Left – Chris shows off a big bore sleeve that they produced on the GT-3080
Right – SCI produce shafts, nozzles, gears, valves, pump parts for the agriculture, water movement, and food processing industries.
Shar-Craft Inc. (SCI) has been a fixture in Bakersfield, California, since the late 60’s when they began manufacturing gaskets and distributing industrial products. They got into manual machining in the mid 70’s and it’s still a strategic part of their business. One way to stay out of the ups and downs of the local oil and gas market is to have a diverse customer base in different industries. Though they are happy enough to take on work in the city’s best-known industry, they instead concentrate their efforts on reverse engineering OEM parts for agriculture, water movement, and food processing. SCI’s manufacturing materials are a solid mixture of plastics (Delrin, Teflon, and UHMW,) and metals (4140, stainless, brass, and aluminum.) Their primary production facility is centrally located in the city proper and is 13,000sq.ft. with a mixture of CNC milling and turning.
SCI, started in 1967, is a family business that Chris Craft, Shar-Craft’s President and CEO, purchased a dozen years ago from his parents. “I spent some time out in the oil fields before joining my folks here as a pump mechanic and machinist,” tells Chris. “Our COO, Rich Essman has been here 18 years, and we make a pretty great team.” “I took this job because I was desperate for work,” jokes Rich. “I left a corrections position up north and came back here where I was born and raised. I was desperate for a job and Chris was the only person who said start Monday. And here I am.” “Rich is a great example of how we promote from within to make the company better,” adds Chris. “He knew nothing about what we did here when I hired him as an AP clerk. He learned everything and just excelled at anything he put his mind to. He started as the lowest paid person in the company, but worked like he was the highest paid. He is a great COO, and his experience moving up in the company gives him useful insight when it comes to seeing employee’s possibilities of advancement.”
SCI has a wide variety of Ganesh turning centers. Their smallest is a Ganesh Cyclone CS 7-axis CNC lathe with a sub-spindle that is engineered for intricate turn-mill operations. The Ganesh FCL-300s and FSL-6512TM lathes offer versatile turning solutions for small to medium-sized components. The FCL-300s is a compact lathe suitable for high-precision tasks, while the FSL-6512TM combines turning and milling capabilities The Ganesh GT-3080 is a heavy-duty CNC lathe tailored for large and heavy components.
SCI didn’t get their first CNC machine until 40 years after they opened. Now, CNC is their largest department both in sales and in shop size. They have two locations, one in Bakersfield, and the other up the way in Shafter, CA. All their CNC milling and turning is in Bakersfield, and most of the manuals are at the 2nd shop. “We were a little late to the CNC game because we never really needed it,” explains Rich. “We are good at what we do manually, but the manual work was shrinking, and it was getting harder and harder to find people with the skills needed to excel using those machines. It is easier to train someone to run a CNC than it is to teach them the artisan ways of being a manual machinist.” “I originally wasn’t planning to buy any CNC mills or lathes,” continues Chris. “I was looking for a centerless grinder, but somehow, I ended up buying three CNC machines. We had no jobs for them, we had no programmer, I just knew it was cleaner than grinding and offered us a lot of growth potential. The economy was down in ‘08 when we got them, but we saw that as a way to earn market shares when it came back. I had a couple jobs in the back of my head that I thought we could land, so the machines we purchased were all configured around what we might need to do the work. We got a Ganesh lathe, a Ganesh mill, and a Ganesh Swiss from what is now called Expand Machinery.”
Chris came across Ganesh, now Expand Machinery, because they were one of the closest machine dealers to him in Bakersfield. It was important having a local company to better serve their needs. He got more than he bargained for in his now decades long relationship with CEO, Harvinder Singh. “Harvinder and Expand have been great,” tells Chris. “The machines are more accurate, faster, and require way less maintenance than other brands we have in the shop now. Our goal is to have all our CNC mills and lathes be the GEN series going forward. But, buying new machines isn’t something we need to do often. Our first three machines from 2008 are still running perfectly in the harsh Bakersfield conditions. Harvinder undersold me on how long they would continue to produce great parts.” “6 years ago, we needed more machines,” details Rich. “So, we purchased another shop to help expand our size, adding a lot more tools, accumulating new customers, and doubling our CNC capabilities. We consolidated locations and have a good mix now of milling and turning in the 13 CNC machining centers.” “For a business like ours having a versatile and capable machine lineup is crucial,” explains Chris. “A combination of Ganesh machines—including the VMC-2216, VMC-2218, GT-3080, Cyclone CS 7-axis with sub-spindle, FCL-300s, and FSL-6512TM—offer a comprehensive solution to meet our diverse manufacturing needs. We also have a couple Haas machine tools, a VF5, a couple VF2s, and two of their lathes that came when we bought the other company. Our smallest machine, the Cyclone CS 7, routinely makes ¼” sized parts. While the GT-3080 can run a 10”x60” bar. We’ve had no problem on our Ganesh machines to get to that fourth decimal place”
SCI has a combination of Ganesh VMC 2216 and VMC 2218 mills and Haas VF5, VF2 mills.
