October 4, 2007

NEWSLETTER SPONSOR JobBOSS WOW Project #102 - Exact JobBOSS Empowers General Metal Works Issue: Sales are declining and competitors are cutting into our business. Vision: Implement lean and invest in cutting-edge machines and technology to reposition the company. Results: Sales volume doubled, finished goods inventory was reduced 800%, lead times and set up times were cut in half, achieved ISO certification.

Makino Makino— a leading manufacturer of horizontal and vertical machining centers and EDM machines — has announced a new series of online Webinars. Designed for shops of all types and sizes, the seminars are free to anyone who registers. The planned seminars are intended for shops in the automotive, aerospace, medical product and die and mold industries. In addition to metal cutting and die/mold, the seminars will cover new technologies, such as micromachining. Mark Rentschler, marketing manager, says, "Online seminars allow anyone with an Internet connection to attend without losing a day of work." The seminars concentrate on shop efficiency, lean manufacturing, asset utilization, machine tool integration and automation, machine tool technologies, and metal cutting processes. Makino's application engineers, product managers and guest speakers will give presentations.

When: November 8-9, 2007, Where: Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center

Benchmarking can be an excellent tool to boost your shop's performance and competitiveness if done correctly. Learn how to develop and execute a successful benchmarking strategy at the American Machinist Machine Shop Workshop, November 8-9 in Cleveland, OH. The opening session, led by John Brandt, CEO of the MPI Group and columnist for IndustryWeek, will help you understand the importance of benchmarking, what performance metrics to benchmark, who you need to benchmark against and how to execute your strategy.

For more information, visit: www.machineshopworkshop.com.