Fields of Green
The secret to making money these days, in many cases, is to go where the aging baby boomers go. And today, boomers are spending big money on "recapturing the rapture" of the cars of their youth. Whether you
Thinking Outside The Crankcase
Are you using your crankshaft grinder every day? Although it may be one of the most expensive pieces of equipment in your shop, it may sit idle for a long time if you don
The Final Wrap
Dr. Jekyll used to take a secret potion to turn him into the hideous Mr. Hyde. The Wolfman grew fangs, fur and a fearsome appetite under the full moon. Certain customers
Nationwide Warranties
The competition faced by engine builders has never been tougher. There seems to be no end to the new car incentives that the manufacturers can dream up in order to continue the torrid pace of new car sales. This factor, along with consumer perceptions of improved OEM engine quality and performance, several years ago was
Productivity Watchwords For Today’s Business World
Any company with a service department is selling labor. If you have a repair facility and work on cars or trucks, or have a machine shop providing machine work on engines or transmissions, you are selling labor. If you rebuild components for the engine or transmission, you are selling labor. In more accurate terms you
Reading, ’Riting and Racing – Performance Education
For an automotive machine shop looking to enter the world of high-performance, finding qualified machinists and engine builders that have high-performance experience could be one of the greatest challenges. These days, there is some help, as many technical colleges have seen the need and are attempting to fill that void. It wasn
Conferences And Seminars Offer Many Potential Rewards
Getting away from the day-to-day grind and going to a seminar or conference with fellow shop owners and machinists has rewards that far outweigh the expense, and often may even present new business opportunities. At the Engine Rebuilders Association Tech Expo (AERA) I attended this past April in Indianapolis, a presentation given by John DeBates,
CERs
What if we had the power to predict the future? We would no longer react to situations, but instead, anticipate them. By knowing what lay ahead, bumps in the road and the roller coaster we call life would be relatively flat. Don
The PER Future
When you think of the future, there is a tendency to think of Hollywood or maybe Jules Verne. You might be thinking you
Acquisitions, Proliferation Cloud Parts Suppliers Predictions
With a nod to Charles Dickens, "it is the best of times; it is the worst of times" in the engine building industry. And no matter which of these perspectives you favor, you
Not Your Father’s Olds – ’50s Equipment Not Designed For Today’s Engines
When it came time to start addressing the subject of survival in the machine shop and engine building world of the future, it was obvious that we could do one of two things: consult the famed French astrologer Nostradamus or call the American Association of Certified Psychics. The problem is, no one really understands the