Machine Shop Mastery: Insights from America’s Top Shops

Since the beginning of the Top Shops benchmarking program that Modern Machine Shop debuted in 2011, thousands of machine shops from across the U.S. have filled out the annual survey and received custom reports that show how their shops compare to leading U.S. machine shops. The custom reports that participants receive are not common, all-purpose fare; they are thorough and unambiguous, and their goal is to provide comparative data that will help you measure your business against the top 20% of respondents — those we identify as “Top Shops” — across our four primary categories of machining technology, shopfloor practices, business strategies and human resources. Put simply, the Top Shops program delivers a system of measuring and quantifying success in discrete parts manufacturing, and helps you determine what strategic changes are necessary to improve.

Did I mention that the process is free?

Or at least, the report is free to those who invest the (not insignificant) time it takes to complete the survey. But even there, this year’s Top Shops survey participants discovered good news: This year, our colleagues at Gardner Intelligence divided the questions into bite-sized categories so users could focus their time and energy on their own business priorities.

Each spring after the window closes on the survey, Modern’s editors are presented with heaping piles of data. We organize it, segment it and dive into the results for days. It’s a joyful slog. It’s enough data to cross your eyes, but ultimately we know that the data forms a pathway to great stories about some of the most impressive machine shops in America — the four shops we’ve named as this year’s Top Shops Honorees. Sharing the stories of our Top Shops honorees in this special issue of Modern — and at our Top Shops event at IMTS — is our ultimate goal.

Take Mitotec Precision, for example, our 2024 Top Shops Honoree for Business Strategies. On page 68, Senior Associate Editor Eli Plaskett writes that, under the leadership of CEO Clinton Pouillie, Mitotec has carved out a niche in the manufacturing world by sticking to a few simple but effective principles. Founded in 1963 in Nicedah, Wisconsin, this small-town shop has grown to employ 90 workers across three shifts, all while maintaining a reputation for producing complex parts with impressive speed. Pouillie credits its success to maintaining a consistent set of values. “Having the same values in how we deal with our customers and our employees… I think that makes us special,” he says.

Mitotec has also mastered the art of handling urgent jobs without throwing its schedule into chaos. This is in large part thanks to strategic capacity planning and some nifty multispindle machines that help them meet increased demand — like the time a customer increased its order from 1,000 pieces a month to 100,000 pieces a year. Mitotec is also committed to community involvement and collaborates with local schools to promote manufacturing careers, offer tours and educational support.

When it comes to embracing technology, SSP — our Top Shops Honoree for Machining Technology — takes the cake. Nestled in Twinsburg, Ohio, this company, founded in 1926 and now under the stewardship of owner, President and CEO David King, evolved from a humble job shop into a high-tech powerhouse, producing valves and fittings for a variety of industries. The company’s secret sauce? As Senior Editor Julia Hider writes on page 60, advanced machining technologies not only boost SSP’s productivity, but also keep the employees satisfied. As King succinctly puts it, “It’s more fun to work with new equipment. It engages the workforce.”

Standardization of equipment also plays a critical role in SSP’s strategy, making life easier for both operators and maintenance teams. By standardizing machine tools and controls, SSP operators can move seamlessly between different machines without needing a crash course each time. By utilizing CNC multispindle and rotary transfer machines, SSP has also dramatically reduced the need for secondary operations like deburring and drilling. “Chuck it once and be done with it,” King says.

JD Machine, a precision machining company led by President and CEO Matt Wardle, is our Top Shops Honoree for the category of Human Resources. Here, investing in people trumps any technological advancement — despite the company’s reliance on advanced manufacturing tech. “Without the right people in front of your machines, it doesn’t matter what you spend on technology,” Wardle says. As Associate Editor Evan Doran writes on page 72, this philosophy has propelled JD Machine to the forefront of the aerospace, medical device and defense industries, employing 160 skilled workers across two shifts operating an impressive array of advanced machining tech.

 “We probably do more marketing for workforce and for apprentices than we do to find new business,” Wardle says. By partnering with local schools and communities, JD Machine creates a steady pipeline of talent ready to dive into precision machining.

Rounding out this year’s Honorees is an industry giant — or at least one of the most well-planned, large-format machining operations we’ve seen. Major Tool & Machine (MTM) is this year’s Top Shops Honoree in the category of Shopfloor Practices, and in my feature on page 66, you’ll discover one of the secret weapons behind MTM’s success supplying large-format, highly precise machined parts to some of the most demanding industries in the world. Holding tolerances within a few thousandths across massive dimensions — and delivering those parts on time — requires not only state-of-the-art machine tools, but also a highly customized ERP system that automates and controls each step of production. By automating task assignments and certification checks, the system keeps uncertified workers from performing critical operations, ensuring that each step of production is executed properly.

If you haven’t already, please make sure to register for our Top Shops event at IMTS. This half-day event will dive into our Top Shops benchmarking program and offer tips and advice from industry experts — including this year’s Top Shop Honorees. If you want your shop to rise to the top, I hope to see you there.