In Rural Ohio on a family farm, sits a non-descript building that houses an operation as unique as it is remarkable: Thieman Machine Co. Run by Ken Thieman, this one-man machining operation epitomizes the American dream. Alongside his wife Kathy and four grown daughters, Ken has turned his passion and skill into a productive, high-quality manufacturing business— powered by the advanced capabilities of cutting-edge machinery… but the path to his success wasn’t simple. Every step required ingenuity, hard work, and machinery capable of delivering what he thought would be impossible.
THE CHALLENGE
For Ken, running a successful machining operation on his own meant overcoming significant hurdles. Thieman Machine Co. needed to deliver complex, high-precision parts—pieces that would normally require multiple machines and several operators. From complex parts like AR bolt carriers to custom requests, each piece had to be done efficiently, accurately, and really required to be done in a single setup. Handling these jobs alone, without sacrificing quality, was the only way to make his business viable in the long term.
Ken’s journey began decades ago in the garage where his father first started the business. As a young man, Ken learned the fundamentals of machining on older machines his dad had acquired. However, as demands evolved, so did the need for better equipment. “We tried our hand at a few different machines, from Mazak to Tsugami, from KSI to Cincinnati and they were fine for certain jobs,” Ken recalls. “But they just didn’t have the capability for the complex parts I needed to make. I was always having to move the parts, reposition them—it was a lot of time and left too much room for error.”
When a new project required producing an AR bolt carrier—a challenging part due to its complexity—Ken realized his current equipment wasn’t up to the task. He needed a machine that could handle every step of the process in one operation, with minimal manual intervention. He also needed a solution that would allow him to walk away, set up another machine, or even take a break without constantly monitoring operations. For a smaller shop, even though his wife and daughters could step in whenever required, efficiency and flexibility were critical. “If I tried making these parts on a mill, I’d have to keep going back, flipping parts around, and double-checking the setup every cycle,” Ken says. “That just wasn’t going to work for me.”
THE SOLUTION
While searching for a solution, Ken found it in Eurotech machines. After coming across a Eurotech ad, he was struck initially by the machine’s sub-spindle design, which allows the machine to move parts into the precise position needed for each step. “I thought, ‘Hey, this might be better than the other machines I’m using’” he recalls. Shortly after, he acquired his first Eurotech—a move that would fundamentally change his shop’s productivity.
Ken quickly saw that the new Eurotech machine brought a new level of efficiency to his operation. He found particularly the dual Y-axis, live tooling, and the ability to handle complex parts in a single setup were transformative. “On the Eurotech, every operation you want to do, you can,” Ken explains. “You can drop off a complete part, and if it needs specific orientation, it’s more accurate than having to manually reposition the part after every operation.” This capability eliminated the need to reposition parts or rely on additional equipment, drastically reducing setup times and potential for error.
Ken’s sales representative, Brendon Gideon from Superior Equipment, recalls his first encounter with Ken at a trade show. “He brought out this part and asked if we could make it,” Brendon says. “It was complex, something most people would use multiple machines for, but with a Eurotech in mind, we told him, ‘Yes, we can make that in one operation.’” This promise of single-operation machining was precisely what Ken needed to take his one-man show to the productivity level he wanted. Brendon recalls a particularly telling story in the immediate days after the delivery of his first Eurotech machine: “We delivered it and scheduled an engineer to come out a couple days later to show him how to achieve what he wanted to accomplish on it.” He recalls with a sense of admiration: “Here’s a guy with a machine he’s never seen before, some very tricky programming, no CAM software, and I get a call that we could cancel the engineer’s visit and that he did it all himself. The guy is a genius.”
Over time, Ken continued to invest in additional Eurotech machines, each with features that enabled him to handle even more intricate jobs without additional labor. “Now, if I’ve got a part that’s complex, I know it can be handled. The Eurotech machines are reliable enough that I can walk away if I need to work on something else,” Ken says. “If I was doing these on a traditional mill, I’d have to go over, flip the parts around, and recheck the alignment every time. With Eurotech, I just set it up and let it run.”
RESULTS AND RELATIONSHIP
With Eurotech, Ken’s productivity has reached levels he never thought possible. Not only has he increased the volume and complexity of parts he can produce, but he’s also maintained the flexibility to run his shop independently. His relationship with Eurotech and Superior Equipment has been an essential part of his journey. “They’re good people,” Ken says, speaking highly of the Eurotech team. “Whenever I’ve had a question, they’ve been right there, helping me over the phone or guiding me through what I need to do. I haven’t had to call in a serviceman, and that’s important to me.”
Ken’s story is a testament to the power of Eurotech technology and his own tenacity. Thieman Machine Co. has grown from a small family operation into a high-precision machine shop capable of handling complex projects with remarkable efficiency—all while remaining a one-man operation. Today, Ken Thieman is living proof that with the right equipment and a relentless drive to succeed, even a single person can run a thriving, competitive business from a small town in rural America.
Comments