April 08, 2025

Tai Chi, Machine Tools, and ALS, with Greg Knight-EP 240

1 hour 1 minute

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 Greg at PMTS 2025 in Cleveland last week, working in the Absolute Machine Tools booth despite being retired for several years after being diagnosed with ALS. I’ve always found Greg fascinating and fun to talk to since we met 20 years ago at my first PMPA event in San Antonio. As you can tell from this episode title, we’re going to unpack a lot of intriguing topics in this interview.

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Interview Highlights

When Gregs father’s health declined, Greg’s mother pleaded with her only child to help run the family business. What began as temporary assistance evolved into a 20-year career. His father’s shop, which remarkably turned a profit from its first year, eventually expanded from primarily Brown & Sharp machines to include CNC lathes and mills while maintaining its identity as a screw machine house.

Greg’s expertise with Brown & Sharpe machines caught the attention of American Adaptive Machine Technology (AMT), who sought his insights while developing ServoCam technology—a modernization that brought CNC capabilities to traditional Brown and Sharpe machines. Greg eventually joined AMT to lead this innovation, selling his shop at his mother’s behest. The ServoCam technology, which initially cost about $15,000 per upgrade in 1998, eventually evolved to complete machine rebuilds priced at $150,000.

Greg later formed connections with Taiwanese manufacturer Lico, bringing their full CNC screw machines to the American market. His industry journey concluded at Absolute Machine Tools, where he ran their production turning division for eight years.

In 2019, Greg was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Initially told he had 3-5 years to live, he now believes he has a slower-progressing variant that might give him 10-12 years. The disease has affected his right arm’s functionality and is beginning to impact his back and legs, requiring adaptations in daily activities.

Greg has practiced Tai Chi for over 40 years, approaching it as both a martial art and philosophical practice. Fortunately he has always embraced the finesse-oriented approach rather than relying on his natural size and strength, explaining that he thought, “Someday I’m going to be old and infirm and that strength is going to fail me. This stuff will work forever.”

Greg continues to practice Tai Chi despite his condition, using it to stay active and mobile. His pragmatic approach to life’s challenges emerges clearly, telling me: “It is what it is. So now what are you going to do with it?” Rather than dwelling on limitations, Greg adapts and continues moving forward. He is still the fun, and fascinating guy I met at the PMPA management update when I was 25.

Question: What events transpired to lead you to your career?

This summary was assisted by claude.ai.

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