as well as focusing on the automation markets throughout both states.

Carbide Tool Services Inc., Anoka, Minn., recently hired Dan Hoemberg as Operations Manager. Hoemberg, who graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor's degree in Manufacturing Management, also has a degree from Staples Technical College in Tool Room Machining.

END USER: Kluba Machine LLC, (636) 390-4088. SOLUTION PROVIDER: CNC Software Inc., (800) 228-2877, www.mastercam.com. CHALLENGE: Improve cycle times and spindle uptime while maintaining part quality. SOLUTION: CAD/CAM software.

It's fitting that "Technology" is part of Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Cos.'s name. In addition to providing a full slate of machining and assembly services, ITAMCO created what it says is the first industrial Bluetooth transmitter (called iBlue) and continues to develop a broad range of manufacturing apps for mobile devices and Google Glass. What's more, ITAMCO has produced a virtual manufacturing showroom and developed a manufacturing forklift simulator that allows users to interact with factory equipment using the MTConnect protocol, Autodesk Factory Suite, Unity 3D game development platform, Oculus Rift virtual-reality headset and Leap motion controller.

The majority of engineers I've worked with are solution seekers who usually go out of their way to make things easier for people working on their projects. However, as a result of the physical separation of engineering departments from machine shops, communication and feedback often suffer. Machinists who provide feedback to engineers help both groups work together more productively, and engineers would do well to spend time talking with shop personnel to determine what obstacles they face.

We're getting lots of random requests for machined parts, and that segment of our business remains busy. One recent example was a business acquaintance of mine who contacted our shop requesting machining work. I had not seen him in a while and wasn't up to date with his professional activities, but his parts request made it clear he was still freelancing some adventurous projects.

Value-added services shorten lead times and increase sales opportunities for parts manufacturers. The decision to bring traditionally outsourced services in-house can be an expensive and scary proposition—one with the potential to either transform a company or send it into bankruptcy. Yet that's exactly what many manufacturing companies do, and often they are pleased with the results. That proved true for the four companies profiled in the following pages.