Swarfcast

On today’s podcast I interviewed Kathryn Shibelski. Kathryn is a second chance hiring advocate. Her firm, KES HR Consulting, works with companies who are considering hiring incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people. The job candidates have often been convicted for drug offenses, white collar crimes, sex crimes, and even murder.  Obviously, the idea of hiring people with criminal records could s...

Recently, I’ve talked to a few Swarfcast listeners who are considering starting their own podcast shows, so I thought it made sense to make an episode discussing the merits of hosting a podcast as well as some advice if you want to build one successfully. I’m really excited about my guest today because he is one of the most knowledgeable people I know about how to grow and monetize a podcast, my p...

Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” Today, I’m going to tell you a story about how dots in my past came together serendipitously to help me solve problems and make some good deals in our used machinery business. When I met the people in these st...

Lately, Graff-Pinkert has seen a lot of new opportunities for our used machinery business–particularly in the category of machines that I like to call “Sexy Ugly.” Many customers are clearing the decks of their dirty Acme, Davenport, and Brown & Sharpe cam screw machines to become pure CNC machine shops, while at the same time, quite a few machining companies are still embrac...

Today’s podcast is part two of an interview we did with David Wynn, CFO of ABF Engineering and Machining, a third generation screw machine shop in South Fulton, Tennessee. Dave makes a lot of his profits on mechanical screw machines that are older than him, but he emphasizes using advanced technology to automate his business’s processes. Listen with the player at the bottom of the page or at your ...

On today’s episode, we’re shaking things up. We’re playing an episode from a podcast I guested on, the Business Growth on Purpose podcast with Jose Palomino. One of the topics we focused on in the interview was how I discover new leads and opportunities in our used machinery business by using strategies that create serendipity. You know–the stuff I often like to talk about. Keeping you...

On April 1, Budweiser ran an ad on Instagram with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney promoting March Madness, as well as celebrating one year since she transitioned to becoming a woman. This one short ad caused a mass boycott of Budweiser and brought out the worst of the intolerance and divisiveness that plagues my country. I understand how people become uncomfortable seeing “other”...

Today’s episode is extra fun for me because I had the pleasure of interviewing my brother, Dr. Ari Graff . Recently, Ari has shifted his career focus from practicing psychotherapy to life coaching. His coaching focuses specifically on helping men who feel unhappy and stuck in romantic relationships. It also helps single men who have difficulty maintaining or starting satisfying relationships. As y...

For those who don’t know, I am a used machinery dealer, with a specialty in selling Screw Machines. I like to romanticize the used machinery business by referring to it as treasure hunting. We specialize in selling rare models of machinery, located in remote locations, owned by esoteric folk, serendipitously stumbled upon. Every used machine we sell has a story behind it. And I have found the mach...

On today’s show we’re talking about what you do if your business’s growth becomes stagnant or even stops all together. Our guest is Jose Palomino, host of the Business Growth on Purpose podcast and founder and CEO of Value Prop , a consultancy that gives established B2B companies strategies to jump start growth when it has fallen off. Jose gave me great insight about how you objectively examine th...

I know you will enjoy this favorite past episode, whether or not it’s your first time hearing it. As Swiss machines continue to improve, so does the capability of the accessories and tooling to aid you in the machining process. This episode will hopefully illuminate some ways you can improve your efficiency and accuracy by adding modern technology to your current machines. Our guest is Jim G...

I am a treasure hunter for a living. I pay my mortgage by finding obscure used machines from all over the world and then finding people who want to buy sexy-ugly/high-tech equipment. The best way to do that is by interacting with customers in ways that create serendipity. Today, I’m going to tell you how calling people on the phone, even when it seems like a long shot, can result in serendipity. I...

Today’s podcast episode is the second half of our interview with Dr. Onome Scott-Emuakpor, the founder of Hyphen Innovations , a firm that develops low cost, damage resistant aerospace components. When Onome does engineering research, he fuels his creativity by embracing resource constraints and what he calls the “fail fast” mentality. The fail fast mentality means you can look at fail...

