CNC West Feb March 2019

36 www.CNC-West.com CNC WEST February/March 2019 thing. Not everyone had that. I’d buy machines with as many tools as it could hold and a big table so I could setup up multiple jobs. The same thing when it comes to 5 axis machining and having a 6 pallet Okuma horizontal. Not everyone has advanced machining centers, so we have an advantage when it comes to bidding on the job and pro- ducing it.” Liberty purchased their first Okuma Genos M560v vertical milling center four years ago. Right away they saw the benefits of more speed and accuracy. So much so that three months later they added a second identi- cal machine. Last year they added an Okuma MB4000H horizontal system and upgraded it this year by adding a six- pallet changer. “We got all three of our Okumas from Gosiger and our favorite salesman Tom Tran,” tells Bill Brock. “Seriously, we’ve been buying machines of vary- ing brands for many years and he is a great guy. Not just a great sales guy, but also a great guy. He worked with us from the get go and is very responsive to our needs. Gosiger and Okuma are phenomenal. We have a job that used to require outside grinding on the diameter, but with our Okuma machines it is now machined in house within the same spec. The MB4000H horizontal came stock with two pallets, but we liked the versatility of the pallets so much that we recently changed it to a six- pallet system. The pallet system is very compact and fits perfectly in the space we had. We have 182 tools available to support the number of pallets and jobs. We have all Chick Workhold- ing pallets giving us the ability to have as many jobs setup on it as we have pallet sides. We are still learning how to maximize production and are slowly moving jobs over to that machine. The goal is to be running lights out here in a few months. We want to touch it twice a day to unload and load and let it do its thing the rest of the shift. You can even add a 5th axis pallet to the horizontal for even more capabilities, and that is something we are looking into as well.” “When I bought the first Okuma it wasn’t for me,” ex- plains Big Bill. “It was for my daughter Jodie, Bill, their kids and everyone who works for me. I didn’t need it, but the future owners of Liberty Industries did.” Liberty In- dustries employs 18 people and only four of them don’t have someone related to them also working here. Father and sons, father and daughters, nephews, uncles, sisters, brothers, wives and husbands, it is all family. Danny start- ed by sweeping floors three decades ago and is the lathe setup guy now. “The employees are what make us great,” adds Jodie. “We don’t have what we have because of us. It is all because of them that the business is able to succeed.” “You can’t beat working here with family,” concludes Bill Brock. “Jodie grew up here and our kids are growing up here. We have employees who have been here 30 years and their kids work here. It is a great place to work. We take a lot of pride in our parts, in the company and in our families, because here at Liberty Industries it is all the same thing.” Liberty Industries is a family owned and run business. Of their 18 employees only four of them don’t have another family member as part of the team.