Modern Machine Shop’s Top Shops Hall of Fame Booth Features Past Honorees

Being honored as a Modern Machine Shop Top Shop comes with an additional assignment: Winners must machine their company’s logo for display in the Top Shops Hall of Fame, which is located in the magazine’s booth at IMTS 2018.

Executive Editor Derek Korn says the purpose of asking past Tops Shops winners to machine their logos is to recognize shops that have been identified for excellence in machining, shop-floor practices, business strategies and human resources. 

“In an effort to promote creativity, I didn’t want to put restraints on them other than the type of material and the maximum overall size,” says Korn, who asked that the aluminum logo be no bigger than 12 x 12 x 2 inches. “My goal was to give them free reign to do whatever they wanted with the hope that the resulting collection would contain a variety of different shapes, sizes, finishes and machined features. That’s what we got. Each shop added its own twist, many showcasing multiple manufacturing capabilities, and you can see their personalities shining through in their designs.”

Now in its eighth year, Modern Machine Shop’s annual Top Shops benchmarking program is the machining and metalworking industry’s premier resource for identifying operational and business metrics that define world-class competitiveness. The Modern Machine Shop Top Shops display is separated into two sections: one focusing on trends and technologies, and the other focusing on the people who apply and the publications that report those trends and technologies.

“IMTS is where leading shops of all shapes, sizes and specialties connect. So, it’s the ideal venue to bring  Modern Machine Shop’s Top Shops program to life,” says Dave Necessary, director of audience engagement for Gardner Business Media (GBM), publisher of Modern Machine Shop.

In addition to showcasing the Top Shops Hall of Fame, GBM is celebrating its 90^th year of serving the business and information needs of the manufacturing industry, which began with the debut of Modern Machine Shop magazine in June 1928. Necessary says IMTS 2018 attendees visiting the Top Shops attraction will be able to look at technologies past and celebrate the contributions that led to IMTS 2018, as well as look ahead at the products, processes and people that will impact the next 90 years of manufacturing growth.

“It was fun looking back at the magazine’s history in developing our special June 90^th anniversary issue,” Korn says. “But our focus remains on the future of machining and what new technologies are becoming available that we can share with readers to help them become more efficient, capable and profitable.”