Karlstadt Machining Doubles in Size
The shop invests in a new Okuma vertical machining center to meet current demand, with plans to add three more machines over the next five years.
Posted: November 2, 2015
Karlstadt Machining LLC (Bryan, OH) uses machine tools from Okuma America Corporation (Charlotte, NC) and recently purchased a new GENOS M560-V vertical machining center to keep up with their expanding machining business. According to owner Dave Karlstadt, these machines play a huge role in his shop’s success.
Karlstadt raises 400-500 head of cattle, farms 500 acres and has a very prosperous manufacturing facility. He made a decision a six years ago to add manufacturing to his business portfolio to balance the slow periods of his work as a steer farmer. After some thorough CNC machine tool research, he decided to invest in a few used Okuma machine tools, citing their reliability, accuracy and ability to produce quality parts on time. He started with four wire EDM, an Okuma MC-4VA and an Okuma LB lathe.
He never regretted his decision to purchase the used machines, which now total ten VMCs and five lathes, and is very excited to have his first new GENOS M560-V mill. In six short years his machining business has doubled in size, moving into a new 12,000 sq ft facility. He now has 17 employees, with four of them being part time from the local vocational school. He believes that manufacturing entrepreneurs should offer the youth of America a chance to have skilled training and grow our manufacturing future.
Karlstadt knew it was time to upgrade to the latest CNC machining technology to keep up with current demand, so he added the GENOS M560-V to his shop. This flexible and affordable VMC easily handles cutting large parts for the oil and steel industries he primarily serves. “With its functionality we’re able to run parts in less time and compete with the rest of the world,” notes Karlstadt. His shop now boasts 19 Okuma machine tools. His full service distributor, Gosiger Inc. (Dayton, OH), was helpful in the decision making process and ensures that Karlstadt’s machines tools are running at peak performance.
In addition to reliability, flexibility and quality of these machines, Karlstadt also cites the Mid-Auto function on the control as a feature he can’t live without. “In the middle of the program, at any point in time, you can completely stop the machine and then hit restart, and it goes right back to where it came from. That’s a pretty nice feature,” says Karlstadt. “The reliability of these machines plays a huge role in our success. We don’t have to worry about downtime. Our direction for the next five years will be to add a couple more GENOS machine tools, plus a horizontal machining center with a pallet changer. Being able to produce quality parts on time is our biggest advantage.”
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