Champion Screw Machine Engineering Focuses on Leadership in Job Training and Service Needs

Champion Screw Machine Engineering was founded in Detroit, Michigan, in 1945 by brothers John and B.J. Mascow. Both left their jobs with Modern Collet and Machine Company to create a business to supply replacement parts and machinery to the screw machine industry using an inventory of surplus parts and machines. The business plan was a simple one – treat your employees and customers the way you would like to be treated.

Seven decades and four generations later, Champion is located in more modern facilities in Wixom, Michigan, but the basic business philosophy is still the same. Vice President
Kevin Coffman recalls, “I remember being at a PMPA meeting about 10 years ago with my grandfather, Harvey Mascow (2nd Generation), and talking about business values. He told me that he always thought of employees as family, and he was proud that Champion was able to provide a good living for so many families. His goal of business ownership was to provide our employees with a fair wage, good working hours, quality benefits and a family-first environment. I have tried to keep his values in all business decisions that we have made in good times and bad.”

Today, Champion is a leader in the automatic screw machine industry and has the largest inventory of replacement parts for Acme Gridley machines in the country. Champion also provides parts for New Britain, Conomatic, and Davenport Machine. Champion Screw Machine Services, a subsidiary of Champion Screw Machine Engineering, specializes in rebuilding and repairing machinery, as well as doing field service and training. The machines they support serve a range of industries, including automotive, electrical, telecommunications, plumbing, military, medical and more. Champion also has a strong international presence serving industries in Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, China and other countries.

While Champion continues to support customers with new and innovative products such as the New-Matic stock stop or Scratch Tamer pusher, in recent years, Champion
has invested heavily in the service side of the business. Mr. Coffman explains, “Many of our customers are large corporations that used to employ their own skilled tradesman
that could do machine maintenance and repair. They also had experienced staff in-house that could do process engineering and machine setup. Many of those employees retired or left and were never replaced, leaving a void of knowledge and capability. Today, Champion works hard to mitigate that loss, sometimes performing contract work for
the customer, but also by providing training to companies that wish to regain some of that lost capability. Rather than being just a company that fills orders, we provide technical assistance to help our customers keep their machines running. We want to share that knowledge with our customers. That way, the industry stays strong for generations to come.” 

When it comes to gaining and spreading its knowledge of the industry, Champion’s passionate role in PMPA plays heavily into the company’s success. Technical members since 1985, Mr. Coffman and his employees have become regular speakers at the various PMPA conferences. Each year, Mr. Coffman speaks on behalf of the IT committee, and members from his rebuilding staff enjoy speaking, answering questions and networking with other like-minded professionals. Champion has exhibited at PMTS every year. “We would never miss a PMTS,” Mr. Coffman says. “It is simply the best show in our industry. We put great value in the quality of the exhibitors and attendees, and I look forward to it every other year. 

“I can’t imagine our company without PMPA, to be honest,” Mr. Coffman says. “There’s daily interaction from listserves,  quarterly local meetings and yearly national meetings. Every time I go to a conference, I come back feeling refreshed, inspired and encouraged.”