A well-balanced machine lineup can be the difference between a capable job shop and one with time on their hands. For SCI, the Ganesh brand offers impressive versatility and performance at a price point that is reachable, empowering them to meet production demands with confidence.
When considered as a complete production solution, SCI’s mix of Ganesh machines covers a broad range of manufacturing needs. From heavy-duty turning and large-part milling, to multi-axis, multi-op work, and fast small-part runs the lineup provides a balanced production backbone. These machines enable tight production tolerances—typically within ±0.0002” to ±0.0004”—that meet the sanitary and reliability standards required in regulated industries.
Ganesh GT-3080: Heavy-Duty CNC Turning – The GT-3080 brings serious turning muscle to the floor. Designed for large, high-torque applications, it features a swing over bed of 30”, with a 60” distance between centers and up to 10” spindle bore options. This lathe is built to handle long shafts, pump components, and heavy flanges common in agriculture and irrigation systems. Its gearbox-driven spindle and 30 HP motor deliver the torque needed for aggressive roughing, while the robust cast iron bed maintains excellent damping for improved surface finishes.
The Ganesh Cyclone CS 7-axis CNC lathe with a sub-spindle was one of the first three machines Chris purchased back in 2008.
Ganesh Cyclone CS: 7-Axis Powerhouse with Sub-Spindle – For more complex parts requiring multi-axis machining, the Cyclone CS 7-axis lathe stands out. Featuring a main spindle and sub-spindle (both up to 6,000 RPM), live tooling, and a true Y-axis, it enables full milling, drilling, and turning on both ends of a part without secondary operations. The Cyclone CS includes 27 tool positions with up to 11 live tools, enabling high-mix, low-volume work with minimal setups.
Ganesh FCL-300s & FSL-6512TM: Small-Footprint Precision – The FCL-300s is a compact, linear-guide CNC lathe ideal for producing small, precise components with speed. Its compact size belies its rigidity and accuracy, with a repeatability spec of ±0.0002”. This machine is well-suited for small bushings, spacers, and connectors often found in high-pressure agricultural equipment or food-processing systems. The FSL-6512TM is a mill-turn hybrid machine offering full CNC turning along with live tooling on a turret. This makes it an ideal solution for short-run complex parts where a secondary mill op would otherwise be required. Its live tooling and C-axis indexing offer tight tolerance capability while reducing setup times and handling errors. For a shop looking to compete in demanding sectors like agriculture and food processing, this machine configuration delivers a winning mix of precision, efficiency, and adaptability.
SCI hasn’t purchased any new machines in the last few years because they don’t need to. According to Chris “Harvinder undersold me on how long they would continue to produce great parts.” New GEN MILLs and GEN TURNs are on the docket once they find a little more floor space.
SCI feels they have a niche when it comes to run quantities. “We are known for our low quantities and high precision,” touts Chris. “We will run one, five, ten, or a thousand, but where we really shine is sub 100 pieces.” “We will make you five parts all day long and love it,” adds Rich. “Even at 5 pieces we are competitive against the OEM parts. We typically quote the job starting at 1, then 5, then 10 and so forth so the customer sees the pricing curve and how much it saves to order more. We are competing against European OEM parts typically. Lots of French, Swiss, German, manufactures. So, nothing is cheap, they have long lead times, and everything has tight tolerances. By stocking some of the most often ordered parts for our customers gives us a longer run, and they get parts right when they need them. We are taking a little bit of a chance, but our customers are long term partners, and it is a win for them and a win for our production team to just do a year’s worth of running in one shot. Even a full year’s worth of parts might still be less than 100, that we ran on the Swiss.”
Chris and Rich work with companies like Expand Machinery for the same reasons their customers like working with them. Reliability, honesty, and quality at a fair price point. Most people think Asia when competing with overseas manufacturing, where a cheap price is the only thing that matters. That isn’t the case when it comes to agriculture, and pumping systems. It might not have the same restrictions as aerospace, but that doesn’t make it any less precise. We often overlook the other side of the coin and the other oversea when it comes to manufacturing. European manufacturers are considered a benchmark for quality. Countries like Germany and Switzerland are known for ultra-high precision components. “Swiss Made” or “German Engineered” carries significant weight in many industries. Bakersfield might not be there yet in notoriety, but SCI is leading the charge to make the “Made As It Should Be” slogan take off in B-Town.
Left – Efrian inspects tolerances as operations are completed on the Ganesh FCL-300s
Right – Manual machining is still part of the business model at SCI. Over the years it has become more difficult to find skilled
artisans that can do the work. Pete has been with SCI for 36 years.