Chris Armstrong has saved me more times than I can count—helping us at Graff-Pinkert through tough machinery deals, especially when it comes to Swiss machines. Citizens? He’s our guy. But today’s podcast isn’t just about technical know-how. After years of driving coast to coast fixing machines and solving problems most people wouldn’t touch, Chris is [...]

It seems like every other day as a machinery dealer, I talk to someone who says they would purchase a machine from me, if only they could find a person to run it.  Today’s podcast guest, Ann Wyatt, founder of Ann Wyatt Recruiting, makes her living by finding manufacturing professionals for companies. Ann’s journey to [...]

Lately, I’ve been kind of on an AI bender using chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude daily. Whether I like it or not, AI is transforming the way I write, the way I search the Internet, maybe even the way I think. My guest on today’s show, Riley Hutchinson, is bringing that transformation into CNC machine [...]

When you’re shopping for machines do you find yourself wondering if the more expensive option for a machine is the better one? Does a taiwanese brand perform worse than a German brand? Will one machine last longer than another? Are some machines pretty similar between certain brands? The truth is, paying more money for a [...]

I met today’s guest, Mike Pelham, completely by chance — over breakfast at the hotel bar during PMTS in Cleveland. He knew who I was from the podcast. But I didn’t know him. Kind of strange when that happens — but it’s really cool. After we talked for five minutes, I started thinking he could [...]

Working in the machining industry I hear the term “lean manufacturing” mentioned a lot. But what does the word “lean” really mean in this context? And how do you implement it in your company?  To help me clarify these questions, I interviewed Matthew Rassi, founder of Twenty Helping Hands. He’s a lean manufacturing consultant who [...]

Born with no intention of becoming a machinist, Greg Knight says he was drafted into “indentured servitude” at age 16 when his father started a Brown & Sharpe machine shop in their garage. Despite his initial distaste for manual labor, fate had other plans for the psychology, philosophy, religion, and sociology major. I ran into [...]

Josh Hacko is a fourth generation watchmaker. He says he was born into his vocation, but in reality his work is truly his own.  Josh is Technical Director of two sister companies, NH Micro and Nicholas Hacko Watchmaker, which manufactures high-end wrist watches in Sydney, Australia, that can cost tens of thousands of dollars.  The [...]

On today’s show I’m bringing back  one of my favorite past guests on the podcast—Damon Pistulka. The first time Damon was on the show he talked about his company Exit Your Way, which helps businesses level up for successful acquisitions. Today he is going to talk about his other venture, B2BTail, which advises small manufacturing [...]

My guest on today’s show, Thadd Mellott, called us at Graff-Pinkert because he needed a Star SB20 CNC Swiss machine. His company, Circle M Spring, in Warsaw, Indiana, produces medical parts, including implantable orthopedic components. Circle M Spring is currently merging with a medical component design company that specializes in sports medicine. Thadd is incredibly [...]