On today’s podcast, we talk about how you can apply the artistic side of your brain to solve engineering challenges. Our guest is aerospace engineer, Dr. Onome Scott-Emuakpor, founder of Hyphen Innovations , a firm that develops new advanced aerospace components for the Department of Defense and other clients.   Onome’s family immigrated from Nigeria to Lansing, Michigan, before he was born....

With the latest news that unemployment is at its lowest in 54 years, we thought it was important to post this favorite episode about how to hire the employee who fits correctly for a specific position. Our guest on the podcast today is Brian Balasia, CEO and Co-Founder of TalentEi , a company that produces a software platform that matches employers and job seekers across a variety of sectors. Bria...

On today’s show, Lloyd Graff and I are discussing our observations of the machining industry in 2022 and our instincts about where the industry is headed in the coming year. As used machinery dealers at Graff-Pinkert, we saw trends in 2022 such as reshoring, the resurgence of old school cam screw machines, and a growing number of machining businesses that soon may be for sale. We think these trend...

On today’s podcast I interviewed Trevor Blondeel, the founder of Operations Kickstart and the host of the podcast, Mindfulness Manufacturing . Trevor uses mindfulness techniques to coach manufacturing executives so they can better lead their companies. The idea is that if his clients become more conscious of their feelings and their current behavior, it will inspire sustainable change in how they...

Today we are starting a new podcast show and blog on the Today’s Machining World Podcast Network called “Seeking Serendipity.” Click the following links to listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or Google Podcasts . As our regular readers and listeners know, we talk a lot about serendipity in Today’s Machining World and on Swarfcast. Serendipity is the concept of being in the right place at the righ...

On this podcast I spoke with James Persenaire, a district manager at FANUC America Corporation. James gave insight into the strengths and weaknesses of collaborative robots and how Fanuc’s collaborative robots differ from competitors such as Universal Robot. He also addressed misconceptions about traditional robots that they are expensive and dangerous. He emphasized that the integration of the ro...

Recently, we have seen a growing number of mergers and acquisitions in the manufacturing space .   After these deals are finalized there’s a lot of uncertainty for the employees caught in the middle of reorganization.   Our guest on the podcast today is Jennifer Fondrevay. Jennifer is a best selling author and the Founder of Day1 Ready, a consultancy that advises companies on how to prepare for ch...

In light of the current chaos in Brazil, we decided to post a great past interview we did with Ali Jamil Jomaa, Executive Director at Samot, a huge Brazilian automotive supplier. Hearing Jomaa describe how difficult it is to run a company in Brazil I think will give some perspective on why so many Brazilians are angry about their country’s politics. On today’s show we are heading back to Bra...

Why was 2022 the best year of my life so far? (This blog was also recorded as a podcast narrated by Noah Graff). Listen with the player below, Apple Podcasts , or on your favorite podcast app) Reason Number 1: I Improved My State of Being I began working with my life coach, Ginny Cutler, in January. She is coaching me on “being” who I WANT to be. The idea is that if you “feel” stuck, the only way...

After serving in the Navy SEALs for nine years, Bill Berrien retired from the military in 1999, ready for a new chapter in his life. He attended Harvard business school where there were six other SEALs in his class. After graduating from Harvard, Bill worked as a Six Sigma Blackbelt at General Electric Health Care, which brought him to the Milwaukee area in 2002. Rather than climb the ladder at a...

Bill Berrien has had an extraordinary professional journey. He earned an MBA at Harvard, worked for General Electric and then in private equity. Ten years ago, he purchased Pindel Global Precision , a successful two-generation machining company near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which he has modernized and grown over the past decade. Oh, I forgot to mention, he was also a Navy SEAL officer for nine years....

Today’s guest on the podcast is Jon Perin, owner and President of Perin Industries, a young CNC machining company in Webster City, Iowa. Jon, started Perin Industries in 2018, after a 12-year career as a hospital administrator. Like many entrepreneurs, Jon has had to face some daunting challenges. Starting out, he aggressively bought new state of the art CNC equipment to make parts for the medical...