Production Machining's March 2024 News Highlights

ProShop ERP has entered into a partnership with the Industrial Engineering School (IE) at Purdue University, donating seats of its ProShop Digital Ecosystem to help the school establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing lab of the future.

The IE program is invested in the infrastructure and technology to best prepare students for careers in smart manufacturing, supply chain resiliency, AI and machine learning, among others. The ProShop Ecosystem will help in the creation of a 10,000-square-foot, automated “factory floor” in the school’s manufacturing lab space to teach and perform lights-out manufacturing operations. Students will eventually be taught how to implement a lights-out process from beginning to end, creating an overarching control system to manage production planning, scheduling, inventory, PM planning and finished goods, tracking every aspect of the manufacturing process. Read more about how ProShop is equipping the IE at Purdue.

Here are some more news highlights:

Haimer Partners With TCM Group to Distribute Tooling Technology

The Haimer Group has become a shareholder in WinTool AG and agreed to a strategic partnership with the TCM Group, which grants Haimer global distribution rights to WinTool and Toolbase. Prior to the decision to acquire this stake in the company, WinTool and Toolbase were introduced in the company’s own production facilities and tested in continuous use. Going forward, TCM will rely on Haimer as a strategic supplier in the field of toolholders, shrinking, balancing and presetting machines in the core business of tool management.

Big Daishowa Tool Program Equips Schools

Big Daishowa has announced its Tools for Schools program provided $23,300 in tooling certificates for local high schools, vocational schools and colleges.

This marks the second year of the program, which ran from October 1 to December 29, 2023. For every qualifying order during that time, Big Daishowa committed a tooling certificate valued at 20% of each purchase to the buyer’s school of choice. Schools were able to redeem certificates for any Big Daishowa product, including toolholders, boring tools, cutting tools, workholding products and presetters.

“A big part of our company’s overall mission is to support a new generation of skilled workers,” says Jack Burley, president and COO of Big Daishowa. “This program is a great way to do that because it allows students to gain experience with the same tools they will use as future engineers and machinists. We’re thankful to our customers who participated and made this possible.”

Mahr Inc. Appoints New General Manager, Sales

Mahr Inc. has announced the appointment of John Roberts to the position of general manager, sales, covering the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Brazil. In addition to field sales, he will oversee Mahr’s Engineered Solutions business, as well as marketing, product management, applications engineering, service, customer resource center and distribution teams.

Roberts is said to bring over 30 years of experience in the industrial automation sector. He joins Mahr from B&R Industrial Automation, a member of the ABB Group, where he served in a series of senior sales management positions, including managing director of growth markets, senior vice president of sales and global product group manager for HMI.

Shelton Machinery Launches TSM Group

Shelton Machinery has announced the launch of TSM Group, its new parent company. A certified distributor of Mazak machine tools, Robojob automation, Supertec grinding solutions and LK Metrology products, Shelton Machinery serves metalworking shops in Indiana and Kentucky.

In 2015, Shelton expanded its North American footprint through the acquisition of Concept Technical Sales Inc., now Concept Machinery, which has served customers in Kansas and western Missouri for over 34 years.

Most recently, Shelton Machinery acquired Municipal Tool & Machinery, now known as Municipal Machinery, which is located in Maryland Heights Missouri. With this acquisition, company co-owners Jeff Tucker and Nick Shelton launched TSM Group, a new parent organization under which the three companies will now operate.

Innovance Acquires Jorgensen Conveyor and Filtration Solutions

Innovance has acquired Jorgensen Conveyor and Filtration Solutions. For more than 73 years, Jorgensen has provided conveyors, coolant filtration systems, material handling equipment and chip processing equipment for the machine tool, metalworking and other industries. As part of Innovance, Jorgensen joins a family of companies concentrated on industrial manufacturing capabilities and solutions to production challenges.

Charles and Evelyn Jorgensen founded Jorgensen Conveyor in 1950 to design, manufacture and install conveyors for manufacturing applications at major equipment and automotive production facilities. Innovations in belt design, chip handling and filtration have propelled the company throughout three generations of Jorgensen family ownership in Mequon, Wisconsin. The new alliance with Innovance enables the Jorgensen team to become owners of the business they have helped build.