CNC West Dec jan 2019

34 www.CNC-West.com CNC WEST December 2018/January 2019 In 2006 Ted quit his job and opened Twachtmann Industries LLC. He purchased the machines, support equipment and even a forklift to make it nearly a turnkey business. “Even though I had done all the jobs at differ- ent times in my career no one ever tells you how hard it is to run your own company,” explains Ted. “You think as the employee that the owner does nothing but sit in their office while you do all the work. That is not the case obvi- ously. I had a few customers lined up without taking any work from my employer, but I still wasn’t fully prepared for the experience. So many little nuances make a big dif- ference. Like if you slow down a little bit and you have good machinists sweeping floors. That is costly, but no one wants to let a good employee go. The recession hit during our infancy and that taught me a lot about run- ning the company. It hit us harder than I would have liked since we were a new business. We’ve made an effort over the last few years to target more long-term projects to re- duce our exposure when things slow down the next time. Shops survive by making quality parts. I think if you are making quality parts right now and doing a good job for your customers that you are busy. Business is taking off for us as a direct result of our quality. Word of mouth has netted us new and exciting programs.” Twachtmann Industries run the gamut on machines and rely on trusted brands that service a broad range of capabilities. If you examine the shop layout you won’t find any brand new machining centers. You will see a pair of Mori Seiki horizontals, two Mori ZL15 dual turrets mill turns, Kiwa horizontals, a couple of Haas, a couple of Fadals and even a few Takisawas. Ted has a proclivity for owning a good machine that last for a long time. “We hold tight tolerances on machines that have been around the block a time or two,” details Ted. “We earn a lot of our business by being able to produce parts that other shops can’t. Mori’s are sold round the world as a machine that stands the test of time and every bit of it is true. I’m inter- polating 2 tenths tolerance on 3” diameter bores. I don’t use boring bars, we interpolate everything. Machining ability along with a good quality machine makes all the difference. We just landed a big casting job because the customer pulled it from another shop that couldn’t get it done right.” The part mentioned presents some unique challenges that require a little more time and effort than a standard “grip it and rip it.” It is a 24” tuning fork looking With an estimated doubling of production by as soon as next year Twachtmann Industries needed to up their quality game. With more speed and better accuracy Twachtmann’s quality lab can now keep up with the demand. The Renishaw head and CMM Management software reports were two key features Ted and his team were looking for when they decided to upgrade.